  The corona splash due to the impact of a liquid drop on a smooth dry
substrate is investigated with high speed photography. A striking phenomenon is
observed: splashing can be completely suppressed by decreasing the pressure of
the surrounding gas. The threshold pressure where a splash first occurs is
measured as a function of the impact velocity and found to scale with the
molecular weight of the gas and the viscosity of the liquid. Both experimental
scaling relations support a model in which compressible effects in the gas are
responsible for splashing in liquid solid impacts.
