Growth of Oscillations of a Ray about the Irregularly Wavy Axis of a Lens Light Guide

The possibility of guiding a beam of light over a long distance through a series of lenses or a continuous lens-like medium has recently received considerable attention because such a system might be useful in communication. One problem that has only recently come under investigation is the statistical growth rate of the oscillation of an initially paraxial ray about the axis of such a guide when the axis is crooked in a somewhat random but partially coherent way. 1 ' 2 In this paper I will show that the ray will oscillate about the axis with ever-increasing amplitude, on the average. The oscillations of the ray about the axis are analogous to the os2117 to 11 -- 00 TABLE I Input parameters and results of computations in M.K.S. units: kilograms, (kg), meters, (m), and Newtons, (Nt). The first four input parameters describe the pipe; the next three, the nature of the support; and the last three, the optical elements. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (ID