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Optics

A time-resolved glimpse of the terahertz glory

Nature volume 391, pages 841–842 (1998)Cite this article

Over 50 years ago, Van de Hulst2 explained glory scattering in terms of optical waves travelling around the surface of the droplet, which radiate weakly focused toroidal wavefronts back in the direction of the observer. The theory is well developed3 but is difficult to test experimentally.

The authors fired electromagnetic pulses of 0.1 to 1 THz (with a spectral peak at a wavelength of about 1 mm) at a 6.35-mm-diameter alumina sphere1. The radiation was generated by transient excitation of a dipole antenna with a short optical pulse from a laser. Another optoelectronic system, illuminated by a delayed laser pulse, allowed time-resolved reception of the scattered signal. By changing the delay time, glory rays were separated from the weaker (and less interesting) direct reflections, and the spectrum of the glory could be isolated. The measured spectral contributions were consistent with theoretical models that attribute glory backscattering to the superposition of surface waves.

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Figure 1: Optical glory: the small droplets of water in the mist backscatter the light to produce the coloured ring around the photographer's shadow.
Figure 2: Ray diagrams of the principal contributions to the optical glory: a, a small, spherical drop of water (refractive index 1.33), and b, a dielectric sphere made of alumina (refractive index of 3.12).

References

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  1. the Department of Physics, Washington State University, Pullman, 99164-2814, Washington, USA

    Philip L. Marston

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  1. Philip L. Marston
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Marston, P. A time-resolved glimpse of the terahertz glory. Nature 391, 841–842 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/35984

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