shock tube

noun

1. an apparatus in which a gas is heated to very high temperatures by means of a shock wave, usually for spectroscopic investigation of the natures and reactions of the resulting radicals and excited molecules

Example Sentences

Researchers then placed the head directly underneath a shock tube, which was pressurized with helium until a membrane wall burst, releasing the gas in a shock wave, Duke University explained in the statement.

From Fox News

The blast wave barrelled down a foot-long section of a 12-foot shock tube at more than 900 miles per hour, slamming into two rows of barriers designed to dissipate its power.

From Scientific American

For the animal part of the study, Dr. Goldstein developed a 27-foot-long “shock tube” to simulate explosions.

From New York Times

The team had placed C-4 explosives next to the IED, then run a detonation cord across the field, which they attached to the initiator with a small length of wire known as a shock tube.

From Time

Ablating cones promised a weight advantage, but not even the shock tube was adequate to test them at the research level.

From Time Magazine Archive