OUTCOME OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENTS, PRODUCTION AND APPLICATION OF EXTENDED HOLLOW LIGHT GUIDES (1964-2009)

摘要

Almost half a century has passed since thernconcept of slit hollow light guides of extendedrnlength was born (G Buchmann, USSR).rnToday more than thirty firms in twelverncountries are working in this field, over twornhundred articles have been published, aboutrnone hundred and fifty patents have beenrnobtained, seven PhD dissertations written.rnHollow light guides have been applied in therntransmission of natural and artificial light.rnThere is a diverse range of devices: they arernstraight or curved in form; they workrnhorizontally, vertically or tilted; they haverninput devices with light sources or without,rnrelying only on natural light. The time hasrncome to review the work on hollow lightrnguides drawing some conclusions, evaluatingrnresults and considering prospects for futurerndevelopment.