Light scattered in a direction perpendicular to the incident light is always unpolarised.True or False.Justify.
Answers
Rayleigh scattering is a subset of scattering where the incident light has a frequency that is much smaller (~10x) than the resonant frequency of the scattering atoms or molecules.
If this condition holds true then the scattered light's intensity varies as Imax*(1+(cos(theta))^2).
Where 'theta' is the angle relative to direction of the incident light. Imax is the maximum intensity in the scattered light pattern (straight on and backwards).
This equation is saying that after the scattering event the intensity of the light going straight (or directly backwards) is twice that of the light scattering to a right angle.
In real situations two funky phenomena occur that are due to the fact that Imax is not a constant but majorly dependent on material density and frequency of incident light. 1) In gases or liquids the value of Imax is spatially and temporally varying due to fluctuations of density of matter. This adds a slight randomness to the scattered light pattern.
2) the frequencies closer to the resonant frequency scatter more than lower frequencies. Thus blue scatters more than red as long as the scattering gases have resonances at higher frequencies than blue light.