• DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-87357-7_1
• Corpus ID: 55405891

Light Scattering with Laser Sources

@inproceedings{Porto1969LightSW,
  title={Light Scattering with Laser Sources},
  author={Sergio P. S. Porto},
  year={1969}
}

• S. Porto
• Published 1969
• Physics

When light passes through matter weak random scattered radiation appears. In the early 16th Century, Leonardo da Vinci prophetically suggested scattering by particles of air as the explanation for the blueness of the sky. This idea was pursued by many scientists including Newton and Tyndall who tried with only limited success to identify the particles responsible for the scattering. Lord Rayleigh[1] following a suggestion by Maxwell, finally proved that the air molecules themselves were responsible for the blueness of the sky. After three centuries of thought, a correct and unambiguous explanation to all known properties of scattering—frequency dependence, critical opalescence, index of refraction, etc. —became a reality. Then came the anti-climax that usually follows the insertion of the last jagged piece in a jig-saw puzzle: most physicists turned their attention elsewhere.