Why is this interesting?
"The production of ions by evaporation of charged droplets obtained through spraying or bubbling, has been known about for centuries, but it was only fairly recently discovered that these ions may hold more than one charge. "
"Large charged droplets are produced by 'pneumatic nebulization'; i.e. the forcing of the analyte solution through a needle (see figure), at the end of which is applied a potential - the potential used is sufficiently high to disperse the emerging solution into a very fine spray of charged droplets all at the same polarity. The solvent evaporates away, shrinking the droplet size and increasing the charge concentration at the droplet's surface. Eventually, at the Rayleigh limit, Coulombic repulsion overcomes the droplet's surface tension and the droplet explodes."
Frederick
