Absorption coefficients in highly transparent solids: barothermal theory for cylindrical configurations.

The development of highly transparent solids requires improved methods to measure very low absorption coefficients at laser wavelengths. For the case in which a laser beam passes through a weakly absorbing solid that is surrounded by a confined, nonabsorbing gas, the temperature profiles in the solid and the temperature and pressure profiles in the gas have been calculated. Our calculations suggest that sufficient heat transfers from the solid into the gas to produce an easily detected pressure rise in the gas.