Optical radiation of the plasma of $H$-shaped electromagnetic shock tubes

A study was made of the effect of the special structural characteristics of H-shaped electromagnetic shock tubes on the dynamics of the plasma formations and their light characteristics. It is shown that sufficiently rapid and uniform filling of the whole volume of the tube by a gas-discharge plasma is observed with initial pressures of xenon of $30$–$50$ mm Hg. Evaluation is made of magnetic effects, set up by reverse current carriers, on the velocities of shock waves in shock tubes.