Physics Faculty Publications

Rainbow-enhanced forward glory from fused-silica spheres

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-20-1994

Disciplines

Physics

Abstract

A tertiary rainbow enchances the forward glory scattering from a fused-silica sphere because of its refractive index m ≈ 1.465. The scattered light contains a strong cross-polarized component and varies rapidly in brightness with changes in m. In experiments m is varied by the use of a range of argon and dye laser wavelengths. The forward cross-polarized scattering is found to be in agreement with Mie theory calculations. A reflective coating on small areas around the equator and polar caps of the sphere increases the forward scattering by a factor of ∼180.

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