Exploding wires

AUG 01, 1964

For nearly two centuries it has been known that a fine wire will explode when suddenly subjected to a large flow of electrical current. During much of that time the effect has been looked upon as a curious but not very useful phenomenon, and even now there is no general agreement on the exact mechanism involved in such an explosion. Modern technology, however, has found many ways of using exploding wires, and a resurgence of scientific interest has led to three conferences on the subject in recent years. The following brief review of the field includes a report on the latest conference, held in March of this Year.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3051737

William G. Chace

The nearly 200 delegates who met at the Kenmore Hotel in Boston on March 10th to discuss the exploding‐wire phenomenon were assembled to continue the study of a phenomenon first described before the Royal Society in London in 1773. In the intervening years, such notables as Michael Faraday, Lord Rutherford, and the late John A. Anderson, the astronomer of Mt. Wilson Observatory, have experimented in the field.

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References

1. E. Nairne, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (London) 64, 79 (1774).
2. W. G. Chace and H. K. Moore, Eds. Exploding Wires, Vol. II, (Plenum Press, N.Y., 1962).
3. J. L. Bohn, F. H. Nadig, W. F. Simmons, “Accelerations of Small Particles by Means of Exploding Wires.”
4. J. H. Park, J. Res. Natl. Bur. Std., 39, 191 (1947).
5. H. Bartels and B. Eiselt, Optik 6, 56 (1950).

More about the Authors

William G. Chace. Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Massachusetts.