ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Electrophoretic light scattering

Electrophoretic light scattering happens when we take very tiny things called particles and put them in a liquid, like water. Then, we shine a special light on them and watch what happens.

The particles in the liquid are so small that we can't see them with our own eyes, but the light can still interact with them. When the light hits the particles, it scatters in lots of different directions.

By looking at how the light scatters, we can learn lots of things about the particles. For example, we can learn how big they are and how they move. We can even learn what the particles are made of!

Electrophoresis is like a game of tag for the particles. We give each particle a tiny electric charge that makes them move around in the liquid. When the charged particles move, they bump into each other and scatter light.

By watching how the light scatters as the charged particles move, we can learn even more about them. We can figure out how fast they move, which direction they're going, and how many there are.

Overall, electrophoretic light scattering helps us learn a lot about tiny particles that we can't see with our own eyes. We use it to study things like proteins and viruses, which are too small for us to see but are still really important in science and medicine.