Heating and vaporization during hypervelocity particle impact

Temperatures of the vapour produced during hypervelocity particle impacts are estimated from measurements of the spectra of impact light flashes. Temperatures between 2500 and 5000 K, depending on the impact velocity, were calculated. Measurements of the light flash intensity as a function of residual gas pressure in the target chamber are shown. From the increase of the light intensity with increasing pressure, the number of atoms vaporized during the impact process was estimated.