TY - JOUR N2 - BC (Black Carbon), which can be found in the atmosphere, is characterized by a large value of the imaginary part of the complex refractive index and, therefore, might have an impact on the global warming effect. To study the interaction of BC with light often computer simulations are used. One of the methods, which are capable of performing light scattering simulations by any shape, is DDA (Discrete Dipole Approximation). In this work its accuracy was estimated in respect to BC structures using the latest stable version of the ADDA (vr. 1.2) algorithm. As the reference algorithm the GMM (Generalized Multiparticle Mie-Solution) code was used. The study shows that the number of volume elements (dipoles) is the main parameter that defines the quality of results. However, they can be improved by a proper polarizability expression. The most accurate, and least time consuming, simulations were observed for IGT_SO. When an aggregate consists of particles composed of ca. 750 volume elements (dipoles), the averaged relative extinction error should not exceed ca. 4.5%. L1 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/90311/PDF/Journal10178-VolumeXXII%20Issue1_14.pdf L2 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/90311 PY - 2015 IS - No 1 EP - 164 DO - 10.1515/mms-2015-0013 KW - black carbon KW - discrete dipole approximation KW - light scattering KW - fractal-like aggregates A1 - Skorupski, Krzysztof PB - Polish Academy of Sciences Committee on Metrology and Scientific Instrumentation VL - vol. 22 DA - 2015[2015.01.01 AD - 2015.12.31 AD] T1 - Using the DDA (Discrete Dipole Approximation) Method in Determining the Extinction Cross Section of Black Carbon SP - 153 UR - http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/90311 T2 - Metrology and Measurement Systems ER -