Correlation among the laser-induced breakdown thresholds in solids, liquids, and gases.

A simple expression is developed that permits a correlation among laser-induced breakdown thresholds in solids, liquids, and gases. It is shown that the breakdown thresholds for the bulk of solid dielectrics, linear liquids, and gases all follow a linear fit to the expression N(2/3)/(n(2) - 1), where N is the atomic number density and n is the refractive index. The gas breakdown threshold versus pressure is compared with the predicted dependence.