JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of Standards-D.

Radio Propagation
Vol. 6SD. No.2, March- April 1961

Radio-Wave Propagation in the Earth1s Crusf'2

Harold A. Wheeler
(F ebruary 26, 1960)

There is a reasonable basis f or post ul ating t he existe nc e of a useful waveg uid e deep in
the earth's crust, of t he ord er of 2 t o 20 km below the s urface. Its di elect ric is basem ent
I'Oc], of very low condu ctivity. Its upp er boundary is form ed by the conductive layers ncar
the surface. Its lower boundary is formed by a h igh-temperature condu ctive layer far below
the surface, terme d the "thermal ionosphere" by analogy to the well-known "radiation
ionosphere" far above the surface.
The electrical conductivity of th e basem.ent rock has not been explored. An exampl e
based on reasonable estimates indicates that transmission at 1.5 kc/s might be possible for
a distance of the order of 1500 km.
This waveguide is located und er land and sea over t he entire surface of th e ea rth. It
may be useful for rad io transmission from t he s hore to a submarine on the fl oor of t he ocean.
The se nding antenna might be a long conductor in a dri ll hole deep in the basement rock ;
the receivi ng antenna might be a vertical loop in t he water .

In Lhe earth 's crust, there appears to be a deep S

waveguicleLhat has not yet been explored. This
waveguide extends under all the surface area, so --::-~_:.-:J?C:__ ~
it suggests the possibility of wave propagation under I --_ R OCEAN
--- - _ 0
the ocean floor. This might enable commun ication
from land to a submarine lo cated on or neal' the -- -.;;;- -------
ocean floor. If below a certain depLh , j t happens -- - ---- - WAVEGUIDE
that the excess radio noise from electric storms would
become weaker than thermal noise, and no otber THERMAL IONOSPHERE
so urce of appreciable radio noise is recognized.
FIGU RE 1. Communicati on tlwough the deep waveguide under
This waveguide comprises basemen t rock as a the ocean.
dielectrie between upper and lower conductive
boundaries. The upper boundary is formed of the guide into the ocean ju t above, and is sampled by
well-known geological straLa lo cated between the an antenna at the receiver.
surface and the basement ro ck , with conduetivity Figure 2 shows an arrangement for the sender
provided by electrolytic solutions and semiconductive antenna. It is a lon g conductor (pipe) sunk into a
minerals. The lower boundary is provided by high- drill hole flIl ed with oil insulaLion. The example
temperature conductivity in the basement rock. shown has conducting material down to a depth of
In concept, Lhe lower boundary is similar to Lhe about 1 km. Thl'ough this layer of eart h, there is
usual ionosphere , bein g formed by grad ually increas- an outer pipe which forms th e outcr condu ctor of a
ing condu ctivity. In the usual ionosphere [Wait, coaxial tran mission line. This pipe is in contact
1957], caused by extratenestl'ial radiation, tbe con- with a conductin g surface slleh as water or radial
ductivity increases with height. In the present wires in the ground. Below this layer of earth, the
case, however, the conduetivity increases with deptb inner conductor extends further about 2 km into
and is caused by the increasing temperature in the the basement-rock diele ctric. This extension radiates
dielectric material. Therefore it may be designated into the waveguide in the usual manner.
as the "inverted ionosphere" or "thermal iono-
sphere." S
Figure 1 shows how this waveguide may be used

~
for eommunication from a shore sending station (8) WATER

~"~"'~
to an underwater receiving station (R). The latter
may be a submarine on the bottom of the ocean.
The sender launches a vertically polarized tl'ansverse-
electro-magnetic (TEM) wave by means of a vertical
wire projecting into the basement rock. The wave
is propagated in the deep waveguide between the
surface conductor and the thermal ionosphere.
WAV EGUIDE
( T EM MODE )
:
:
I
:1
I
I
I
2 km
I
Some power from the wave leaks out of the wave- ,
I

I
I
I Contribution from '~'heele r Laboratories, Great Neck, N.Y., and Develop- I
L_ -'
m en tal Eng ineerin~ Co rp., Leesburg, Va.
, P aper presented at Conference on tbe Propagation of ELF Radio Waves,
Boulder, Colo ., January 27, 1960. FIG U RE 2. Sender antenna in the dee p waveguide.

