Rayleigh scattering ______ with increasing frequency.

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Multiple Choice

Rayleigh scattering ______ with increasing frequency.

Explanation:
Rayleigh scattering scales very strongly with frequency because the scattered intensity is proportional to 1/λ^4. Since frequency and wavelength are inversely related (λ = c/f), increasing frequency lowers the wavelength and causes the scattering to rise roughly with the fourth power of frequency. So as frequency goes up, the amount of scattering increases dramatically. This is why higher-frequency blue light gets scattered much more than lower-frequency red light, shaping why the sky appears blue.

Rayleigh scattering scales very strongly with frequency because the scattered intensity is proportional to 1/λ^4. Since frequency and wavelength are inversely related (λ = c/f), increasing frequency lowers the wavelength and causes the scattering to rise roughly with the fourth power of frequency. So as frequency goes up, the amount of scattering increases dramatically. This is why higher-frequency blue light gets scattered much more than lower-frequency red light, shaping why the sky appears blue.

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