Bubbston-cluster structure under conditions of optical breakdown in a liquid

Earlier information on the bubbston-cluster structure of a liquid ('bubbston' is a stable microscopic gas bubble) is used in an analysis of two regimes of the optical breakdown of transparent liquids: steady-state and sporadic. Characteristic features of the sporadic breakdown regime are used to propose a new concept and to carry out measurements of the threshold intensity for the optical breakdown of a transparent liquid. It is shown that the temperature dependence of this intensity has a maximum and its dependence on the concentration of the dissolved electrolyte has a minimum.