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physical phenomena > event > atomic process > collision > scattering > Rayleigh scattering

Rayleigh scattering comparison table

Subject	is a kind of	has definition
scattering	radiation direction modification	The process whereby light is absorbed and reemitted in all directions, with essentially no change in frequency. Scattering by free electrons was the dominant source of opacity in the early universe.
Rayleigh scattering	scattering	Selective scattering (i.e., preferential scattering of shorter wavelengths) of light by very small particles suspended in the Earth's atmosphere, or by molecules of the air itself. The scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength.

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