The results of measurements of the decay of an elastic precursor in iron at the distances from 0.13 to 10 mm and the spall strength of the samples with such thicknesses have been compared with similar data for the nanometer-scale samples. The decay has been described by a unique dependence whose differentiation gives the relationship between the initial plastic strain rate in the range from 10³ to 10⁹ s⁻¹ and the compression stress in the elastic shock wave from 1.5 to 27.5 GPa. The dynamic breaking strength (spall strength) varies in this range of shock-wave load time from 1.5 to 20 GPa.

Ultrashort heating of substances converts them into the two-temperature (2T) state with hot electrons. The thickness of the heated layer rapidly increases into the depth of the metal in this state (by comparison with the thickness of the skin layer), and the pressure in the heated layer rises sharply because of the high rate of heating (inertial confinement). A technique has been developed for taking into account 2T, thermomechanical, and multidimensional (target-structuring) phenomena. It is based on quantum-mechanical computations by means of the density functional, the solution of kinetic equations, and 2T hydrodynamic and molecular-dynamic calculations. The mechanism for forming superelastic shock waves and for constructing complex surface structures has been studied. The corresponding results have great significance for developing promising nanometallurgical technologies associated with laser pinning, for increasing corrosion resistance, and for altering optical surface characteristics.

THz radiation induces a variety of processes in cells and has attracted the attention of researchers in recent decades. Here, data on the effects of high-intensity terahertz (THz) radiation on human directly reprogrammed neural progenitor cells (drNPCs) and on neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-BE (2)) were obtained for the first time. The results demonstrated that the exposure of non-tumor and tumor cells to broadband (0.1–3 THz) THz pulses with the intensity of 21 GW/cm² and the electric field strength of 2.8 MV/cm for 30 min induced neither a noticeable genotoxic effect nor a statistically significant change in the proliferative activity and cell differentiation. It was also shown that the combined effect of THz radiation and salinomycin, a promising antitumor agent, on neuroblastoma cells did not enhance the genotoxic effect of this antibiotic. However, further studies involving chemotherapy drugs and other exposure parameters are warranted to introduce this new concept into anti-tumor clinical practice and to enhance the efficacy of the existing approaches.

An interferometric method is used in the picosecond range to study the evolution of shock-compression waves generated in metallic film specimens by a powerful femtosecond laser. Shock waves with compression stress behind the elastic precursor front up to 27.5 GPa and 12.6 GPa, respectively, were registered in the case of submicron propagation length in iron and aluminum. The obtained values of the shear and bulk strength are comparable with computed values of the theoretical ultimate shear and tensile strength.