Abstract
An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) and acoustic lens have been constructed to provide reproducible and well characterized acoustic shock waves in water. The peak pressure amplitude variation for the unfocused and focused shock waves was found to be within +or-5%. The focal region has been characterized both optically and by conventional piezoelectric pressure measurements. Optical investigations centre around ruby laser illuminated Schlieren and focused shadow imaging. The temporal resolution of the optical technique was determined by the ruby laser pulse length of 20 ns, giving a spatial resolution of 30 mu m for a shock front in water.