189
 (J", CON DUCTIVITY (mhos/m) The locatioll ot each boundary depends on the
log 10 IT frequency, t he conductivit)T, and the rate of change
- 12 -6 o of cond uctivi ty with depth . In th e example to be
o o outlined, these boundaries occ ur at temperatures in
the range of 300 to 600 °C.
UPPER BOUNDARY As an example of the behavior that might b e
u expected in this waveguide , the following numerical
E 0 ~ ~ values arc suggested.
-'"
DIELECTRIC CONDUCTOR
k'6 Frequ ency 1.5 kc/s
Dielectric con stan t 6
10 200 Wavelength (in di electric) 80 km
Efl'ective boundari es of E fi eld (d epths) 1- 18 km
Effective boundari es of M fi eld (de pths) 1- 27 km
I "- (TEM WAVE) S ki n d epth for E fi eld (lower boundary) 1.5km
::;;:
f-
"- w S kin depth for JIll field (lowe r boundary) 4km
W
0
f- L ength of radiato r (ill wav eguide) 2km
R eactance of radiator 1600
ELECTRI C ohms
Effective length of rad ia tor 1 km
20 400
Radiation r es istance (in wav eg uide) 0.4 o hms
Ot her r esist a ncc 20 ohms
x x Radiation efficiencv 0.02
0
0::
0
0::
A verage power fadm' of E and JIll field s, about 0.1
"- "- Napi er dista nce (for wav e atten uation) 130 kill
"- "- D ecibel distance (for wave attenuation) 15 km
<l <l
100- db distance 1500 km

30 600 If these values are to be experienced , communica-

FI G URE 3. 11ariation of conductirity with depth to form the
deep waveguide.
Figure 3 shows how tll e temperature and th e
resulting conductivity may vary with depth, espe-
cially in the basement rock at depths exceeding a
few kilometers. This diagram will b e used to explain
the expected behavior of the deep waveguide. At
depths of about 2 to 20 km, th e basement rock is
indicated to have su ch low conductivity th at it is
a dielectric suitable for wave propagation. Above
and below this dielectric, the conductivity is high
eno ugh to serve the function of boundaries for th e
waveguide.
The upper boundary is fairly weU defined, in a
depth of the order of 1 km (perhaps down to several
kilometers). Its condu ctivity, in the most common
materials, ranges from a maximum of 4 mhos/m in
sea water down to about 10- 4 in rather dry nonco n-
ductive minerals. . little prospect of valuabl e mineral products at a
Tbe dielectric layer , shown between depths of
abo ut 2 and 20 km, may have very low conductivity,
of th e order of 10- 6 to 10- 11 mho/m. The lowest
cond uctivity is observed in fu sed quartz , but prob-
ab ly is not found in nature. The present plan is
useful if the conductivity is around 10- 8 or lower.
The dielectric constant is about 6.
The lower boundary has some unusual properties.
(These are also characteristic of the ionosphere at
frequ encies below VLF. ) The gradual increase of
condu ctivity [Van Hippel, 1954] provides an effective
boundary Jor each kind of field, that for the electric
field being closer th an that for the magnetic field.
In each case, there is a sort of skin depth in the
boundary [Wl1eeler, 1952]. Both of these boundaries
make comparable contribu tions to t be total dissipa-
tion factor of th e waveguid e, which determines the
exponenti al attenuation rate .
190
tion ranges of th e order of 1500 km will be possible
under th e surfa ce of the earth .
The assumptions for thi s example are b ased on
preliminary estim ates of the b est cond itions that are
at all likely to be realized. The high-temperature
conductivity needed for the lower boundary is typical
of quartz and other similar minerals. The extrem ely
low condu ctivity at lower temperatures is unlikel.Y,
but need not be quite so low to provide a dielectric
th at could give the indicated performance.
As for the properties of the basement rock, it is
very doubtful how low its conductivity may be.
Its seismic properties are explored but not its
electrical condu ctivity. Its principal ch emical com-
ponents are known, but app arently not its small
content of " impurities" that may determine the
cond uctivity. It seems t hat core samples have been
made to only a sm.all depth (less th an 1 km) in the
basement rock, presumably because there has been
reasonable cost. It is notable that some tests show
a trend toward low er conductivity (below 10- 6 ) in
the transition from the surface layers in to the base-
men t rock . A con tinuation of this trend may enable
s uch p er forman ce as is indicated in th e example.
Returning to th e waveguide properties, the TEM
mode (with vertical polarization) is t h e one that has
the greatest probabilit.v of enabling long-range
communication . It is the only propagating mode
at frequencies b elow abo ut 2 kc/s (i ncluding the
above example) .
This preliminary study h as indicated that the
deep waveguide is probably a definite physical
phenomenon. The properties of its dielectric and
boundaries are not known quantitatively, so it is
uncertain to what distances this waveguide may be
useful for communication or related purposes. Some
rather optimistic assumptions as to these properties

