Open AccessScattering of light by dust-free air, with artificial reproduction of the blue sky.—Preliminary note
Author(s) -
Robert John Strutt
Publication year - 1918
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1918.0029
Subject(s) - zenith , opacity , sky , atmosphere (unit) , scattering , physics , light scattering , deep blue , luminosity , astrophysics , astronomy , optics , meteorology , chemistry , photochemistry , galaxy
It is now well established that the luminosity and blue colour of the sky on very clear days and at considerable altitudes above the sea-level can almost be accounted for by the scattering of light by the molecules of air, without postulating suspended particles of foreign matter, such as were thought necessary by the earlier writers. This conclusion depends on the measured opacity of the atmosphere, deduced from observations such as those of Abbot and Fowle of the sun’s radiation at various zenith distances. The opacities measured at Mount Wilson for different wave-lengths are found to be nearly in agreement with what would be expected if scattering by the molecules were alone operative; leaving little room for the action of larger particles.