Introduction to Shock Waves and Shock Wave Research
M-9 and a number of other organizations at LANL and elsewhere study materials in dynamic processes. Often, this is described as “shock wave research,” but in reality is broader than is implied by that term. Most of our work is focused on dynamic compression and associated phenomena, but you will find a wide variety of things we do that, while related, are not simple compression of materials, but involve a much richer variety of phenomena. This tutorial will introduce some of the underlying physics involved in this work, some of the more common types of phenomena we study, and common techniques. However, the list will not be exhaustive by any means.