lead o n e to s pe(; uhtc 0 11 di sLnllccs of Lite ord er of
1500 kill . 'vVhile Lh c d eep wavcguid e exLe nd s und er
t h e cn til'c s urfacc o f la nd a nd sea, i t is most n eed ed
for md io Lr,U1 SJlli ssion to a s ubm arill e on t ilC ocean
floor , b ccfw se t hi s locat ioll is s bi eld ed from the usual
radi o \Y ,lyeS a bove th e s urfacC' .
Thi s con cep t o cc urred to tb e wri t er r ecen tly
d uring di sc Ll ssion s with L ester H . Carr a nd hi s
assoc iates in D evelopme ntal Engineering C orpora-
tion, Il ot" bly L . E. R a wls, G . F . L eidorf, and t heir
geologic'Ll con s ulta nt , P . P arker. The opportunit y
191
- I
of workill g with this group is acknowledged wi Lh
apprecia tion.
References
Von ] I ippel , A. It ., Dielect ri c mate rials and ap p lica t iolls.
F used q ua rtz at hi gh te mperat ures, p . 403 (John Wi ley &
So ns, New Yo rk , J'\ .Y ., 1954).
' Vait, J . R ., Th e mod e t heo ry o f VLF io nosph ere propagation
fo r fini te groulld co nd ucLiviLy, Pl'oc. IRE 45, 760- 767
(Jun e 1957).
Wh eeler, E . A., Uni ve rsa l sk in-cffect chart for condu cting
materials, E lectro ni cs 25, No. 11 , 152- 4 (?\fov. 1952).
(In cluding land a nd sea.)
(P ap er 65D2- 119 )
 JOURNA L OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of Standards-D. Radio Propagation
Vol. 65D, No.2, March- April 1961
Publications of the National Bureau of Standards*
Selected Abstracts
Use of th e incoherent s catte r techniqu e to obtain ionos ph eric
te mp era tur es, T. E. Van Za ndt a nd K. L . Bowles, J . Geophys.
Research 65, No.9, 2627-2628 (S ep t. 1960).
If t he ion-electron gas is in di ff usive equ ilibrium on t he top-
sid e of t he F layer, t hen the elect ron density decreases
exponent ially wit h h eigh t, and its logarithmic dec rement is
proportio nal to the neutr al gas t emperature. From a n
elect ron den sity p rofil e obta i ned by the scatter radar tech-
n iq ue, it is shown that t ll is in terpretation is co nsiste nt.
Moreover , t he ded uction of ionosp he ric temperatures in t his
way fr o m scatter ra d ar electron d ensity profiles has several
advantages over ot her m eth ods.
Corre la tion of a n auroral ar c a nd a sub vis ible monochrom atic
6300 A Arc with ou ter- zon e ra di a tion on N ove mb er 28, 1959,
B. J . O'B ri en, J. A. VanAll en, F . E. R oac h, and C. W .
Ga rU ei n, J . Geo phys. R esearch 65, No . 9, 2759- 2766 (S epl.
1960) .
Dur ing a severe geomag netic storm on Nove mber 28, 1959,
two Geiger t ubes on satelli te Exp lorer VII (1959 iota) fou nd
an omalies in t h e oute1: radi at ion zo ne at a n a lt itude of abo ut
1000 km whi ch appear to be correlatcd in space a nd timc
wit h optical e miss ions from t he atmosphere be neath. Very
inte nse narrow zo nes of radiation were detected over a v isib le
a urora duri ng o ll e p ass. The rad i'l.tio n in t lu-ee such zo nes
was h arder t oward low latit ud es. On t hree subsequent p asses
t he rad iation zo ne was deduced to be over a sub visib le 6300
A arc, whose bri ghtn ess dim inished as the radi ation zon es
became less in te nse. The correlation is disc ussed .
Sea sona l varia tion s in t he twili gh t e nhan ce me nt of [OT] 5577,
L . ll. M egill , P. M. J a mnick, a nd J . E. Cru z, J . Atmosphe1·ic
and T en·est. Phys. 18, No . 4, 309- 3 14 (Aug. 1960).
M eas urements of t he t wi light en ha n ce ment of [01] 5577 were
obtained dur ing t he p eriod September 1957 to Dece mber
1958 at Ra pid City, S.D. All these meas ure men ts wer e
normali zed to t he inten s ity at s un set or s unrise at a heigh t
of 100 km . The res ults obtain ed indi cate t h at t here was a
seaso na l dep enden ce of t h e twi light enhance men t of [01]
5577 emission . The enha n ce ment occu rred most fr eq uently
in the a ut umn a nd w inter m on t hs, t he max imum occ urrin g
about 1 Nove mber. The enha nceme nt alm ost never OCC UlTed
during t he sp rin g a nd s umm er mon t hs.
Som e m ag netoionic phe nom e na of th e Ar cti c E -region,
J . W . Wrig ht, J . A.l11lospheric and 'l'en·est. Phys. 18, No.4,
276-289 (A ng. 1960).
Sever al unu sual phenome na of E -region ionogram ech oes
obtained at Thule, Gree nlaud (m ag. d ip 85.5 °) are described .
