  Laser ablation in liquid (LAL) is important perspective way to compose
nanoparticles (NP) necessary for modern technologies. LAL is not fully
understood. Deep understanding is necessary to optimize processes and decrease
high price of the LAL NPs.
  Today there are two groups of studies: in one of them scientists go from
analyzing of bubble dynamics (thus they proceed from the late stages), while in
another one scientists investigate early stages of ablation. In the present
paper we consider the process as whole: from ablation and up to formation of a
bubble and its inflation. Thus we cover extremely wide range of spatiotemporal
scales. We consider role of absorbed energy and duration of pulse (femtosecond,
multi-picosecond, nanosecond). Importance of supercritical states is
emphasized. Diffusive atomic and hydrodynamic mixing due to Rayleigh-Taylor
instability and their mutual interdependence are described. Liquid near contact
with metal is heated by dissipation in strong shock and due to small but finite
heat conduction in liquid; metal absorbing laser energy is hot and thus it
serves as a heater for liquid. Spatial expansion and cooling of atomically
mixed liquid and metal causes condensation of metal into NPs when pressure
drops below critical pressure for metal. Development of bubble takes place
during the next stages of decrease of pressure below critical parameters for
liquid and below ambient pressure in liquid. Thin hot layer of liquid near
contact expands in volume to many orders of magnitude filling the inflating
bubble.
