5 ms·
It would have limited application in satellite-to-ground links, as the photons would soon be outside the atmosphere. It is a neat idea though.
by femto 12y ago
It would have limited application in satellite-to-ground links, as the photons would soon be outside the atmosphere. It is a neat idea though.
- beloch 12y agoLoss happens in atmosphere, not vacuum. If it increases the overall transmission the link, what does it matter if the waveguide doesn't go the full distance?
- femto 12y agoI agree that it will help, to the extent that it counters diffraction of the beam whilst is in the atmosphere, hence it having "limited" application rather than no application. Diffraction still happens in a vacuum. The beam spreads, so photons are lost by not falling on the detector. The waveguide effect would counteract scattering to some degree. Even then, wouldn't scattering emit photons in random directions, meaning that the majority of scattered photons would be moving at too great an angle to the high/low density boundary to be refracted back into the beam?
- ars 12y agoOutside the atmosphere there is no scattering so the laser will stay as focused as it was at the start