The cause of characteristic lengths in scattering curves

Abstract

This work explains the cause of crossovers in the power-law structure of scattering curves for spherical and nonspherical particles. For spheres, the crossovers have been empirically correlated with length scales of the particle, e.g., radius. Here, a technique called phasor analysis will show that destructive interference within the particle causes the crossovers. Nonspherical particles will also be investigated and found to display similar behavior, and several practical implications of the crossovers will be presented.