Behavior of a condensed reactive exothermic system under conditions of pulsed heating by a light flux

An experimental investigation was made of the initial stage of a self-propagating gas-free reaction which is activated in a condensed system by heating with light pulses. The reactive systems were mixtures of metal and nonmetal powders. The chemical interaction in the system began simultaneously with melting of one of the components. The characteristic features of the early stage of the reaction depended on the intrinsic properties of this system and the heating method. The results obtained were in qualitative agreement with a thermal theory of initiation of such reactions.