Generation and propagation of high intensity short acoustic pulses in dispersive media

Experiments on laser generation of acoustical pulses, amplitude 10 MPa and duration 1 μs, and their propagation in different liquids have been carried out. Propagation was measured in both pure liquids and structured media. Nonlinearity and dispersion caused evolution of the propagating signals. Some theoretical treatment of the results indicate the possibility of obtaining data on spectral features of the nonlinear response of the medium.