Randall D. Knight — The Micro/Macro Connection: Problem Problem_49

Photons of light scatter off molecules, and the distance you can see through a gas is proportional to the mean free path of photons through the gas. Photons are not gas molecules, so the mean free path of a photon is not given by Equation 20.3, but its dependence on the number density of the gas and on the molecular radius is the same. Suppose you are in a smoggy city and can barely see buildings 500 m away. a. How far would you be able to see if all the molecules around you suddenly doubled in volume? b. How far would you be able to see if the temperature suddenly rose from 20°C to a blazing hot 1500°C with the pressure unchanged?