Elastic and inelastic scattering

When light passes through a rarefied gas, it is scattered by the gas molecules.


 * Flexible dispersion – occurs on particles significantly smaller than the wavelength of light, scattered light retains its original wavelength,


 * Inelastic scattering – on particles comparable to the wavelength of light, scattered light has a different wavelength in different directions.

The intensity of scattered light is inversely proportional to the fourth power of its wavelength, i.e. the sky appears blue to us because the shortwave radiation has the greatest intensity. If the atmosphere contains more large particles (dust), all components of light are scattered equally and the sky is 'white.

At dawn, the path of the sun's rays is the longest and is therefore most affected by scattering. At this moment, the ``red light'' passes best (directly) through the atmosphere.

Related articles

 * Electromagnetic spectrum
 * Visible light
 * Infrared radiation
 * Ultraviolet radiation (biophysics)