They ar e exp la ined as t he effects of electr on collisions on the
prop agat ion of radio waves at h igh-mag netic latit udes. The
third magnetoionic compon e nt (Z-echo) is ex p la ined in t his
way a nd se veral of i ts d istin gui shi ng feat ures are explained
a nd illustrated . New phe no mena de monstrate t he existence
of a ll E-pa use (vall ey a bo ve h m . . E), a nd p ermit t he m eas ure-
ment of electron densit ies and collision fr eq uencies therein.
Wid ely separate d clock s with microsecond synchronization
a nd ind e pend e nt di stribution sys te ms, T. L. D avis and R . H.
Doher ty, IR E Wescon Conv. R ecord 4, pt. 5, 3-17 (1960).
In a major ity of t iming applications, a problem exist s in
setting two or more clocks to ag ree with one another .
Presen t tec h niq ues using \VWV or ot h er high frequency
broa dcasts all ow clocks to be sy n chronized within one
m illisecond. This p ap er offers an i mprov ement in sy nchroni-
zation of t hree orders of m ag nit ude.
193
M i c ro ~econ d sy nchroniz ati on is obtained by use of nhe
Loran- C n avigation syste m as the link betwee n a m aster
clock at Bou ld er , Colorado, a nd a ny s lave d clock any where
i n t he Loran- C service area.
T he t iming syste m a lso incl ud es a un iqu e method for distribu-
t ion of several t ime code form ats 0 11 a sing le UHF channel.
Comm ent on m odels of the ionos phere a bo ve h m ax F" J . W.
Wr ight, J . Geophys. R esearch 65 , No.9, 2595- 2596 (Sept.
1960).
Evidence for a grad ient of scale height in t he F r egion is
sh own , a nd di sc ussed in relat ion to a simp le C ha pma n m odel
of t he P r egion a bove hm ax F ,. It is suggest ed t hat a simi lar
model, but a ll owing for a scale- heigh t gr ad ie nt, may give
somewhat bette r agree me nt 1\"ith rece nt obser vation s.
I mpro ve m e nts in ra dio propagatio n pre di ction se rvi ce, 'vV. B.
C hadw ick , Elec. Eng. 79, 721- 724 (Se pt. 1960).
Data fr om world-w ide io nospheric a nd solar statio ns per mit
close observatio n of t he chan gin g state of t he iOll osp here so
t h at t h e maximum usable frequen cy for radio co mmuni cations
between a ny two points in t he world can be acc ur ately
predicted 3 mo nt hs in advance.
Other NBS Publications
Journ a l of Resear ch, Vol 65 A, No.1 , J a nuar y- Fe bru ar y 1961.
70 ce nts.
Faint lines in the arc spec trum of iro n (F e I). C. C. Kiess,
V. C. Rubin , a nd C. E. Moore.
Infrare d a bsorpt ion of sp ect ra of so me l-aceta mid o pyra noid
deri vatives a nd red ucin g, acety lated pyrano se~. R . Stuart
Tipso n a nd H . S. I sbell .
Mo no layers of linear sat urated s uccin ate p olyester and a ir-
li q uid in terfaces. 'vV . M . Lee, J . Leon Shercs hefsky, a nd
R. ll. Stromberg.
H eat of formation of beryllium chl orid e. 'vY. H . Johnson
a nd A. A. Gilliland .
H eat of d eco mposit ion of potass ium perchlorate. 'vV. H.
Johnso n an d A. A. Gillil and .
H eats of form ation of lit hium perchlor ate, a mmonium
p erchlorate, and sodium perchlorate. A. A . G ill iland an d
W. H . Johnson.
H eat of form ation of N -dim et hy la minodiborane . W. H.
Joh nson , I. J affe, and E. J . Prose n.
Sep ar ation of h afnium from zirconium by a nion exch a nge.
J . L. Hague a nd L . A. Machla11.
Reaction of sulfur , hy drogen sulfide, a nd acce lerators with
propylene and butadiene. F. J . L innig, ]I;. J . Parks, a nd
L. A. Wall.
Journ al of R esearch , Vol. 65C, N o.1, January- M arch 1961.
75 ce nts.
E lectroni c scanning microscope for a sp ectrographic plate
comparator. M. L. Kuder.
Viscoelastometer for m easurement of flow and elastic recovery.
R . J . Overbe rg and H. Leaderman.
An ultra low fre quency bridge for di electric m eas urements .
D. J. Scheiber.
The ephi syste m for VLF direction-finding . G. H efley, R. F.
Linfield, and T. L. D avis .
F ast counting of alp ha particles in air ion ization cha mbers.
Z. Bay, F. D. McLernon, a nd P . A. N ewm a n.
X-ray diffract ion meas ureme nt of intragranular misorientation
ill alpha brass subj ected to reverse plastic strain. C. J.
Newton a nd H. C. Vachcr.
Enthalpy and specifi c heat of ninc corrosion-resistant alloys
a t hi gh tem peratu res. T. B. Douglas and A. C. Victor.
