Theoretical and experimental investigation of image quality through an inhomogeneous turbulent medium

A theoretical and experimental investigation of image quality through an inhomogeneous turbulent medium under controlled laboratory conditions is presented. In addition, a theoretical analysis based on simple physical principles leads to the same 5/3 power theoretical result obtained 25 years ago by Fried [1] on the basis of phase covariance and phase structure function. The present analysis, however, can be expanded to indicate how effects of turbulence depend upon field of view. This work is applicable to determining optimum elevation for imaging through inhomogeneous turbulence near the surface of the Earth.