This paper describes the pulse displacement technique (PDT) to simultaneously measure particle size and velocity in applications characterized by a large size range and high particle concentration. PDT is based on the detection of scattered refraction and reflection pulses which sweep past a detector at different times as a particle traverses a narrow probe volume. Basic analytical relationships are presented which allow the calculation of the spatial and temporal widths and separations of the reflection and refraction pulses as a function of particle diameter and velocity. Two implementations of PDT are discussed using one or two receivers with two laser sheets having the same or different wavelengths. This paper also discusses several methods to measure particle velocity with PDT, discusses the limitations associated with signal broadening in practical systems, and briefly presents experimental results which show that the temporal separation between the refraction and reflection pulse maxima is independent of collecting lens f-number from f/3 to f/20 for particle sizes ranging from 250 to 2000 mum.