Laser ablation is a process very useful to obtain many kinds of nanoparticles, included single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The control of the process, with the aim of determining the temperature conditions during ablation, is required to previously determine the formation and dynamic of growth of nanoparticles. An analytical method to predict the ablation rate is a starting point to set up the experimental conditions, to allow the predefinition of the nanoparticles produced with laser ablation. An ablation method using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser was carried out to ablate a target of graphite, which was irradiated with a laser energy density of 10 J/cm(2) at a temperature of 1,273 K under a controlled atmosphere of Ar. The ablation rate and the heat conduction in the target were studied through an appropriate heat balance method that offers an analytical solution and seems to be very appropriate to describe the ablation conditions. The predictions of ablation rate are in very good agreement with the experimental data.