Visualization of the vortex structure formation of a long-lived afterglow arising in a symmetrical pulsed discharge

Abstract

Abstract A visualization of the emerging toroidal vortex in the long-lived afterglow of a high-current symmetrical pulse discharge with an electrolyte anode has been carried out. The visualization of the emerging vortex flow was carried out using the laser knife method using a powerful 10 W laser, which formed a flat divergent beam, which was reflected from dust particles in the atmosphere. For greater contrast, water vapor was let in into the region of the discharge and the emerging afterglow, which moved synchronously with the emerging afterglow vortex. The laser beam reflected from small water vapor droplets made it possible to visualize the gas flow, which was then filmed with a high-speed video camera. The presented data clearly show that the emerging afterglows are able to retain their volume for a long time precisely due to the formation of a vortex structure.