Radiative properties of scattering and absorbing dense media: theory and experimental study

We investigate the validity of the radiative transfer equation to model transmission of light through an absorbing and scattering medium. Assuming that radiative transfer equation is valid, the inverse scattering problem for non-polarized radiative transfer in one-dimensional absorbing and scattering media is solved using a parameter identification method. We discuss how to identify the albedo, phase function and extinction coefficient of the medium. We present experimental data that confirm that this approach is robust and can be used to make reliable predictions of the behavior of scattering absorbing systems.