Disordered
nanostructures are commonly encountered in many nanophotonic
systems, from colloid dispersions for sensing to heterostructured
photocatalysts. Randomness, however, imposes severe challenges for
nanophotonics modeling, often constrained by the irregular geometry
of the scatterers involved or the stochastic nature of the problem
itself. In this Article, we resolve this conundrum by presenting a
universal theory of averaged light scattering of randomly oriented
objects. Specifically, we derive expansion-basis-independent formulas
of the orientation-and-polarization-averaged absorption cross section,
scattering cross section, and asymmetry parameter, for single or a
collection of objects of arbitrary shape. These three parameters can
be directly integrated into traditional unpolarized radiative energy
transfer modeling, enabling a practical tool to predict multiple scattering
and light transport in disordered nanostructured materials. Notably,
the formulas of average light scattering can be derived under the
principles of fluctuational electrodynamics, allowing the analogous
mathematical treatment to the methods used in thermal radiation, nonequilibrium
electromagnetic forces, and other associated phenomena. The proposed
modeling framework is validated against optical measurements of polymer
composite films with metal-oxide microcrystals. Our work may contribute
to a better understanding of light–matter interactions in disordered
systems, such as plasmonics for sensing and photothermal therapy,
photocatalysts for water splitting and CO
2
dissociation,
photonic glasses for artificial structural colors, and diffuse reflectors
for radiative cooling, to name just a few.