Large impact velocities suppress the splashing of micron-sized droplets

An investigation shows that, counterintuitively, the splash of drops impacting with velocities of a few tens of meters per second is suppressed because the aerodynamic lift force that would cause the liquid film to separate from the substrate and to break into much finer droplets is inhibited. This occurs as a consequence of the fact that the thickness of the lamella becomes similar to the mean-free path of gas molecules.