Scattering theory incremental

The output of the disk centrifuge, a curve of optical density versus time, can be converted to a particle size distribution by using Stokes law to convert the time axis to a size axis and by the application of light-scattering theory to calculate the particle frequencies from the optical densities. As described herein, one obtains mass distributions with linear size increments or the equivalent area distributions with logarithmic increments. 

Gelbart (1974) has reviewed a number of theories of the origins of the depolarized spectrum. One of the simplest models is the isolated binary collision (IBC) model of McTague and Bimbaum (1968). All effects due to the interaction of three or more particles are ignored, and the scattering is due only to diatomic collision processes. In the case that the interacting particles A and B are atoms or highly symmetrical molecules then there are only two unique components of the pair polarizability tensor, and attention focuses on the anisotropy and the incremental mean pair polarizability... 

The various physical methods in use at present involve measurements, respectively, of osmotic pressure, light scattering, sedimentation equilibrium, sedimentation velocity in conjunction with diffusion, or solution viscosity. All except the last mentioned are absolute methods. Each requires extrapolation to infinite dilution for rigorous fulfillment of the requirements of theory. These various physical methods depend basically on evaluation of the thermodynamic properties of the solution (i.e., the change in free energy due to the presence of polymer molecules) or of the kinetic behavior (i.e., frictional coefficient or viscosity increment), or of a combination of the two. Polymer solutions usually exhibit deviations from their limiting infinite dilution behavior at remarkably low concentrations. Hence one is obliged not only to conduct the experiments at low concentrations but also to extrapolate to infinite dilution from measurements made at the lowest experimentally feasible concentrations. 

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