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inigo
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I've been trying to get some insight into the light scattering mechanism that occurs in colloidal solutions via the Tyndall effect and was hoping some of the resident experts here could shed some light... on this.
Tyndall scattering occurs with particles that are roughly the size of the wavelength of light while Rayleigh scattering occurs with very small particles (< 1nm) such as O2 and N2 in the atmosphere. The Rayleigh scattering mechanism is when energy from the light wave excites the O2 or N2 electrons to a higher unstable state. When the electron returns to its lower stable state, a photon of the same frequency is released in a random direction. My question is, does this same process also happen with larger particles via Tyndall scattering or is it more like a random refraction where the light wave is simply redirected on a complex path through the particle? Blue light gets scattered more via the Rayleigh effect because it has more energy to excite the electron to a higher unstable state but does blue scatter more via the Tyndall effect due to a higher degree of refraction just due to its shorter wavelength?
Thanks!
Tyndall scattering occurs with particles that are roughly the size of the wavelength of light while Rayleigh scattering occurs with very small particles (< 1nm) such as O2 and N2 in the atmosphere. The Rayleigh scattering mechanism is when energy from the light wave excites the O2 or N2 electrons to a higher unstable state. When the electron returns to its lower stable state, a photon of the same frequency is released in a random direction. My question is, does this same process also happen with larger particles via Tyndall scattering or is it more like a random refraction where the light wave is simply redirected on a complex path through the particle? Blue light gets scattered more via the Rayleigh effect because it has more energy to excite the electron to a higher unstable state but does blue scatter more via the Tyndall effect due to a higher degree of refraction just due to its shorter wavelength?
Thanks!