8. Conclusion

The existence and development of generalized Lorenz-Mie theories over the last twenty years marks a significant advance in the theory of light scattering and its applications. For a century, theories based on plane-wave illumination prevailed. The advent and intensive development of laser sources have necessitated the construction of more general theories which, in many cases, must supplant the old approaches.

The most immediate applications concern instrumentation for the optical characterization of particles (size, inhomogeneity, refractive index, etc.). But other applications have already seen the light of day, and there's no doubt that the development of applications for generalized theories is only just beginning.

The major drawback of these theories is their mathematical complexity. As a result, only a small number of people are currently...