Three projectors are used to create a thin sheet of light below the sample material. Drops are produced using a drop generator and the sample is observed using a high-speed camera placed close to the generator. The splash droplets produce bright spots in the camera image when they pass through the sheet of light. The location and time at which each droplet passes the light sheet determines its velocity and orientation.

(a) Three frames (time instances) of a measured splash. The bright spots correspond to intersections of droplets with the light sheet. (b) ρ is the radial distance of the droplet from the point of impact and φ is its azimuthal angle measured from the x-axis.