Abstract
Interaction of plasma streams with a neutral gas cloud was studied using gun-produced plasma and laser-produced plasma. The interaction of a quiet plasma stream shows a stable normal shock structure, but that of a plasma stream having turbulent magnetic fields shows a very complicated structure which resembles the ray structure of the type-I comet tail.
From time resolved photographs of the interaction of the quiet plasma stream, we can obtain a valuable information on the process of the growth of shock waves, and the experimental results are explained in terms of the snowplow model. Similarity relation concerning the type-I comet tail is also discussed.
