Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Scattering of a plane electromagnetic wave by a conducting circular cylinder

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6707724

The uniform asymptotic solution of light scattering from a conducting circular cylinder at oblique incidence is derived by using the Watson transformation method. It clearly demonstrates that the major contributions of the total field are the Fresnel integrals in the transition regions, the creeping waves in the shadow region, and the incident wave and the reflected wave in the lighted region. The creeping wave is excited by the incident ray tangential to the surface of the cylinder, and it creeps further into the shadow region. The creeping wave can radiate energy tangentially away from the curved surface; hence it is a damped periodic wave. A He-Ne laser was used as a light source, and the conducting cylinder was an aluminum-coated quartz fiber. The positions of intensity maxima and minima of the scattered light predicted by the uniform asymptotic solution were in good agreement with experiment. Although the uniform asymptotic solution is derived under the assumptions of high frequency and large radius, it still gives good results at relatively low frequencies, where the ratio of the radius to the wavelength is of the order unity. The uniform asymptotic solution has the advantages of simplifying the numerical calculation and of giving a physical model of the exact solution.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-26
OSTI ID:
6707724
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-8451; ON: DE83001682
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Wave scattering from dielectric-coated cylinder
Journal Article · Tue Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1995 · International Journal of Infrared and Millimeter Waves · OSTI ID:159849

Asymptotic solution for the diffraction of an electromagnetic plane wave by a cylinder-tipped half-plane
Journal Article · Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983 · J. Opt. Soc. Am.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5907170

Light scattering from micron-size fibers
Journal Article · Thu Mar 31 23:00:00 EST 1977 · J. Opt. Soc. Am.; (United States) · OSTI ID:7115667