Scattering and Absorption of Light by Small Particles

The energy scattered by a particle is proportional to the incident intensity 

Conservation of energy requires that the light removed from the incident beam by the particle is accounted for by scattering in all directions and absorption in the particle. The combined effect of scattering and absorption is referred to as extinction, and an extinction cross section (Cext) can be defined by 

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics From Air Pollution to Climate Change, Second Edition, by John H. Seinfeld and Spyros N. Pandis. Copyright (g) 2006 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

The ratio of Qscat to Gext is called the single-scattering albedo. 

Thus the fraction of light extinction that is scattered by a particle is to, and the fraction absorbed is 1 — co. 

---

Bohren, C., Huffman, D. Scattering and Absorption of Light by Small Particles. Wiley, New York (1981)... 

Miishchenko MI, Travis LD, Lads AA. Scattering, absorption, and emission of light by small particles. E ed, Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2002 480pp. 

M. I. Mishchenko, L. D. Travis, and A. A. L,acis (2002). Scattering, Absorption, and Emission of Light by Small Particles (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge). 

C. F. Bohren and D. R- Huffman. Absorption and Scattering of Light by Small Particles. John Wiley Sons, New York, 1983. Parts 1 and 2 describe the theory of the scattering problem in some detail. Part 3 compares theory with experiment. 

Bohren, C. F., and D. R. Huffman. 1983. Absorption and scattering of light by small particles. Wiley-Interscience. 

---