The path of light
Leipzig. From June 22 to June 26 2015 scientists from all over the world meet at the 15th Electromagnetic & Light Scattering Conference ELS XV.
Scattering of light at particles is a fundamental physical problem with a very broad range of applications from astrophysics to cell biology. In 2015 the triennial top conference on "light research" is organised and run by the Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS). The subject areas cover purest basic research on the theory of light propagation, remote sensing of surfaces, aerosols and clouds, laboratory and field measurements of light propagation, multiple scattering in planetary atmospheres, biomedical applications as well as light scattering at asteroids, meteoroids and other interplanetary objects. The theoretical basis to explore light scattering has been provided by the English scholar James Clerk Maxwell 150 years ago. For that treason the conference is also dedicated to the history of research on light from Maxwell until today.
The fact that we obtain information by our eyes, that we explore the climate of our planet from satellite or that we investigate the past of our universe in the deep sky, is possible due to the propagation of light. It gets especially interesting when light resp. electromagnetic waves are scattered at particles. That way we recognize for example clouds and haze in the atmosphere by scattering of sun light at tiny spherical water droplets and aerosols. But there are much more complex particles shapes, not only in the atmosphere, but also in many application fields like in telecommunication, in material research, medicine, astrophysics and many more.
In order to better understand how scattering of light can be modelled and measured either in the laboratory or in the field, about 120 leading scientists from all over the world meet at the 15th "Electromagnetic & Light Scattering (ELS) in Leipzig, again Germany after 2003.
Since its foundation in 1992 TROPOS intensively deals with light scattering at atmospheric particles especially for the optical measurements of air quality and for the remote sensing of clouds and aerosols with lidar systems. TROPOS is a world-leading Institute on both fields. Also for that reason the choice to organize the ELS 2015 went to TROPOS. "We are happy to host this triennial and most important international conference on the field of light scattering. The 15th ELS will also provide interesting discussions and stimulations for our future work", says Prof. Andreas Macke, Director of TROPOS and organizer of the ELS 2015.
In this year, non-spherical and inhomogeneous particles like atmospheric ice crystals, mineral dust or interplanetary dust particles play a central role. New methods to simulate light scattering at these particles as well as new remote sensing techniques to retrieve these particles will be presented. But also aspects like scattering of sun light at the moons of Saturn or laser-based measurements of red blood cells are part of the broad range of topics at the 15th Electromagnetic and Light Scattering Conference
Conference:
15. Electromagnetic & Light Scattering Conference ELS XV(22 - 26 June 2015 in Leipzig)http://www.els-xv-2015.net/home.html
The ELS XV is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), Elsevier as well the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS).
Provided by Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS)