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Q.What do you understand by scattering of light?

Rajasthan RbseRajasthan Board Senior Secondary Examination 2020Subjective· 1mImportance★★★★★
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Scattering is the redirection of light in various directions by small particles in its path, rather than the light continuing to travel in a straight line.

When a beam of light passes through a medium containing fine particles (molecules, dust, water droplets) whose size is comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of light, the particles absorb the light momentarily and re-radiate it in all directions. This redirection of light is called scattering.

For particles much smaller than the wavelength of light (like air molecules), Lord Rayleigh showed that the intensity of scattered light varies as:

I∝1λ4I\propto \dfrac{1}{\lambda^4}

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