Light scattering by densely packed systems of particles: near-field effects

The phenomenon of scattering and absorption of electromagnetic waves is actively used in many fields of science and engineering. Among them, there are the remotesensing techniques for studying different objects and testing the quality of materials. They are extensively used in such areas as radio physics and radiolocation (to study radio-wave propagation and the properties of different objects (Ishimaru, 1978; Bass and Fuks, 1979; Tsang and Kong, 2001; Tsang et al., 2000, 2001)), optics of the atmosphere and ocean, in climatology and ecology (McCartney, 1976; Quinby-Hunt et al., 2000; Mishchenko et al., 2006), and biophysics and optics of solutions and colloids (for sorting cells and suspensions and their non-contact investigation (Horan and Wheeles, 1977; Hoekstra and Sloot, 2000)).