Effects of asphericity on single particle scattering

Light scattered by single particles is frequently measured to determine particle volume. The particle is illuminated by a light beam; it scatters to one or more photodetectors. Usually no consideration has been given to effects of particle shape. This study applies recently developed theoretical techniques for predicting scattering by spheroids in order to compare representative scattered fluxes for several particle shapes and orientations. It is found that shape and orientation can strongly influence the measurement of whole particle size. The effects of refractive index are also found to be significant but smaller.