The penetration of thin metal plates by combined cw and pulsed-laser radiation

The accelerated penetration of thin metal plates by combined cw-plus-pulsed-laser radiation is shown to be due primarily to eliminating the necessity of furnishing the latent heat of melting which is a large fraction of the total energy budget in penetration with cw radiation alone. The effect is shown to be most dramatic in the case of painted plates, and largely independent of radial heat losses, in agreement with experiment.