Effect of Adsorbed Water on the Optical Transmission Properties of Isotropic Powders

Abstract

An isotropic powder immersed in a liquid of the same refractive index in monochromatic light will scatter part of the light when an adsorbed layer of different index is present on its surface. A theory is developed that relates the apparent absorption coefficient to the thickness of the adsorbed layer. Data on water adsorption on glass powders show a good agreement between theory and experiment.