SIMBAD references

We have synthesized crystalline SiC powders and obtained their IR extinction spectra when embedded in KBr and CsI matrices. These spectra are not compatible with purely spherical grains. By contrast, they quantitatively support the assumptions that 1) the bulk optical constants of the grains are identical with those of thin films, and very nearly independent of crystal polytype, as measured by Spitzer et al. (1959, Phys. Rev. 113, 127) and 2) the granulometry is a continuous distribution of ellipsoids. All of this also applies to previously published laboratory SiC spectra. Within this framework, we can predict the spectra of the same powders if freely suspended in vacuum. Finally, using linear combination of these, it is possible to closely fit the various spectral shapes exhibited by the IRAS/LRS data for C-rich stars.