Author Description

Geared toward upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, this text introduces the interdisciplinary area of laser light scattering. It focuses chiefly on quasielastic laser scattering, discussing theoretical concepts at a realistic level. Some background in the physical sciences is assumed, but the opening chapters offer a brief review of classical electricity and magnetism as well as the general scattering theory. Topics include basic theoretical concepts related to light mixing spectroscopy, characteristics of the Fabry-Perot interferometer, and photon-counting fluctuations. The author, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry at Stony Brook University, discusses experimental methods, including setting up a light scattering spectrometer using digital photon-counting and correlation techniques. Subsequent chapters explore applications to macromolecular systems, anemometry and its utility in reaction kinetics, and critical opalescence. References appear throughout the text.