atmospheric scattering
Quick Summary
Rayleigh scattering is the dispersion of electromagnetic radiation by particles smaller than about one-tenth the wavelength of the radiation. This phenomenon explains why the sky appears blue: shorter, blue wavelengths of sunlight are scattered more strongly by atmospheric gas molecules than longer, red wavelengths.1
In telecommunications, radio waves propagate through the atmosphere. While atmospheric attenuation is minimal below 10 gigahertz, higher frequencies can experience losses due to absorption by gases like oxygen and water vapor, or scattering by particles like water droplets or dust. Free-space optical communication, using lasers, also faces similar challenges with beam divergence, atmospheric absorption, and scattering from haze, fog, or rain. These atmospheric effects can degrade signal quality and limit the range of telecommunication links.23
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