Laser-induced plasma thumbnail
Laser-induced plasma

Laser-induced plasma on an acoustically levitated water drop. A 4-microliter water drop is levitated at the center of an acoustic cavity made by two arrays of compact ultrasonic transducers (cylinders at the top and bottom of the image). A laser pulse is fired and focused from left to right to hit the droplet and induce a plasma (white light).

—Victor Contreras, UNAM,  Cuernavaca, Mexico