power. Assume A] faces a collector of area Ac so Ac/Ai = C'. If the solar flux is 0.14 W cm"2, the power absorbed per cm3 is 0.14C'17,174, and with 17, = 0.18,174 -* 1, then the power absorbed Pab = 2.6 x 10-2C' (Wcm‘3). The laser power emitted is PabVKVa^ and ata«0.1,i)» = 0.18, 17g = 0.039 the power emitted is 1.8 x lO^C' (Wcm‘3) = 18 kW m3 for C = 100. A laser 1 m2 and 2-cm thick should emit up to 360 W and would require a collector of 200 m2. A 10-kW laser would have a volume of 0.56 m3 and would require a collector of 5.5 x 103 m2. Such a system is at least comparable with other possible solar-pumped laser systems (12). IV. OTHER SOLAR LASER MATERIALS As the efficiency of a Br2-CO2-He laser seemed low, other combinations of materials were considered. The difficulty of obtaining rate coefficients especially for collisions between unlike components led to estimates of the laser performance based on a series of “figures of merit.” The method assumes the partial pressures of the gases are equal — an oversimplification. Even so, it turns out that the results are useful for indicating poor performance, which usually is the case where one rate coefficient far exceeds the others, and the others can be neglected. The figures of merit can only be used in comparing one system with another.
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