D et ermination of minor constit uents in low-alloy steels by
X-ray fiuorescence. R . E. Michaelis, R. Alvarez, and
B. A. Kilday .
Stand ard X-my diffraction powder patterns, H . E. Swanson,
M . 1. Coo k, E. H. E vans, and J. H. deGroo t . NBS Circ.
539, Vol. 10 (1960) 40 cents.
Heat t reatme nt and properties of iron and s tee l, T. G. Digges
an d S. J. Rose nberg. NBS Mono . 18 (1960) 35 cents.
(S u persedes C495).
Sp ecific heat and enthalpies of te chnical solids at low temper-
at ures. A compi lation from the literature, R . J. Corruccini
and J . J. Gniewek. NBS Mono. 21 (1960) 20 cents.
The met ric syste m of measure ment, NBS Misc. Pub!. 232
(1 960) 50 cents.
Hou sehold weights and measures. NBS Misc. Publ. 234
(1960) (Supersedes M39) 5 cents.
Screw-thread standards for federal se rvices, 1957. Amends
in part H28 (1944) (and in parts its 1959 Supplement).
NBS Handb. H28 (1957) Part III (1960) 60 cents.
Quarterly rad io noise data- June, July, August 1959, W. Q.
Crichlow, R. D. Disney, and M. A. Jenkins. NBS TN18- 3
(PBI51377- 3) (1960) $1.00.
Quarterly radio noise data- September, October, N ovember
1959, W . Q. Crichlow, R. D. Disney, and M. A. Jenkins .
NBS TN18- 4 (PB151377- 4) (1960) $1.50.
Investigation of bearing creep of two forged al uminum alloys,
L. Mordfin, N. Halsey, P. J. Granum. NBS TN55
(PB161556) (1960) $1.00.
Rapid determination of the order of chemical reactions from
time-radio tables, J . H. F lynn. NBS TN62 (PB161563)
(1960) 75 cents.
Radio refractometry, J. W. H erbstreit. NBS TN66 (PB-
161567) (1960) 50 cents.
Transistorized building blocks for data instrumentation,
J. A. Cunn ingham and R. L. Hill. NBS TN68 (PB161569)
(1960) $2.00.
Low- and very low-radiofrequency model ionosphere reflec-
tion coefficients, J. R. Johler, L. C. Walters, J . D. Harpen,
Jr. NBS TN69 (PBI61570) (1960) $2.00.
Calibration of fiv e gamma-emitting nuclides for emission rate,
J. M. R. Hutchinson. NBS TN71 (PB161572) (1960)
75 cents.
Table of magnitude of reflection coefficient versus return loss
(LR = 20 log 10 1!1} R. W . Beatty and W. J . Anson. NBS
TN72 (PB161573) (1960) $1.25.
VHF and UHF power generators for RF instrumentation ,
A. H. Morgan and P. A. Hudson. NBS TN77 (PBI61578)
(1960) 75 cents.
Halobenzen es as sensitizers for the radiation-induced poly-
merization of styrene, D. W. Brown and L. A. Wall, J .
Polymer Sci, 44, 325 (June 1960).
Some aspects of fluorine flame spectroscopy, D. E. Mann.
Proc. Propellant Thermodynamics and Handling ConI.
Special Rept . 12 (Ohio State Un iversity, Columbus, Ohio,
June 1960) .
Optical constants of aluminum, H. Mendlowitz. Proc.
Phys. Soc. (London, England) LXXV, 664 (1960) .
C urr ent t hermodynamic research on ligh t- eleme nt compounds
at the national bureau of standards, T . B. Douglas . Proc.
Propellant Thermodynamics and Handling Conf. Special
R ept. 12 (Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, June
1960).
Free radical s in gamma , irradiated polystyrenes, R . E. Florin,
L. A. Wall, and D. 'V. Brown , Trans, Faraday Soc. 56, No.
453, 1304- 1310 (Sept. 1960).
Sealed-off Hg198 atomic-beam light source, R . L. Barger and
K. G. Kessler. J . Opt. Soc. Am. 50, No.7, 651 (July 1960).
T emperature dependence of Young 's modulus of vitreous
germania and silica, S. Spinner and G. W . Cleek. J. Appl.
Phys. 31, No.8, 1407 (1960).
194
Atomic clocks for space ex periments, P. L . Bender, Astro-
na utics p . 69 (Jul y 1960).
Photolysis of ammonia in a solid matrix at low temperatures,
O. Schnepp a nd 1(. Dressler. J . Chem. Phys. 32, No.6,
1682 (June 1960) .
Photoc hemical rates in the eq uato ri al F2 region from the 1958
eclipse, T . E. Van Zandt, R. B. Norton, and G. H. Stone-
hocker, J . Geophys. R esearch (j5, No. 7, 2003 (July 1960) .
Influence of so urce dista nces on the impedance characteristics
of ELF radio wa\' es, J . R . Wait, Proc. IRE 48, No.7, 1338
(J uly 1960).
Electroless plated contacts to silicon carbide, R . L. Raybold.
R ev. Sci. Instr. 31, No.7, 781 (July 1960).
Statistical models for component agin g exp eriments, J . R .
Ro se nblatt . Inte rn. Conv . Record . Inst . Radio Engrs.
8, Pt. 6, l15 (1960) .
Isotope effect in t h e hydrogen atom-formaldehyde reaction,
