Stability of a continuous optical discharge in an atmospheric-air flow

The authors study the stability of a continuous optical discharge in free space with an air flow, flowing in different directions, interacting with it. The authors determined the distribution of the intensity in the beam by rapidly scanning the transverse cross section of the beam along one of the diameters. Figures show power of the laser radiation and oscillations of the plasma of a continuous optical discharge. The maximum instability of the continuous optical discharge is observed when an axial flow oriented toward the laser beam - toward the lens - flows past it. As soon as the flow appeared, the plasma decayed at that spot