Production of long micrometer jets of weakly viscoelastic liquids.
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We experimentally study the effect of weak viscoelasticity on the performance of transonic flow focusing. We found that for solutions of low molecular weight polymers, there is a concentration range for which transonic flow focusing triggers the coil-stretch transition of the polymeric molecules. The resulting elastic stresses stabilize the meniscus allowing to reduce flow rate and to produce jets much thinner and longer than the Newtonian counterparts.