Abstract
A previously proposed modified form of diffusion theory [ Phys. Rev. 100, 517 ( 1955)] is applied to problems involving point sources and plane clouds over an absorbing ground. A general but formal solution is first presented. Some analytic results are then obtained for a point source at the edge of a semi-infinite (half-space) cloud; specific formulas are given for the photon density at the edge of the cloud and for the net photon current there; asymptotic results are obtained for large distances inside the cloud along the source axis. Finally, numerical results are presented for the photon density at the mid-plane of an infinite plane cloud with thickness equal to two (transport) mean free paths and a point source at the center. An appendix summarizes analytic results of the modified theory for: a point source in an infinite medium, a point source at the center of a finite sphere, the albedo and transmission of an infinite plane slab with parallel (“solar”) illumination at an arbitrary angle, the albedo of the combination of a plane cloud over a ground plane with arbitrary albedo, and a rough analysis of ambient light levels in the ocean.
© 1956 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
P. M. Anselone and F. Sobel
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(11) 934-940 (1956)
K. L. Vander Sluis
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(8) 605-608 (1956)
E. H. Linfoot
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 46(9) 740-752 (1956)