Experimental study of the electrical conductivity of dense copper plasmas

Summary form only given, as follows. The electrical conductivity of copper has been studied in the range of densities from 0.5 to 5 gm/cm/sup 3/ and in the temperature range from 8,000 to 25,000 K. Copper wires in glass capillary tubes were vaporized by means of a short pulse of current derived from a capacitor bank. The glass confines the copper plasma in a fairly well-defined cylindrical volume for the short interval of time required for the shock wave induced by the high pressure of the plasma to propagate to the outer wall of the capillary and reflect back to the inner wall. The conductivity is measured in this one-microsecond interval. Conductivities have been compared with several theoretical models, showing rough agreement with the trends of conductivity vs. density, but disagreement with some predictions of the temperature dependence.