Exploding wire shock wave focussing mirror - is used with circular wire loop and consists of torus with elliptical reflecting surface

摘要

If a circular loop (1) of wire is made to explode under water, by the passage of a large electric current, a shock wave is generated. This shockwave can be focussed onto the centre (4) of the wire loop (1) by a reflector (5). The reflector (5) has the shape of a torus with an elliptical cross-section. One focus of the ellipse lies on the centre line (2) of the wire (1) and the other focus lies at the centre of the loop (4). There is a given mathematical formula which describes the surface of a reflector which will focus the shock wave from a straight length of wire onto a single point.