Diffraction of electromagnetic waves by smooth obstacles for grazing angles

The diffraction of electromagn etic waves by a convex cylindri cal surface is considered . Attention is confined primarily to the r egion n ear the light-shadow bound ary. The complexintegral represe ntation for the field is utilized to obtain a correction to the Kirchhoff theory. Numerical results are presented which illustrate the influ ence of surface cUt'vature and polarization on the diffract ion pattern. Good agr ee me nt wi th th e experim ental results of Bachy n ski and Neugebauer is obtai ned . The effec t of finite co ndu ctivity is also considered .