We replaced the traditional steel-plate sabot stripper used in light-gas gun operations with a relatively thick layer of low-density material (<0.1 g/cm³), such as steel wool, crumpled Al-foil, or batting of glass-fiber thermal insulation. The objective was to decrease the shock stress of the impinging, plastic sabot petals, thus decreasing and possibly eliminating the production of sabot vapor and melt which typically plate out on the nominal target as soot deposits. Such deposits can be an unsightly nuisance to many, but they are intolerable to some, such as those conducting experiments into transparency issues of spacecraft windows and solar cells, or to those investigating impact-induced organic chemistry and its implications for the origins of life. Also, the particulates generated upon traditional sabot impact may be efficiently trapped at depth in these low-density materials, keeping them from impinging on the nominal target. A modest test program, consisting of a total of ten experiments was therefore conducted. All three test-media revealed much less target contamination. None of the targets, however, was totally free of contamination, and more systematic work is necessary to produce contamination-free targets. Notably, all targets were also free of the small-scale particle impacts resulting from sabot impact on steel strippers. Replacing steel strippers with low-density media is thus promising where soot deposits and small particle impacts on the nominal target are either a cosmetic nuisance or a major, possibly intolerable, detriment to an experiment's objectives.

我们用相对较厚的低密度材料层（<0.1 g / cm ³），例如钢丝绒，皱皱的铝箔或玻璃纤维隔热材料的棉絮。目的是减少撞击的塑料木sa花瓣的冲击应力，从而减少甚至可能消除木bot蒸气和熔体的产生，而木vapor蒸气和熔体通常会以烟灰沉积物的形式沉积在标称靶上。这种沉积物对许多人来说可能是难看的滋扰，但对于某些人来说是无法忍受的，例如那些对航天器窗户和太阳能电池的透明性问题进行实验的人，或研究撞击引起的有机化学及其对生命起源的影响的人。同样，传统的木桶撞击产生的颗粒可以有效地深陷于这些低密度材料中，从而防止它们撞击标称目标。适中的测试程序，因此，总共进行了十个实验。所有三种测试介质均显示出更少的靶标污染。但是，没有一个目标完全没有污染，因此需要更系统的工作来生产无污染目标。值得注意的是，所有靶材也没有因木罐撞击汽提塔而产生的小规模颗粒撞击。因此，用低密度介质代替钢制汽提塔是有希望的，因为烟尘沉积物和小颗粒对标称目标的影响可能是装饰上的麻烦，或者是对实验目标的重大（可能是无法忍受的）损害。为了产生无污染的目标，还需要进行更多的系统工作。值得注意的是，所有靶材也没有因木罐撞击汽提塔而产生的小规模颗粒撞击。因此，用低密度介质代替钢制汽提塔是有希望的，因为烟尘沉积物和小颗粒对标称目标的影响可能是装饰上的麻烦，或者是对实验目标的重大（可能是无法忍受的）损害。为了产生无污染的目标，还需要进行更多的系统工作。值得注意的是，所有靶材也没有因木罐撞击汽提塔而产生的小规模颗粒撞击。因此，用低密度介质代替钢制汽提塔是有希望的，因为烟尘沉积物和小颗粒对标称目标的影响可能是装饰上的麻烦，或者是对实验目标的重大（可能是无法忍受的）损害。