A wide range (0.32^°-177.6^°), multi-angle light scattering setup and concomitant analysis method

We describe a laboratory light scattering apparatus for aerosols based on a novel optical scheme covering the scattering angle range 0.32° ≤ θ ≤ 177.6°, from an extreme forward to the backscattering regime, involving 46 angles. Two multichannel detectors are used for nearly simultaneous detection at all angles, and inter-detector calibration methods are described. Given the extreme small angles, analysis of the data from this device requires a geometric perspective handled by plotting the scattered intensity vs the logarithm of the independent scattering variable. On the other hand, given the extreme large angles, the scattered intensity is best viewed by plotting linearly vs the independent variable. Thus, the data obtained for our new setup are plotted both logarithmically in Q-space and linearly in θ-space. The combined methods yield a comprehensive description of the scattering.