Abstract

A century ago Lord Rayleigh formulated a theory of light scattering by ideal gases that not only explained the molecular origin of atmospheric scattering and the blue colour of the sky but also provided a quantitative expression for the amount of light scattered. The cross section (in cm²) is given by the well known equation: with the so-called King correction factor F_k(v) accounting for the anisotropy of nonspherical molecules. Accurate tabulations of frequency dependent Rayleigh scattering coefficients have been produced based on accurate measurements of refractive indices; predicted cross sections are considered accurate at the 1% level. These calculations have never been subjected to a laboratory test.

© 2000 IEEE