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English physicist who derived an equation to account for the variation of light-scattering with wavelength. 
He also developed an equation describing the distribution of wavelengths in blackbody
radiation, but it applied only to long wavelengths . Rayleigh noticed that the nitrogen in air was
more dense than that obtained from minerals. He wrote the journal Nature asking for suggestions. William
Ramsay became interested, and his experiments culminated in 1894 with the discovery of argon. Rayleigh was awarded
the Nobel Prize in 1904 in physics.
Additional biographies: MacTutor (St. Andrews)
Rayleigh, J. W. S. The Theory of Sound, Vol. 1, 2nd ed., rev. and enl. New York: Dover, 1976.
Rayleigh, J. W. S. The Theory of Sound, Vol. 2, 2nd ed., rev. and enl. New York: Dover, 1976.
© 1996-2007 Eric W. Weisstein
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