Assaulting ink drops for science

Studying laser-driven explosions of ink could lead to faster computers

image of laser hitting ink drop

POW  A pulse of laser light obliterates a free-falling ink drop in an image from an award-winning video in the American Physical Society’s 2014 Gallery of Fluid Motion competition.

Courtesy of H. Gelderblom & A. Klein/University of Twente

View the video

This is what it looks like when a pulse of laser light obliterates a free-falling ink drop.