Abstract
When a drop impacts on a liquid layer it ejects a thin horizontal sheet of liquid,
emanating from the neck region connecting the two liquid masses. Dual-frame imaging
and pulsed lasers are used to study the origin, speed and evolution of this ejecta sheet
for a range of viscosities. The initial ejecta speed can be more than 10 times the
impact velocity of the drop. Visualizations using fluorescent dye show the sheet
originating from the underlying liquid layer, not the drop liquid. The sheet undergoes
a characteristic instability, bending out of its plane and hitting the bottom layer. For
some impact conditions the sheet folds in on itself.