Question

Why is red light scattered the least?

Answer 1

Hint:Scattering occurs when energy waves (such as light, sound, and different electromagnetic waves) deviate from a straight path due to flaws in the medium. Scattering is distinguished by the fact that the wave energy is often diverted in various directions that are difficult to predict or calculate. Consider the sun beaming on you through a thin layer of clouds as an example of simple scattering. The sun's light is attenuated so that it does not directly touch you. This is because as the sun shines through the clouds, its light is diffused and only a portion of it reaches you.


 Complete step by step solution:
Light is dispersed by tiny air particles as it enters the atmosphere. Light scattering is proportional to the wavelength's fourth power. Because red light has the longest wavelength of all visible light colors, it is the least dispersed.
Explanation:
Red light may not always scatter less.
It scatters similarly to every other color from clouds, snow, white powders, water bubbles, and anything else with scattering centers greater than a wavelength of light.
But, in the case of smoke particles or air molecules, they are too small to scatter light. (By a long shot.) They disperse light with a low probability and a tiny amount of scatter. However, the higher the chance of scattering, the closer the wavelength is to the size of the scattering particles.
For example, a shorter wavelength, such as blue light (\[450\] nm), can feel the effect of a small particle more than a longer wavelength, such as red light (\[650\] nm). Blue light is deflected by the particle by an arc second, but the red light is deflected by only \[0.2\] arc second. When there are enough particles in the sky, you will see that blue is scattered more than red.

Note:Scattering techniques can average over a significantly larger number of particles than direct approaches, and so provide far better quantitative measurements of the average structural and dynamical features of materials. Scattering techniques operate best when the wavelength of the radiation is about equal to the size of the structures that scatter the light. Consider the intensity of the light dispersed by two particles within the scattering volume to grasp the basic concept underlying light scattering.