Rayleigh Atmosphere

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Rayleigh Atmosphere

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An idealized atmosphere consisting of only those particles, such as molecules, that are smaller than about one-tenth the wavelength of all radiation incident upon that atmosphere. In such an atmosphere, simple Rayleigh scattering would prevail. </dd>
This model atmosphere is amenable to reasonably complete theoretical treatment, and hence has often served as a useful starting point in description of the optical properties of actual atmospheres. The polarization of skylight, for example, exhibits almost none of the complexities found in the real atmosphere. [[/a>|/a> ]]

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use