•Materials scatter light at wavelengths at which they do
not absorb
•If we consider the
visible spectrum to be 350-850 nm then small particles (< 1/10 l) scatter rather
than absorb light
•For small particles (molecular up to sub micron) the Rayleigh scatter
intensity at 0o and 180o are about the
same
•For larger particles (i.e. size from 1/4 to tens of wavelengths) larger amounts of scatter occur in the forward not the side
scatter direction - this is
called Mie Scatter (after Gustav Mie) - this is how we come up with forward scatter be related to size
•