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Lane Martin

2007 U.S. Student

Advisor: Aristide Dogariu

"Determining Aspect Ratios of Microscopic Particles Through Polarization Measurements"

Current methods for determining aspect ratios and shapes of particles suspeded in a liquid involve the realization of a complete light scattering pattern and futher theoretical modeling. This is often unsuitable for onthe- fly work that would be benificial in a hospital setting. A new method of using polarimetric measurements radiation scattered off nonspherical particles to determine statistical aspect ratios of particles is discussed here. This method relies on the particles aligning themselves in a flowing fluid and scattering incident circularly polarized radiation such that the polarization becomes elliptical with the long axis matching the long axis of the particle. Then, the degree of circularly polarized scattered light can be measured and related to the aspect ratio of the scatterer. ...full text