Which phenomenon is responsible for the blue color of the clear daytime sky due to the preferential scattering of shorter wavelengths of light by atmospheric gas molecules?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Rayleigh scattering occurs when electromagnetic radiation is scattered by particles whose dimensions are much smaller than the wavelength of the light, with scattering intensity inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength, favoring blue light. Mie scattering involves particle sizes comparable to light wavelengths, causing white glare from dust and water droplets in clouds. Raman scattering involves inelastic photon scattering resulting in vibrational frequency shifts. Tyndall effect describes light beam scattering by colloidal suspension particles.