Density fluctuations and the color of the sky

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SUMMARY

The color of the sky is primarily explained by Rayleigh scattering, which requires density fluctuations of atmospheric particles. The density function is represented as $$\rho(\mathbf r)=\sum_i \delta(\mathbf r-\mathbf r_i)$$, indicating that even with ordered atoms, significant deviations in density can still result in blue light scattering. The discussion emphasizes that the fluctuations in atomic density are inherent, suggesting that correlation among atom positions is not necessary for the blue color of the sky to manifest.

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  • Understanding of Rayleigh scattering principles
  • Familiarity with atomic density functions
  • Knowledge of statistical mechanics
  • Basic grasp of light scattering phenomena
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pines-demon
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From posts like this I get that the color of the sky is explained by Rayleigh scattering, but needs density fluctuations. However as atoms are not uniform and are localized, the density is
$$\rho(\mathbf r)=\sum_i \delta(\mathbf r-\mathbf r_i)$$
where ##i## sums over all the atom positions ##\mathbf r_i##. So even if the atoms were ordered and not moving in any way, the average of the density is very different from its deviations, that can be quite large (because there are deltas), and one would still have blue light scattering. Right? The fluctuations are already a given due to the form of the density.


Or do the position of the atoms needs to be correlated but disordered in order for the sky to be blue?
 
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