Ray tracing theory and mirage occurrence conditions.
The new ray tracing theory, deduced from geometrical optics and widely developed for radio propagation in cosmic atmospheres, is now applied to optics. This paper is confined to the duct mode propagation which represents a singularity. A narrow horizontal beam emitted inside the waveguide can propagate a long path around the earth with very good periodic focusing: the central circular path coincides with the stratification of the atmosphere while rays above or below it are more or less curved. Perfect symmetry is not needed; but two specific conditions must be satisfied, and their occurrence just coincides with conditions under which mirages occur: a quiet mirage with sharp contours, evidently not much affected by scatter, occurs only during a temperature inversion, above a large hot desert, above a hot rather convex asphalt road, or (under convenient conditions) above a quiet level sea, which means only when favorable conditions establish the very sporadically occurring waveguide. A density maximum need not occur at all.
Woyk
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