Electric field distribution of a laser-irradiated water droplet. The intense laser (from left) heats plasma electrons, leading to a field that accelerates protons from the droplet surface.

From the article:

Directional Laser-Driven Ion Acceleration from Microspheres
T. Sokollik, M. Schnürer, S. Steinke, P. V. Nickles, W. Sandner, M. Amin, T. Toncian, O. Willi, and A. A. Andreev
Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 135003 (2009)

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