Abstract

A description is given of the design and construction of two instruments for studying atmospheric optics. One device, the Recording Polar Nephelometer, measures the volume scattering index of light passing through a sample of natural atmosphere, with scattering angle, polarization, and wavelength as variables. A new calibration procedure has been developed which employs a diffusing screen of known reflectance and transmittance as the standard. The second device, the Portable Transmissometer, measures the extinction coefficient with an accuracy of 5% under all conditions. These instruments are transported by a specially-equipped station wagon to form a mobile research unit. Samples of results obtained in fog and clear air are included.

© 1960 Optical Society of America

Double-Passed Two-Beam Interferometers

P. Hariharan and D. Sen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(4) 357-361 (1960)

Spectral Radiance of Sky and Terrain at Wavelengths between 1 and 20 Microns. I. Instrumentation*

Robert A. Oetjen, Ely E. Bell, James Young, and Leonard Eisner
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(12) 1308-1313 (1960)

Scattering Function for Fogs

Domina Eberle Spencer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(6) 584-585 (1960)

Transmittance Measurements with an Interference Microscope

Charles J. Koester, Harold Osterberg, and Herbert E. Willman
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(5) 477-482 (1960)

On the Limiting Sensitivity of the Star Test for Optical Instruments

W. T. Welford
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50(1) 21-23 (1960)