Question

Why can’t we see clearly through the fog? Name the phenomenon responsible for it.

Answer 1

Fog contains a huge number of particles. These particles can interact with the light coming and scatter the light in all directions. So the light intensity decreases due to scattering.

Complete step-by-step answer :
Light can interact with particles in a medium. So a fog can be considered a medium containing multiple particles which can interact with light. So when light enters a fog, the particles in the fog will begin to scatter light in all directions, as there are a huge number of particles present, a huge number of scattering occurs such that the light undergoes backscattering. Backscattering is the reflection of waves, particles, or signals back to the direction from which they came. It is usually a diffuse reflection due to scattering. This is the same for a light that is reflected from our eyes or light coming towards us from a source. So scattering is the phenomenon responsible for the fact that we can’t see through the fog.

Note : Scattering involves the process of absorbing light and re emitting light in different directions with variable intensity. It can also be represented as the collisions between molecules, atoms, electrons, photons and other particles.
The appearance of an object is determined by two factors, one is scattering and other is absorption. How light scatters of an object hugely depend on its internal and external structure and defects present in the object.