Abstract
FOR many years past, the mode of propagation of radio waves through the ionosphere has been studied intensively by mathematicians, physicists and radio communication engineers. It is now well known that all long-distance communication takes place by deflection of the waves in one or other of the ionized regions of the atmosphere, and furthermore that, depending upon the density of ionization of any particular region, there is a maximum frequency of the waves which will be deflected and above which the waves penetrate the region and are not returned to the earth. This critical penetration frequency increases with the angle of incidence of the waves on the ionosphere. Thus, while the general features of long-distance radio transmission can be interpreted in terms of a simple ray treatment of the waves passing from the earth up to the ionosphere and back to the earth, there is a minimum distance from the sending station at which signals can be received by this mode of propagation. This 'skip' zone or distance, as it is termed, is naturally subject to diurnal and seasonal variations, as well as to the actual frequency used in the transmission.
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S-R., R. The Scattering of Waves in Radio Transmission. Nature 145, 317 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145317a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145317a0