When one applies a sufficiently large electrical field normal to the surface of a conducting liquid the fluid rises in a spout to form a jet leaving the surface. Using high-speed photography, we have studied the development of this electrohydrodynamical spout and found that its curvature and height can be scaled with respect to a critical time indicating the presence of a critical point in the dynamics underlying the instability.

• Received 24 January 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.1234