Clearing of polydisperse aqueous aerosol by laser radiation pulses

The clearing of an aqueous aerosol by laser radiation pulses has been studied only experimentally; the theoretical examination presented here therefore fills an important gap. A system of equations is derived which is used for studying the propagation of pulses of laser radiation with a wavelength gamma = 10.6 micrometers in a polydisperse aqueous aerosol. The results of numerical computations of the clearing process are presented. For example, a pulsed regime of aerosol modification is characterized by the development of processes of intensive heating and evaporation of droplets during the duration of the pulse. These and many other findings are compared with the process of clearing under the influence of continuous radiation for the purpose of ascertaining the optimum regime of the aerosol clearing process. It was found that the rate of clearing of aerosol under the influence of pulsed radiation is somewhat greater than the rate of clearing of aerosol under the influence of continuous radiation.