Radiation beam forming apparatus

Claim 1

IN AN APPARATUS FOR SIMULATING HIGH ALTITUDE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: A VACUUM CHAMBER ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AN OBJECT TO BE TESTED; A HIGH INTENSITY RADIATION SOURCE DISPOSED EXTERNALLY OF SAID CHAMBER AND ADAPTED TO APPROXIMATELY DUPLICATE THE SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTION OF SUNLIGHT; A RADIATION TRANSPARENT WINDOW MEMBER DISPOSED IN ONE WALL OF SAID CHAMBER AND FORMING A PORTION OF A RADIATION PATH FROM SAID SOURCE TO SAID OBJECT; MULTISURFACE REFLECTIVE MEANS POSITIONED TO RECEIVE RADIATION FROM SAID SOURCE FOR DIRECTING A BEAM ALONG A PREDETERMINED AXIS TO ILLUMINATE SAID OBJECT; AND SAID REFLECTIVE MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY ANNULAR REFLECTIVE SURFACES OF DIFFERENT MEANS DIAMETERS DISPOSED CONCENTRICALLY ABOUT SAID AXIS WITH EACH OF SAID SURFACES LYING IN A DIFFERENT PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID AXIS AND WITH SAID DIFFERENT PLANES BEING SPACED ALONG SAID AXIS SO THAT DIFFERENT ONES OF SAID SURFACES ARE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIDISTANT FROM SAID RADIATION SOURCE, SAID ANNULAR REFLECTIVE SURFACES HAVING A WIDTH SUB- FROM STANTIALLY SMALLER THAN THE STRAIGHT LINE DISTANCE FROM THE RADIATION SOURCE TO SAID ANNULAR REFLECTIVE SURFACES, SAID PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY ANNULAR REFLECTIVE SURFACES HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY COMMON FOCAL POINT, SAID RADIATION SOURCE BEING POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY IN SAID SUBSTANTIALLY COMMON FOCAL POINT.