Study of a flexible liquid light guide

Abstract Results of a search for an inexpensive and efficient liquid light guide are presented. 1 4 in. diameter FEP Teflon tubing filled with mineral oil have transmission properties almost matching those of an expensive commercial light guide and of standard polystyrene fibers with acrylic cladding. The main advantage of the technique is mechanical flexibility of the light guides obtained. Results of the optimization procedure, attenuation measurements in light guide tubes up to 2 m long and of angular and bending studies are shown and possible improvements are discussed. A possible application is the construction of inexpensive, flexible multitube light guides to collect light in sampling electromagnetic calorimeters.