Lasing droplets: Highlighting the liquid-air interface by laser emission

Abstract

When dye-doped ethanol droplets are irradiated with an intense pulsed laser beam, the resulting laser emission from individual droplets highlights the liquid-air interface. Photographs of the lasing droplets in the micrometer size range taken in a single 10nanosecond laser pulse clearly show the dynamic changes in droplet size, shape, and orientation.