Scattering

The process in which a beam of light is diffused or deflected by collisions with particles suspended in the atmosphere.

The process in which a beam of light is diffused or deflected by collisions with particles suspended in the atmosphere.

The diversion of radiation, including radio, radar, thermal, and nuclear, from its original path as a result of interactions (or collisions) with atoms, molecules, or larger particles in the atmosphere or other medium between the source of the radiations (e.g., a nuclear explosion) and a point at some distance away. As a result of scattering, radiation (especially gamma rays and neutrons) will be received at such a point from many directions instead of only from the direction of the source.

Of a wave propagating in a material medium, a phenomenon in which the direction, frequency, or polarization of the wave is changed when the wave encounters discontinuities in the medium, or interacts with the material at the atomic or molecular level. Note: Scattering results in a disordered or random change in the incident energy distribution.