The theory of Villars and Weisskopf is used to calculate the univariate and bivariate amplitude distributions of electromagnetic radiation scattered from turbulent fluctuations. The univariate distribution is Rayleigh, and is in excellent agreement with measurements made on a 49.6-Mc/sec ionospheric scatter link. Using the bivariate distribution, we relate the amplitude correlation function to a velocity correlation function which appears in the von Weizsäcker-Heisenberg statistical theory of turbulence. In this way the theoretical velocity correlation can be compared with experiment.

• Received 18 March 1954

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.96.560