Action of a laser on a porous explosive substance, without initiation

We have studied the crater formation in specimens of porous explosive materials, the change in the light transmission of thin explosive layers, and the distortion in the shape of light pulses transmitted through such layers, at laser emission energy densities which do not produce initiation of the explosive. It has been demonstrated that these pehnomena are, a consequence of the optical breakdown of a dielectric (the explosive) and the process separating the ranges, in terms of radiant energy density, of linear and nonlinear light interaction with the explosive material.