Attenuation of light by wood smoke

On the basis of experimental observations of the optical properties of wood smoke particles in bulk and in their natural form as spherical droplets, it is shown theoretically that the attenuation of light by wood smoke results mainly from scattering by the droplets, the effects of absorption being negligible. Other experimental observations on the effective optical density of wood smoke up to high mass concentrations lead to a calculation of the mean effective radius of the wood smoke particles. The Lambert-Beer law appears to hold over the whole experimental range, in accordance with a theoretical estimate of its limits of validity for the conditions used.