Optical field determination in water

Electrostrictive pressure measurements were obtained by the use of a holographic interferometer. Use of this technique permitted a determination of the local electric field in water when subjected to a high-voltage impulse. The interferometer was illuminated by a pulse laser, which enabled detailed images of the rapidly changing field to be captured in a single 20-ns exposure. Using the same test cell and laser, field measurements were also obtained by the Kerr electrooptical technique. A comparison of the electrostriction and Kerr-derived field maps yielded good correlation, and revealed a superior sensitivity for the electrostriction method. Analysis is presented that links fundamental polarization modeling with the electrostrictive field measurements