Brillouin Scattering by Gases as a Test of the Boltzmann Equation

Abstract
The frequency distribution of monochromatic light scattered by a gas is proposed as an experimental test of kinetic theory away from the hydrodynamic regime. The phenomenon is closely analogous to high-frequency sound propagation and is governed by the same linearized Boltzmann equation. The problem can be posed as an initial value problem in an infinite medium. The exact numerical solutions for Maxwell molecules of the preceding paper give an estimate of the results to be expected.