LASER is an acronym for light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation. The laser is an instrument in which atoms are stimulated to emit light in the same phase and direction at a given frequency. The process produces an unidirectional, coherent, intense, monochromatic beam of high energy content. When a solid-state system is utilized, a pulsed, high peak power output is achieved which can be focused through a lens to a spot to produce a maximum in power density. The laser used in the experiments to be reported was such a solid-state unit in which a ruby was employed to emit a wave length of 6,943 Angstroms. The laser head was fitted with a liquid nitrogen cooling system so that a nominal output of 8 joules was delivered over 0.0005 seconds from a maximum energy input of 800 joules at 2 kv. The laser was mounted on a