On the Light from the Sky, its Polarization and Colour
Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt). The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science 41(271), 1871, 107-120.
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The original derivation of the inverse-fourth-power wavelength dependence of scattering by particles small compared to the wavelength of light, the basis of "Rayleigh scattering" and the reason the daytime sky is blue. Read in full via the Wikisource transcription of Rayleigh's collected Scientific Papers, which reproduces the original text: "the ratio of the amplitudes of the vibrations of the scattered and incident light varies inversely as the square of the wave-length, and the intensity of the lights themselves as the inverse fourth power." Volume, issue and page range (Phil. Mag. Ser. 4, vol. 41, pp. 107-120) cross-checked against the table of contents of "Scientific Papers, Vol. 1: 1869-1881" and independent citation records; the DOI resolves (redirecting to the Taylor & Francis article page, which blocks automated fetches directly). Note this is Part I of a two-part paper; Part II continues at pp. 274-279 of the same volume and is not separately verified here.
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- Heliacal Risings
- The wavelength dependence that reddens a low star and colours the day sky; Part I, which carries the derivation, is what is cited here.