Light tube

This article is about "light tubes". For other uses of the phrase "light tubes", see Light tube (disambiguation).
Total external reflection, hollow light tube
Total internal reflection, block of acrylic

Light tubes (also known as solar pipes, tubular skylights or sun tunnels[1]) are structures that transmit or distribute natural or artificial light for the purpose of illumination and are examples of optical waveguides.

In their application to daylighting, they are also often called tubular daylighting devices, sun pipes, sun scopes, or daylight pipes. They can be divided into two broad categories: hollow structures that contain the light with reflective surfaces; and transparent solids that contain the light by total internal reflection. Principles of nonimaging optics govern the flow of light through them.[2]

  1. ^ admin (2021-01-22). "A Guide to Sun Tunnels". The Skylight Company. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  2. ^ Chaves, Julio (2015). Introduction to Nonimaging Optics, Second Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1482206739. Archived from the original on 2016-02-18.