Light Scattering and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy

The miniaturization and performance improvements provided by solid state lasers, fibre optics and avalanche photodiode detectors have given a significant impulse to the use of photon correlation techniques in the study of laser scattering by macromolecular suspensions, liquid surfaces, critical fluids and turbulent liquids. The improvements can be found in experimental technique, colloids and aggregation, polymers, gels, liquid crystals and mixtures, protein solutions and dense media. Powerful new methods of inverse problems are being applied to data analysis. Much progress is being made in the study of dense media using index matching techniques, two colour systems and the theory of photon diffusion. Other notable developments are phase transitions in the space shuttle microgravity environment, quantum cryptography and the application of photon correlation at X-ray wavelengths using synchrotron sources. Audience: Postgraduate and industrial researchers interested in particle sizing and particle interactions, the physical chemistry of polymers, proteins, enzymes, viruses and other macromolecules, optical instrumentation, and experiments in space.