Journal of Applied Physics

Current shunting and plasma instabilities during electrical explosions of copper and aluminum wires in water and air

R R. Grikshtas (Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,) N N. Asmedianov (Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,) S S. Pavlov (Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,) I I. Yungerman (Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,) A A. Rososhek (Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,) J J. Strucka (Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London 2 , London SW7 2BW,) K K. Mughal (Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London 2 , London SW7 2BW,) B B. Lukic M M. Liverts (FLOW, Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology 5 , Stockholm 100 44,) T T. White R R. Bean (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) J J. Bielecki R R. Letrun (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) T T. Popelar (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) E E. Sobolev (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) F F. Trost (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) J J. C. P. Koliyadu (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) T T. Sato P P. Vagovic (European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,) S S. N. Bland (Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London 2 , London SW7 2BW,) Y Ya. E. Krasik (Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,)

Abstract

We present the first x-ray images of electrically exploding wires in air and water, captured at the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (EuXFEL). These images reveal current shunting in a copper wire during its explosion in air, and the development of electrothermal (and possibly magnetohydrodynamic) instabilities in copper and aluminum wires exploding in water. The experiments were conducted at the Single Particles, Clusters, and Biomolecules and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography instrument (SPB/SFX) at EuXFEL, where fine metallic wires were driven by a pulsed-power generator with a current rise time of ∼1.1 μs and a peak amplitude of ∼28 kA. EuXFEL enabled MHz x-ray radiography of the wires using 20 keV photons and a narrow bandwidth of ∼40 eV. Using the specific current action integral for a copper wire explosion, we provide the first quantitative estimate of the fraction of current that is shunted through the surrounding medium of an exploding wire. Fourier analysis of the electrothermal instability spectrum shows that its wavelength remains mostly independent of the wire diameter once it has exploded, and that the temperature perturbation is similar in magnitude to the average temperature in the wire.

Download PDF View Original
APA MLA Chicago BibTeX RIS

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 139, Issue 10
Published March 14, 2026
ISSN 0021-8979
Publisher American Institute of Physics

Journal Info

Journal of Applied Physics

American Institute of Physics
ISSN: 0021-8979 Physical Sciences

Authors (21)

R

R. Grikshtas

Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,

N

N. Asmedianov

Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,

S

S. Pavlov

Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,

I

I. Yungerman

Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,

A

A. Rososhek

Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,

J

J. Strucka

Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London 2 , London SW7 2BW,

K

K. Mughal

Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London 2 , London SW7 2BW,

B

B. Lukic

M

M. Liverts

FLOW, Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology 5 , Stockholm 100 44,

T

T. White

R

R. Bean

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

J

J. Bielecki

R

R. Letrun

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

T

T. Popelar

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

E

E. Sobolev

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

F

F. Trost

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

J

J. C. P. Koliyadu

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

T

T. Sato

P

P. Vagovic

European XFEL GmbH 3 , Holzkoppel 4, Schenefeld 22869,

S

S. N. Bland

Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London 2 , London SW7 2BW,

Y

Ya. E. Krasik

Physics Department, Technion—Israeli Institute of Technology 1 , Haifa 3200003,

Related Articles from this Journal

Causality analysis of vacuum chamber facility effects for Hall effect thruster operation

Seth J. Thompson, Kentaro Hara et al. Aug 2026 10.1063/5.0325466

Polaron-induced efficiency limitations of solar H2O splitting by BiVO4

Hori Pada Sarker, Huy Q. Ho et al. Aug 2026 10.1063/5.0333462

Suppression of Curie temperature through severe shear strain in lanthanum manganite LaMnO3+ <i>δ</i>

Alexy Bertrand, Masaki Mito et al. Aug 2026 10.1063/5.0343797

Morphological confinement of secondary phases in entropy stabilized oxides

Jacob E. Norman, Julie M. Schoenung et al. Aug 2026 10.1063/5.0340389

Achieving ultra-low surface roughness on aluminum alloys via picosecond laser milling–polishing

Kongliang Xie, Xin Huang et al. Aug 2026 10.1063/5.0343077