Optical theorem
Teorema óptico
- Date
- 1871 · confidence high
- Place
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Wolfgang Sellmeier and Lord Rayleigh
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
General law of wave scattering theory relating the zero-angle scattering amplitude to the total cross section of the scatterer, valid in both classical optics and quantum mechanics.
What it led to
- Foundation of quantum scattering theory
- Verification tool in particle physics
- Link between wave absorption and scattering