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Extinction paradox

In the small wavelength limit, the total scattering cross-section of an impenetrable sphere is twice its geometrical cross-sectional area (which is the value obtained in classical mechanics). Several explanations for this phenomenon have been proposed:

destructive interference inside particle shadow diffraction and shadowing of light by particle superposition of incident and scattered field cancellation of incident wave inside particle

References

Tags

  • Paradoxes
  • Physics stubs