Abstract

The phenomenon of photochemical nucleation of particles (also called laser snow) has been observed by many workers, for example, in metal vapor system¹ and organic vapors.^2,3 Although this laser-snow effect seems to occur generally under the right excitation, temperature, and pressure conditions, the phenomenon remains poorly understood. One problem is lack of method for detecting the onset of photonucleation of particles, which has up to now been detected, e.g., by light scattering^1,2 or electrostatic deflection.³

© 1985 Optical Society of America