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Gravity between Spherical Bodies01:27

Gravity between Spherical Bodies

Newton's law of gravitation describes the gravitational force between any two point masses. However, for extended spherical objects like the Earth, the Moon, and other planets, the law holds with an assumption that masses of spherical objects are concentrated at their respective centers.
This assumption can be proved easily by showing that the expression for gravitational potential energy between a hollow sphere of mass (M) and a point mass (m) is the same as it would be for a pair of extended...
Gravitation Between Spherically Symmetric Masses01:14

Gravitation Between Spherically Symmetric Masses

The gravitational potential energy between two spherically symmetric bodies can be calculated from the masses and the distance between the bodies, assuming that the center of mass is concentrated at the respective centers of the bodies.
Interference and Diffraction02:18

Interference and Diffraction

Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.
Gauss's Law: Spherical Symmetry01:26

Gauss's Law: Spherical Symmetry

A charge distribution has spherical symmetry if the density of charge depends only on the distance from a point in space and not on the direction. In other words, if the system is rotated, it doesn't look different. For instance, if a sphere of radius R is uniformly charged with charge density ρ0, then the distribution has spherical symmetry. On the other hand, if a sphere of radius R is charged so that the top half of the sphere has a uniform charge density ρ1 and the bottom half has a uniform...
Spherical Coordinates01:23

Spherical Coordinates

Spherical coordinate systems are preferred over Cartesian, polar, or cylindrical coordinates for systems with spherical symmetry. For example, to describe the surface of a sphere, Cartesian coordinates require all three coordinates. On the other hand, the spherical coordinate system requires only one parameter: the sphere's radius. As a result, the complicated mathematical calculations become simple. Spherical coordinates are used in science and engineering applications like electric and...
Cluster Sampling Method01:20

Cluster Sampling Method

Appropriate sampling methods ensure that samples are drawn without bias and accurately represent the population. Because measuring the entire population in a study is not practical, researchers use samples to represent the population of interest.
To choose a cluster sample, divide the population into clusters (groups) and then randomly select some of the clusters. All the members from these clusters are in the cluster sample. For example, if you randomly sample four departments from your...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
11:34

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Published on: July 1, 2019

Coherent backscattering by two-sphere clusters.

M I Mishchenko

    Optics Letters
    |October 31, 2009
    PubMed
    Summary

    Researchers demonstrate coherent backscattering in simple two-sphere systems. This effect, previously seen in large random media, is now observed in minimal scattering systems for the first time.

    Area of Science:

    • Physics
    • Optics
    • Computational Electromagnetics

    Background:

    • Coherent backscattering is a well-known phenomenon in disordered media.
    • It arises from constructive interference of light waves scattered multiple times.
    • Previous observations required large ensembles of scatterers.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate coherent backscattering in simplified scattering systems.
    • To determine if minimal configurations of scatterers can exhibit this effect.
    • To numerically verify the analogous behavior in two-sphere systems.

    Main Methods:

    • Solving Maxwell's equations using rigorous numerical methods.
    • Simulating light scattering from two interacting, wavelength-sized spheres.
    • Analyzing the scattering patterns to identify backscattering enhancement.

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    Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

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    Main Results:

    • Demonstrated a coherent backscattering effect in a system of two interacting spheres.
    • The observed effect is analogous to that in optically thick, random media.
    • This is the first reported observation in such a simple scattering system.

    Conclusions:

    • Simple, two-scatterer systems can exhibit complex optical phenomena like coherent backscattering.
    • Numerical solutions of Maxwell's equations are effective for studying wave phenomena in small systems.
    • This finding opens new avenues for exploring wave interference in controlled scattering environments.