Static light scattering 

is a technique in physical chemistry that measures the intensity of the

scattered light to obtain the average molecular weight Mw of a macromolecule like a polymer or a
protein in solution. Measurement of the scattering intensity at many angles allows calculation of the
root mean square radius, also called the radius of gyration Rg. By measuring the scattering intensity
for many samples of various concentrations, the second virial coefficient A2, can be calculated.[1][2][3][4][5]
Static light scattering is also commonly utilized to determine the size of particle suspensions in the
sub-μm and supra-μm ranges, via the Lorenz-Mie (see Mie scattering) and Fraunhofer
diffraction formalisms, respectively.
For static light scattering experiments, a high-intensity monochromatic light, usually a laser, is
launched in a solution containing the macromolecules. One or many detectors are used to measure
the scattering intensity at one or many angles. The angular dependence is required to obtain
accurate measurements of both molar mass and size for all macromolecules of radius above 1–2%
the incident wavelength. Hence simultaneous measurements at several angles relative to the
direction of incident light, known as multi-angle light scattering (MALS) or multi-angle laser light
scattering (MALLS), is generally regarded as the standard implementation of static light scattering.
Additional details on the history and theory of MALS may be found in multi-angle light scattering.
To measure the average molecular weight directly without calibration from the light scattering
intensity, the laser intensity, the quantum efficiency of the detector, and the full scattering volume
and solid angle of the detector needs to be known. Since this is impractical, all commercial
instruments are calibrated using a strong, known scatterer like toluene since the Rayleigh ratio of
toluene and a few other solvents were measured using an absolute light scattering instrument.