Polarized light scattering from metal surfaces

The stretching and bending of polished and industrial-grade metallurgical surfaces changes the appearance of the specimen’s surface. The changes in surface structure can be detected in the polarized light scattered from the surface cracks and other defects, which act as scattering centers. In order to interpret light scattering signals from complex surfaces, we first examine the nature of light scattered from a perfect mirror surface, a degraded mirror, a line on a mirror, a randomly sanded surface, and, finally, the industrial grade metal surfaces damaged by stretching and bending.