23.3

Rayleigh Scattering

Chapter 23
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You’re explaining to a friend why the sky is blue. They say, ‘It’s because the ocean reflects blue light upward.’ You know the real answer involves scattering of sunlight by air molecules.

By what factor does blue light (λ ≈ 450 nm) scatter more strongly than red light (λ ≈ 650 nm) in the atmosphere?