Re: [Phys-L] color of the sky

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 9/24/24 10:41 PM, bernard cleyet via Phys-l wrote:
> IIRC, max. scattering is when the scatterer is ~ the size of the optical
> wave length.  So a single molecule of N2 or O2 is much too small.

Much depends on what you mean by "the" scatterer.
Sure, the molecules are small, but they are very numerous.
If they scatter coherently, the effect can be very large.

This is discussed in detail in remark 4 here:

https://www.av8n.com/physics/blue-sky.htm#sec-remarks

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More generally, that article discusses in gory detail
"Why the Sky is Blue"