Scattering of Light by Heterogeneous Spheres

Abstract

The theory for the scattering of light by homogeneous spheres satisfying the Rayleigh-Gans approximation is extended to include the effect of heterogeneous density within the spheres. These internal heterogeneities are described by a Debye-type exponential correlation function. The resulting scattering consists of a sum of two terms: one representing the homogeneous sphere scattering contribution and the second representing the additional contribution to scattered intensity arising from the internal heterogeneities. The predicted scattering patterns bear similarities to the experimentally observed scattering patterns obtained for spherulites of high polymers.