On the Structure of a Detonation Front

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Abstract
An effort was made to observe the structure of the reaction zone for a detonation in a gas. Detonations in a 50 percent H2:50 percent O2 mixture at 0.035 atmos pressure containing 1 percent I2 were initiated by shock waves in a shock tube. Because of ignition delays and the short length of tube available, the detonations did not settle down to a steady state and were of unexpectedly high velocity. The iodine served as a colorimetric indicator for the shock front. The light output of the detonation is a step function of time with a front coincident with the shock front within 2—3 μsec. The experiment indicates that the reaction zone is less than 104 collisions thick. A crude theoretical estimate of the reaction zone thickness of 1000—4000 collisions is made. Possible chain initiating steps are also considered.

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