J. R. M cN es by, M . D. Scheer, a nd R . Klein, J . Chem.
Phys. 32, No.6, 1814 (Jun e 1960).
Electric current and fluid spin created b y the passage of a
magnetosonic wav e, R. P. Kanawal and C . Truesdell, Arch.
Ration al Yrach. and Analysis, 5, No. 5, 432, (1960).
The nature of the i norganic phase in calcified tissues, A. S.
Posner. Calcification in Biological Systems, p. 373
(American Assoc. Advancement of Sci., Washington, D.C.,
1960) .
Effect of water-reducing a dmixtures and set-retarding ad-
mixtures on properti es of concrete, Introduction and Sum-
mary, B. E. Foste r. Am. Soc. T esting Materials Spec.
T ech . Publ. 266, Introduction 1 & 2 and Summary 240
(J une 1960).
Abso rption spectra of solid methane, ammonia, and ice in the
vacuum ul traviolet, K. Dressler and O. Schn epp, J . Chem.
Phys. 33, No . 1, 270 (July 1960).
The extent of H II regions, S. R. Pottas ch, Astrophys. J.
132, No.1, 269 (J ul y 1960).
Nickel oxide thin film resistors for low pressure shock wave
detection, Ie E. McCullon. R ev. Sci . Instr. 31, No.7,
780 (July 1960).
Casimir coefficients and minimum entropy production , R.
E. Nettleton, J. Chern. Phys. 33, No . 1, 237 (July 1960).
Variation s of surface tension calculated wi t h improved
approximation for activ ity coefficient, L. C. Shepley and
A. B. Bestul. J . Am. Ceram. Soc. 43, No.7, 386 (Ju ly
1960).
Council adopts F. D. 1. specification for alloy for dental
amalgam, Council on Dental Research, J . Am. Dental
Assoc. 60, No.6 , 773 (June 1960).
The foundations of mechanics and thermodynamics, E . A.
Kearsley and M. S. Green, Phys. Today 13, No . 7, 22
(July 1960).
Optical m ethods for negativ e ion studies, S. J. Smith and
L. \1. Branscomb, R ev. Sci. Instr. 31, No.7, 733 (July
1960).
On the theory of the slow-tail portion of atmosp heric wave-
forms, J. R. Wait, J . Geophys. Research (i5, No.7, 1939
(July 1960) .
Statistical aspects of the cement testing program, "V. J.
Youden. Am. Soc. T es ting Materials Proc 59,1120 (1959).
Optical transmissivity and characteristic energy losses, H.
Mendlowitz, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50, No.7, 739 (Jul y 1960) .
Pyrolysis of polyolefins, L. A. "Vall and S. Straus, J . Polymer
Sci. 440, 313 (Jun e 1960).
A barium fluorid e film hygromete r element, F . E. Jon es, and
A. Wexle r, J . Geophys. Research 65, No.7, 2087 (July
1960).
Low-encrgy photoproduction of neutral mesons from complex
nuclei, R. A. Schr'ack, S. Penner, and J. E. Leiss, II Nuovo
Cimento 16, Serie X , 759 (March 1960).
Adsorption spectra of solid xenon, krypton, and argon in the
vacuum ultra vio let, O. Schnepp and K. Dressler, J. Chem.
Phys. 33, No .1 , 49 (July 1960).
Radiation pattern s of finite-size corner-reflector antennas,
A. C. ViTilso n, H . V. Cottony, IRE Trans, Ant. Prop.
AP-8, No.2, 144 (Ma r. 1960).
Stru cture of sulfurou s esters, H. Finegold, Proc. Chem. Soc.
(London) 283 (Aug. 1960) .
VLF attenuation for east-west and west-east daytime propa-
gation using atm~sp h e rics. ViT. L. Taylor, J. Geophys .
Rese'l rch 65, No. 7, 1933 (July 1960).
 Mecha ni zed co nversio n of colorim eLri e d,ILa to mun sell
l'enotations, W. Rh einbo ld t and J. P. Y enard. J . Opt.
Soc. Am . 50, N o. ,802 (Aug. 1960).
The usc of geos tat iona ry satellit es for t he s t ud .v of ionos pheri c
electron co ntent a nd ionosph eri c rad io-wave propagat ion ,
O. K . Ga rri olL and C . G. Li t tl e, J . Geop hys. R esea rch 65,
No . 7 , 2025 (Jul y 1960).
Our mea sureme nt syste m a nd nflt ional needs, A. V. Astin ,
Sprrl"yscope 15, No.6, 16 (1960) .
Stand ar d s of heat capaci ty a nd thermal co nduct ivity, D. C.
Ginnings, Book , Thermoelect ri city, p. 320 (In clu d in g Proc.
Co nf. Th ermoelectri city, Spon sored by t he N a vfll R esea rch
Lab ., Sept. 1958) (1960).
N eutron-inse ns it iv e proportio nal counte r for ga mm a -ra.v
dosim et ry , R . S. Casw ell , R e v. Sci. In str. 31 , No.8, 869
(Au g. 1960).
A stud y of 2-"NIc/s io nospheri c a bso rpti o n measurements at
hi gh a lt it ud es, K . D av ies, J. Geop hys. R esea rch 65, 2285
(Aug. 1960).
Cnrri er-f requ eney dependence of t he basic trans mission loss
in trop osp heri c fo rw a rd scatte r propagati o n, 1\:. A. No rto n,
