Study of a convective field induced by thermal lensing using interferometry

The present study deals with the quantitative imaging of a convection flow induced by thermal lensing in a confined fluid medium. The principle is based on the temperature rise in a liquid originated by the absorption of energy from a cw laser passing through the liquid. The optical-thermal energy conversion provides a temperature difference for initiating convection in the fluid. Simple imaging interferometry is suitable for the study of low thermal gradients and is appropriate for quantitative imaging of both thermal and convective fields. Special attention is given to the description of buoyancy-driven convection and its effect over the thermal lensing phenomena.