The
scattering of electromagnetic radiation by spherical particles of any
size

, relative to the
wavelength,

.
Since the cases

and

are covered by Rayleigh (dipole)
scattering and geometric
scattering theories, respectively, Mie
scattering often refers to the case of

.
Source:
PAC, 1990, 62, 2167
(Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990))
on page 2202
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by
A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic,
J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.