The Importance of Media Refractive Index in Evaluating Liquid and Surface Microcontamination Measurements

This work describes the results of theoretical and laboratory studies of the effects of media refractive index on the amount of light scattered by particles. The media examined include liquids and surfaces. Exact solutions are given for a number of microcontaminant/liquid binaries. Approximate solutions are given for scattering by surfaceborne contaminants. The results of this study suggest methods of limiting errors associated with both liquidborne and surfaceborne microcontaminants.