Theory of edge diffraction in electromagnetics

by Pyotr Ya. Ufimtsev

This monograph categorizes and summarizes the work of P. Y. Ufimtsev, and is mainly connected with research on edge diffracted waves. This research stemmed from practical considerations and focused on the development of approximate methods to calculate the scattering of electromagnetic waves from real objects. The Lockheed F 117 Stealth Fighter and the Northrop B 2 Stealth Bomber play key roles in today s United States Air Force. These were the first two major aircraft designs to employ the principles of Pyotr Ufimtsev s Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD). Ben Rich, who oversaw the F 117 project as head of Lockheed s fabled Skunk Works, refers to Professor Ufimtsev s work as the Rosetta Stone breakthrough for stealth technology. At Northrop, where I worked on the B 2 project, we were so enthusiastic about PTD that a co-worker and I sometimes broke into choruses of Go Ufimtsev to the tune of On, Wisconsin. And so today the rather abstract physics and mathematics developed by this charming and unassuming old-world gentleman are influencing military strategy and tactics and thus helping shape history - not just through the F 117 and the B 2, but through the many military systems of many kinds that now incorporate stealth technology based on PTD. From the Foreword , by Kenneth M. Mitzner.

420 pages, Hardcover

Published August 30, 2003