Self-excitation of surface oscillations of droplets in an electromagnetic wave field

An analysis is made of the conditions for the self-excitation of oscillations of the shape of a droplet which absorbs electromagnetic radiation. It is found that an instability involving modulation of the surface temperature of the droplet during random oscillations accompanied by changes in its shape appears in relatively weak fields of the order of 10² W/cm². Estimates are given for water droplets in a CO₂ laser radiation field.