Book Description

This document is intended as an introduction to the study of radiative transfer and hydrodynamics in the high temperature (>10,000K) regime. Most of the basic references on radiative transfer are oriented to astrophysics. It is always difficult for workers in other areas of research to cull from this literature those aspects of the subject relevant to their own interests. The purpose of this document is to present the basic principles of radiation gas dynamics from the point of view of weapons physics. The first chapter is concerned with the radiation field alone. The transfer equation is derived in its various forms, and the general formulation of radiant energy transfer in materials is discussed. The second chapter describes the various mechanisms by which the radiation field interacts with a material medium. This section, therefore, provides an introduction to the general problem of opacities. The third chapter presents the basic theory of hydrodynamics and the influence of radiation fields on fluid motion. These chapters cover the three fundamental aspects of the subject: the state of the radiation field, the radiation-material interaction, and the motion of the material. (Author).