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.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Dean S. Langley and Michael J. Morrell
Appl. Opt. 30(24) 3459-3467 (1991)
Dean S. Langley and Philip L. Marston
Appl. Opt. 30(24) 3452-3458 (1991)
James A. Lock, J. Michael Jamison, and Chih-Yang Lin
Appl. Opt. 33(21) 4677-4690 (1994)