J . Geop hys. R esea rch 65, 2029 (Jul y 1960) .
Th e ionization co nsta nts of 2-ch loro-4-ni troph eno l a nd :2-
ni tro-4-chl orop henol, V. E. Bower a nd R . A. R obinso n, J.
Ph.vs. Chem. 64, 1078 (1960).
Closed circu it liq uid hydroge n ref ri geration ys tem. D. n.
Chelto n, J. ' V. D ea n, a nd B. ' V. Birmingham , R ev. Sci.
In str . 31,712 (.Jul y 1960).
A qu a nt itative fo rmulation of Sylves ter's law of in erti a, A. i\ l.
Ost rowski , Na Li . Acad . Sci. Proc. 45, No . 5, 740 ( i\ a y ] 959).
Infra red tra nsm ission of clouds, D . :\'r. Ga tes a nd C. C . Shaw ,
J . Opt. Soc. Am . 50, 876 (Se pt. 1960) .
Compar at ive fi xat io n of ca lcium a nd st ronti um b y synt hetic
hydroxyapatite, R . C. Likins, rr. G. McCa nn , A. S. Pos ne r,
a nd D . B . Scott, J . B iolog. Chem . 235, No .7, 2152 (Jul y
1960).
, A co mp a rison of atom ic beam freq uenc.v s tan dards, R. E .
B eehl e r, R. C . :vrock ler, a nd C. S. Sn id e r, Nature Lett er
187 681 , (Aug. 20, 1960).
VI. M icroscopi c a nd macroscopi c energy loss d ist ribul ions.
1. Theo retica l rcvie" 's: A summ a r.v, U. F a no, Nat l. Acad .
Sci., ~at l. R esearch Co un cil Publ. 752, Report 29, p. 24
(Au g. 1960) .
The mec ha ni ca l properti es of cera mi cs a nd their mcas ul'e-
ment at ele va ted tempe ratu res, S. .I. Sch neid cr, Book,
Therm oelect ri city , Chflpte r 21, 342 (1960).
A rating method fo r refri ge ra ter! t ra il er bodi es ha ulin g pe ri sh-
ab le fo ods, C. W. Phi llips, W. F . Goddard , Jr., a nd P. H..
Achen bach , ASTI RAE J. 2, No . 5, 45 ( ~1ay ]960).
195
R epl y 10, On t he st ru cture of t rimet hylamine- t rim ethylbo ron ,
. D . H.. Li ciC', Jr ., J . Chem. Ph ys. 32, No.5 , 1570 (May 19GO).
Dimensio nal changcs occurring in d ent ures dllrin g processing,
J . B. Woelfcl, G . C. P a ff enba rge r, a nd "V. T. Sweeney, J .
Am. D en ta l Assoc. 61, No.4, 413 (Oct. 1960).
T eet h, a rtifi cia l, G . C. P a f"f enbarge r a nd G. B. D ento n, E ncy-
clopcdi f. Britan ni ca 21, 878 (J a n. 1960).
A method of improvin g isola t io n in multi-cha nn el wav eguide
syste ms, G. F . Engen, IR1£ T ra ns . lYIicrolyave Th eory and
T ech. Letter MTT-8, 460 (Jul y 1960).
Innu ence of earth cur vature a nd t he terrest ri fl l mag netic fi eld
on VLF propagat ion , .I . R. Wait a nd 1( . Spies, J . Geop hys.
R esearch 65, 2325 (Aug . 1960) .
Ch ar ge tra nsfe r a nd electron produ ctio n i n H - + H collisio ns,
D . G . Humm er, R. F . Stebbin gs, " '. L . Fite, a nd L . ~1.
Brans co mb, Ph ys. R e v. 2, 668 (Jul y 19(0) .
The characteri stic energy losses of elect ron s in ca rb on , L . B.
Leder a nd J . A. Sudd et h, .I. App l. Ph ys. 8, 1422 (Au g.
1960) .
Note hi storique sur les p rem ie rcs a nn ces de la microscop ie
electro niqu e, L . Ma rto n, Extrait 131 111. Acad . R oy. Bclg.
(Classr drs Sciences) 5, 119 (Mar. ] 959).
An o ptical study of t he boundary layer t ra ns ition p rocesses
in a sup erso ni c a ir system, ' V. Spangenb e rg a nd 'V. R .
ROII' la nd , Phys. of F luids 3, N o. 5, 667 (Sept.- Oct . 1960).
Thermodyn a mi c stru cture of t he ou t er solar a t mosphere. VI.
Effect of dcpartul'cs fr om t hc Saha equat ion o n i nfe rred
properti es of loll' chromosphere, S. R . P ottas ch a nd R . N.
Thomas, As t rop hys. J. 132, 195 (Jil ly ] 960).
Pol y mer deco m posit ion: Th erm ody nam ics, mecha n ism., and
energet ics, L . A. Wa ll , Soc. Plas t ic E ngrs. Pt. I, 810 (Aug.
1960); P t . II, 1031 (Sep t . ] 960) .
Th e ro le of surfa ce ten.. ion i n d ele rmining certain clay-water
properties, ' V. C. Ormsby, Bu ll. Am . Cerami c Soc. 39, ~o .
8, 408 (Aug. 1960).
*Publications jor whi ch a price is indicated (exce pt j 01' T ech-
nical Not es) are available onl y jmm the S u peri ntendent oj
D ocuments, U .S. Government P1'inting O.fJice, lVashin(fton 25,
D. C. (Joreign postage, one-fourth additi onal). T he Technical
N ews Bulletin and Basic Radio Propagation P redictions are
available on a 1-, 2-, or 3-year subscription basis, altho ugh n o
1'educti on in rates can be made. Reprints f rom outside .iou1"1~als
and the NBS J ournal oj Resew'ch may ojlen be obtained directl y
j rom the a uth01·s.
 The National Bureau of Standards

