Abstract: The reflection and diffraction of a planar shock wave around a circularcylinder is a typical problem of the complex nonlinear shock wave phenomena in literature. It has long been studied experimentally, analytically as well as numerically. Takayama in 1987 obtained clear experimental pictures of isopycnics in shock tube under the condition that the impinging shock wave propagates as far as 3 diameters away from the cylinder. To know more completely the whole unsteady process, it is desirable to get experime...