Mie scattering deals with energy waves by particles larger than the wavelengths of light, while Rayleigh scattering (named after English physicist John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh [1842–1919]) deals with how light is scattered by particles smaller than electromagnetic wavelengths. Mie scattering can explain things like the reddish color of clouds during a sunset (scattering at the level of dust and water particles), while Rayleigh scattering explains why the sky is blue (scattering at the molecular level).