Relationships between inhomogeneities of an internal optical field in an illuminated drop and its explosion

The results are given of a calculation of the distribution of an optical field inside a weakly absorbing sphere with Mie parameters ρ = 50–520 illuminated with a plane monochromatic wave. The results are also given of an experimental investigation confirming the existence of inhomogeneities of an optical field in an illuminated drop. The experiments indicate that the appearance and growth of vapor bubbles in regions with higher energy density cause an explosion in a weakly absorbing drop.