A free-falling, spherical, soap-film bubble filled with argon is subjected to a planar $M=2.88$ shock in atmospheric nitrogen; vorticity is deposited on the surface of the bubble during shock interaction, and the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability ensues. The geometrical development of the shocked bubble is diagnosed with laser sheet imaging and a planar slice showing two cross sections of both the major vortex ring and a secondary vortex ring is revealed experimentally for the first time. Quantitative measurements of the experimental data include the vortex velocity defect, and subsequent circulation calculations, along with a new set of relevant length scales. The shock wave strength, leading to a post-shock compressible regime, allows the study of the instability development in a regime between low Mach number shock tube experiments and high Mach number laser driven experiments that has not been investigated previously.

• Received 10 November 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.184507