The features of scattered and transmitted light by dilute suspensions of transparent submicron particles are investigated both in the spectral and in the perceived colorimetric domains, as a function of effective particle diameter $D$, particle-host refractive-index mismatch $m$, and scattering angle $\theta$. Our results show that the wavelength $\lambda$-dependence of the scattering and extinction cross sections remains quite similar well beyond the Rayleigh regime up to particle sizes of a few hundreds nm, but only for specific scattering angles that depend on $D$ and $m$, and tend to 90° on approaching the Rayleigh regime. Close to this limit ($D/\lambda \ll 1$), a simple criterion that relates the perceived scattering color at $\theta =90°$ and the ratio of the sample extinction coefficients at two properly selected wavelengths is demonstrated. A comparison between computed and measured data is presented.

© 2012 Optical Society of America

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