Light scattering and absorption by small homogeneous particles can be worked-out exactly for spheres and infinite cylinders. Homogeneous particles of irregular shapes, when averaged with respect to rotation, have effects that can in general be well-approximated by reference to results for these two idealised cases. Likewise, small inhomogeneous particles have effects similar to homogeneous particles of the same average refractive index. Thus most problems can be solved to a satisfactory approximation by reference to the exact solutions for spheres and cylinders, which are fully stated here in...

This volume contains papers presented at an international conference to celebrate Fred Hoyle's monumental contributions to astronomy, astrophysics and astrobiology and more generally to humanity and culture. The contributed articles highlight the important aspects of his scientific life and show how much of an example and inspiration he has been for over three generations in the 20th century.
There are a few people of whom it could be said they changed the way we perceive the world. Galileo Galilei, Nicholas Copernicus and Isaac Newton were amongst these. The inclusion of Fred Hoyle in...

This volume contains papers presented at an international conference to celebrate Fred Hoyle's monumental contributions to astronomy, astrophysics and astrobiology and more generally to humanity and culture. The contributed articles highlight the important aspects of his scientific life and show how much of an example and inspiration he has been for over three generations in the 20th century.
There are a few people of whom it could be said they changed the way we perceive the world. Galileo Galilei, Nicholas Copernicus and Isaac Newton were amongst these. The inclusion of Fred Hoyle in...

The problem of the composition of cosmic dust grains has stubbornly defied solution for over half a century. A succession of models have been proposed and their properties worked out for comparison with an ever-expanding body of relevant observational data. The authors began their pioneering work in this field in the 1960s by challenging the then popular ice grain theory. Most controversially they later hypothesised that condensed organic matter in the galaxy is of biological origin, thus linking an old astronomical problem with the question of the origin of terrestrial life. In this book the...

Living material contains about twenty different sorts of atom combined into a set of relatively simple molecules. Astrobiologists tend to believe that abiotic mater ial will give rise to life in any place where these molecules exist in appreciable abundances and where physical conditions approximate to those occurring here on Earth. We think this popular view is wrong, for it is not the existence of the building blocks of life that is crucial but the exceedingly complicated structures in which they are arranged in living forms. The probability of arriving at biologically significant...

Over the past decade the study of the formation and properties of interstellar grains has assumed a growing importance, going much beyond what might have been guessed only a few years ago. It has come to be understood that grains playa role in processes other than the simple absorption and scattering of starlight, which was all that the astronomers of a generation aga considered to be their relevance. Grains indeed playa critical role in controlling the temperature, composition, and states of aggregation of the whole interstellar medium. Among the still mysterious problems is the origin of...