Difference between revisions 439156649 and 439158026 on enwiki

{{mMerge  from|Scattering (optics)|date=July 2011}}
'''Light scattering''' is a form of [[scattering]] in which [[light]] is the form of propagating energy which is scattered. Light scattering can be thought of as the deflection of a [[ray (optics)|ray]] from a straight path, for example by irregularities in the propagation [[optical medium|medium]], [[light scattering by particles|particles]], or in the interface between two media. Deviations from the [[law of reflection]] due to irregularities on a surface are also usually considered to be a form of scattering. When these irregularities are considered to be random and dense enough that their individual effects average out, this kind of scattered reflection is commonly referred to as [[diffuse reflection]].

Most objects that one sees are visible due to light scattering from their surfaces. Indeed, this is our primary mechanism of physical observation.<ref name="z">{{cite journal
|author=Kerker, M.
|title=The Scattering of Light
|publisher= Academic
|location=New York
|year=1909
|isbn=0124045502
}}</ref><ref name="y">{{cite journal
|author=Mandelstam, L.I.
|title=Light Scattering by Inhomogeneous Media
|journal=Zh. Russ. Fiz-Khim. Ova.
|volume=58  
|page=381
|year=1926
}}</ref>  
Scattering of light depends on the [[wavelength]] or [[frequency]] of the light being scattered. Since visible light has wavelength on the order of a [[micrometre|micron]], objects much smaller than this cannot be seen, even with the aid of a microscope. Colloidal particles as small as 1&nbsp;µm have been observed directly in aqueous suspension.<ref>{{cite book|author=van de Hulst, H.C.|title=Light scattering by small particles|location=New York|publisher= Dover|year= 1981|isbn=0486642283}}</r(contracted; show full)

*Glassy structure: Scattering centers include fluctuations in density and/or composition.

*Microstructure: Scattering centers include internal surfaces in liquids due largely to density fluctuations, and microstructural defects in solids such as grains, grain boundaries, and microscopic pores.

''In the process of light scattering, the most critical factor is the length scale of any or all of these structural features relative to the wavelength of the light being scattered.''
  

An extensive review of light scattering in fluids has covered most of the mechanisms which contribute to the spectrum of scattered light in liquids, including density, anisotropy, and concentration fluctuations.<ref>Boon, J.P. and Fleury, P.A., ''The Spectrum of Light Scattered by Fluids'', Adv. Chem Phys. XXIV, Eds. Prigogine and Rice (Academic Press, New York, 1973)</ref> Thus, the study of light scattering by thermally driven density fluctuations (or [[Brillouin scatteri(contracted; show full)ion begin to fluctuate over increasingly large length scales. As the length scale of the density fluctuations approaches the wavelength of light, the light is scattered and causes the normally transparent fluid to appear cloudy.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ostrowski, N. in Cummins, H.Z. and Pike, E.R., Eds.|title=Photon Correlation and Light Beating Spectroscopy|publisher=Plenum Press|isbn=0306357038|year=1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Demoulin, C., Montrose, C.J. and Ostrowsky, N.,
  
|title=Structural Relaxation by Digital Correlation Spectroscopy
|journal=Phys. Rev. A
|volume=9
|page=1740
|year=1974
|doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.9.1740
|bibcode = 1974PhRvA...9.1740D }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
(contracted; show full)
[[Category:Glass physics]]
[[Category:Scattering]]
[[Category:Scattering, absorption and radiative transfer (optics)]]

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