General Theory of a Quantitative Method of Optical Patternation

摘要

A general theory of a method to quantitatively perform optical patternation in a particle field is developed. The general equations of optical radiation are considered, along with general methods of probing the particle field with illuminating light and general methods of performing the required measurements, in order to determine the assumptions, approximations, and conditions under which various kinds of measurements can be performed. Under conditions which exist in many practical applications, it is found that the capabilities of modern optical instrumentation allow the spatial distribution of various properties of a particle field such as particle volume or surface area concentrations to be measured, even when the measurement is complicated by attenuation of the illuminating light, attenuation of the signal light, and secondary emission. The measurements can be performed in fully three dimensional form or within a single two dimensional plane, and under certain conditions can be performed even when the particles are not spherical.