“…Recently, its application as an innovative method for in situ characterizing materials’ surface mechanical properties has been validated frequently. 11–36 All papers found regarding this topic used materials with strengths much larger than dozens of MPa (hereinafter defined as solid materials) such as concretes, 11 mineralized biological materials, 12–15 bulk metals, 16–28 ceramics, 29,30 stones, 31–35 and pharmaceutical tablets. 36 In almost all of these papers, the method was developed in light of the role of the shock wave in the expansion of a laser-induced plasma from a solid material after the end of a laser pulse.…”