Laser modeling of high-velocity impact

An approximate treatment of the problems encountered in the laser modeling of high-velocity impact is proposed. Since the energy of the light pulse, lasers can only be used to model the impact of particles of low mass. Results of calculations of tau(H) and the mass and velocity of an 'equivalent' particle for an aluminum target are given. It is shown that in the spherical case, there is a unique pair of mass and velocity values for each energy. In the planar case, however, there is the possibility of varying the mass and velocity at a given energy by varying the area of the focus.