Comparative studies of laser action on ice water and some hydrocarbons

Abstract

Laser action on ice, water and some selected hydrocarbons such as engine oil, diesel and kerosene is investigated in this study. The aim is to determine the Doppler shift in wavelength (Δ λ) of a He-Ne laser beam when passed through ice water and the hydrocarbons. Using the method earlier adopted by Igboekwe and Nwagwu (2003), the diesel and kerosene were found to behave alike at Δ λ = 6.02x10-32 Å while the engine oil and diesel converged at Δ λ = 6.37x10-32 Å. Water and ice on the other hand had no points of convergence when Δ λ is plotted against θ, the scattering angle. From the results, it is observed that the shift in wavelength, Δ λ for the selected hydrocarbons were found to be different from water and ice due to the masses of carbon atoms involved in the scattering process in the hydrocarbons. It is therefore concluded that water is a better scattering medium compared to the hydrocarbons.

Keywords: laser, hydrocarbons, doppler shift, scattering, water

Nigerian Journal of Physics Vol. 17, 2005: 35-39