Title: Ion-impact-induced multifragmentation of liquid droplets,
Abstract: An instability of a liquid droplet traversed by an energetic ion is explored.
This instability is brought about by the predicted shock wave induced by the
ion. An observation of multifragmentation of small droplets traversed by ions
with high linear energy transfer is suggested to demonstrate the existence of
shock waves. A number of effects are analysed in effort to find the conditions
for such an experiment to be signifying. The presence of shock waves crucially
affects the scenario of radiation damage with ions since the shock waves
significantly contribute to the thermomechanical damage of biomolecules as well
as the transport of reactive species. While the scenario has been upheld by
analyses of biological experiments, the shock waves have not yet been observed
directly, regardless of a number of ideas of experiments to detect them were
exchanged at conferences.