Some general properties of the formulæ of the magneto-ionic theory

Abstract

Appleton’s magneto-ionic theory of the propagation of wireless waves in the ionosphere has been discussed by several authors, usually for the case when incidence is vertical and damping due to electronic collisions is neglected. Two salient features of the theory which appear upon the removal of these restrictions are described in the present paper. In sections 3, 4, and 5 the effect of collisional friction on vertical propagation is examined and the nature of the transition from longitudinal to transverse propagation is described. Curves are drawn (in section 5) showing this transition when there is a small constant value of friction and the Lorentz polarization therm is neglected. In some respects this part of the paper resembles the treatment in a recent paper by Taylor, but there appears to be a difference between her conclusions and ours. In section 6 the further complication of oblique incidence is considered with particular reference to the relation between the polarization of downcoming magneto-ionic components. A description of the relation between the complex polarization and the elliptical polarization which it represents is included in section 4.