Single Particle Dynamics

Personnel - Professors Reid and Orr-Ewing.

Research in the Particle Dynamics Group is concentrated on the development of new optical strategies for characterising the size and composition of aerosol particles and for probing heterogeneous aerosol chemistry. Using pulsed lasers we can probe a single particle with a single pulse of light, obtaining a spectroscopic signature which provides a unique fingerprint of the composition and size of the particle. The possibility of using such techniques to characterise aerosol particles in the atmosphere is being explored. Controlled laboratory studies are also underway to examine chemical reactions occurring on a single particle. In addition, new optical techniques are being developed to manipulate and control single or multiple aerosol particles.