On Ludvig Lorenz and his 1890 treatise on light scattering by spheres

This paper offers background and perspective on a little-known memoir by Ludvig Lorenz on light scattering by spheres, which was published in Danish in 1890. It is a companion to an English translation of the memoir appearing separately. Apart from introducing Lorenz and some of his contributions to optics and electrodynamics, the paper focuses on the emergence, content and reception of the 1890 memoir and its role in what is often called the Lorenz-Mie theory. In addition to the historical analysis, the paper illuminates aspects of modern Lorenz-Mie theory and its many applications, with an eye to Lorenz’s original work.