announces a three-week course In

Radio Propagation
July 31 to August 18, 1961

Central Radio Propagation Laboratory

Boulder, Colorado
This course is designed to provide a disc ussion of the fundamentals of radio propagation, the latest advan ces
in t he state of the art, and t he application of t his knowledge to the design and developm ent of communication
syste ms . Tropospheri c Propagation and Ionspheri c Propagat ion will be considered in two separate sect ions
which may be taken individually or in succession. D etails of t his co urse may be obtained from t he Educational
Director at t he address given below.
The course will consider communication v ia the entire range of useable radio frequencies and will extend
into the modes of propagation whi ch are being explored for the future. In bo t h sections the cont inuing emphasis
will be on t hose elements of propagation which affect system design and freq uency a llocation.
In addition to t he subj ect matter mentione d above t he two sections will include disc ussion of the following :

Tropospheric Propagation (July 31-August 4, 1961 )

The effect of atmospheric t urbulence, and of both normal and unusual atmospheric strati 5cation,
upon the refrac t ion and attenuation of radio waves . .. Climatology of the atmospheric radio refractive
index and its m eas ure ment by refractometers or weather data . . . Diffraction and refl ection from irreg-
ular terrain and a bsorption b y t rees and buildings .. . The phase stabili ty of mi crowave signals and its
effect upon systems of t racking, guidance, and geodetic meas urement . .. Mecha n isms of t ropospheric
propagation . .. Variability of t ransmission loss and the theoretical basis for t ran smission loss predic-
tion . . . Modu lation st udies and techniques . .. Me thods for pred icting t he probability of satisfactor y
point-to-point co mnlllnicat ion , broadcast coverage, and comm unication via sa te lli tes.

Ionospheric Propagation (August 7-18, 1961)

Theory of ra dio wave propagation via t he ionosphere, from t he very lowest frequencies to micro-
waves .. The distorting effects of ionospheric irregularities and dispersion on broad-band radio
signals . . A description of the ionosphere-its spatial and temporal variat ions and their predictabil-
ity . . Transmission loss and its varia bility as a function of freque ncy and other system parameters . . .
Special proble ms of ear t h-space communication . . . Statistical character and average power of atmos-
pheric, cosmic, and artifi cial ra dio noise . .. Characterization of t he propagation med ium as a time-
varian t comm uni cation chann el . . . Consideration of per t urbat ions of amplitude and phase, mu lt ipath
propagation, and noise as factors affecting modulat ion techniques, and t he capacity and reliab ility of
syste ms . . . Prediction of performance of ionospheric radio syste ms fOT communication, d etection an d
pos itioning, navigat ion and timing.

Prerequisites: Tuit ion:

A bachelor's degree in E lect rical Engineering, Tropospheric Propagation- $100
Ph ysics, or other suitable acade mi c or practical Ionospheric Propagation-$200
experie nce. Entire cOlll'se- $300

R egistrat ions will be li mited and earl y app lication should be made to enSlll'e consideration. Further
deta ils of t he course and registration forms w ill be available March 1, 1961, fr om : Ed mund H . Brown, Educa-
t ional Director , Bou lder Laboratories, Nat ional Bureau of Standards, Bou lder , Colora do.

196
 Editorial Notice
Conference on Transmission Problems Related to High-Frequency Direction
Finding

This issue includes a group of papers presented in June 1960 at a confer-

ence sponsored by the University of California at Los Angeles in coope ration with
the Office of Naval Research. Thc purpose of the conference was to discuss
the aspects of long-range high-frequency radio propagation that affect radio
location and direction finding, and the related problems of measurement and
analysis.
A comprehensive bibliography of published work on direction finding and
related ionospheric propagation topics for the period 1955- 1959 has been pre-
pared by the Nume rical Analysis Research Staff of the University of Ca lifor-
nia at Los Angeles. This bibliography wi ll be edited by the Radio Systems
Divisioll of the N BS and published as a Technical Note of the NBS.
THOMAS N. GAUTIER, Associate Editor.