in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . however , it is understood that the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known circuits , structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the invention . a laser system is used to produce a thin ionizing beam through the atmosphere . an example of such a laser system using a titanium - sapphire infrared laser is taught in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 726 , 855 apparatus and method for enabling the creation of multiple extended conduction paths in the atmosphere , issued mar . 10 , 1998 to mourou et al . the beam is moved in either a circular or rectangular fashion to produce a conductive shell to act as a waveguide for microwave energy . for the purposes of this application the terms focal point , feedpoint , and fp will mean the same thing . the terms plasma beam waveguide , plasma beam conduit , and plasma beam shell will also all mean the same thing . in addition , the term laser system means a chirped - pulse amplification laser system having a high peak - power laser capable of transmitting a high - peak power ultrashort laser pulse through the atmosphere . a general method of accelerating a plasma beam is shown in fig5 a . laser system 51 produces plasma beam 52 which is reflected off flat mirror 53 and flat mirror 54 which are made of an electrically conducting material such as beryllium metal . current source 55 is connected between flat mirror 53 and flat mirror 54 . current source 55 may be a direct current , an alternating current , and may also be modulated . electromagnetic coil 56 may also be used to modulate plasma beam 52 . in fig5 b the plasma beam between flat mirror 53 and flat mirror 54 is deflected by a pair of orthogonally mounted electromagnetic coils , designated as electromagnetic xy coils 57 , much as the electron beam in a cathode ray tube is magnetically deflected by a standard set of deflection coils . the following describes a system using two laser systems where the plasma beam conduit is formed using a mechanical system that physically moves the laser systems used to produce the beam . microwave energy is coupled into the plasma beam conduit through a hole in the laser assembly . the plasma beam conduit has a circular cross - section . in fig1 a , laser assembly 10 is formed by mounting laser system 13 and laser system 15 on cylindrical disk 11 which is electrically conductive . hole 17 is in the center of cylindrical disk 11 . mirror 14 deflects the beam from laser system 13 . similarly , mirror 16 deflects the beam from laser system 15 . sleeve 12 is electrically conducting and provides a smooth conducting surface extending from hole 17 . this is shown in fig1 b . fig2 a shows beam 21 from laser system 15 being deflected from mirror 16 to continue the conducting path from hole 17 and sleeve 12 . similarly , beam 20 from laser system 13 is deflected from mirror 14 to continue the conducting path from hole 17 and sleeve 12 . in fig2 b , assembly 24 is made by mounting laser assembly 10 at one end of conducting tube 23 . counterweight 22 is mounted at the opposite end of conducting tube 23 to provide dynamic balancing . in fig3 assembly 24 ( made from laser assembly 10 , conducting tube 23 , and counterweight 22 ) is mounted on bearing mount 31 to allow assembly 24 to rotate . ring gear 32 is mounted around the circumference of conducting tube 23 and engages gear 33 which is turned by motor 34 . motor 34 is supported by motor stand 35 . base 37 supports both motor stand 35 and bearing mount 31 . microwave transmitter 39 is also mounted on base 37 and is coupled to conducting tube 23 through rotary coupling 38 , whose design is well known to those in the field of radar . power to laser assembly 10 is supplied through slip ring assembly 36 . in operation , laser assembly 10 rotates , causing the beams from laser system 13 and laser system 15 to produce a cylindrical conductive shell to act as a waveguide for the energy from microwave transmitter 39 . mirror 14 and mirror 16 are precisely aligned so that only a single conductive shell is produced . referring to fig1 a , the reason for using two laser systems is to dynamically balance cylindrical disk 11 and to reduce the speed at which the system must rotate . alternately , one laser system can be replaced by the appropriate balancing weights . as a further alternative , more than two laser systems may be used as long as they are spaced appropriately in order to preserve the dynamic balance of laser assembly 10 . where more than one laser system is used , they are precisely aligned so that only a single conductive shell is produced . an alternative to the arrangement shown for mounting laser system 13 and laser system 15 is shown in fig4 . in this arrangement , laser system 13 and laser system 15 are mounted tangentially on conducting disk 11 . mirror 41 directs the beam from laser system 13 to mirror 14 , while mirror 42 directs the beam from laser system 15 to mirror 16 . the assembly thus produced ( laser assembly 40 ) is used in place of laser assembly 10 in fig3 . again , the reason for using two laser systems is to dynamically balance cylindrical disk 11 and to reduce the speed at which the system must rotate . alternately , one laser system can be replaced by the appropriate balancing weights . as a further alternative , more than two laser systems may be used as long as they are spaced appropriately in order to preserve the dynamic balance of laser assembly 40 . where more than one laser system is used , they are precisely aligned so that only a single conductive shell is produced . one advantage of laser assembly 40 is to produce a more compact arrangement of its components . another advantage is that it makes it easy to use an electric current to accelerate the plasma beams produced by laser system 13 and laser system 15 by the method previously described in reference to fig5 a and fig5 b . the following describes a different arrangement using two laser systems where the plasma beam conduit is formed using a mechanical system that physically moves the laser systems used to produce the beam . microwave energy is coupled into the plasma beam conduit through a tube in the laser assembly . the plasma beam conduit has a circular cross - section . in fig6 a , assembly 600 consists of an electrically conducting inner cylinder 61 attached to outer cylinder 60 through the use of rectangular members 62 , 63 , 64 , and 65 . referring to fig6 b , this results in the creation of cavities 66 , 67 , 68 , and 69 . referring to fig7 two opposing cavities ( cavity 67 and cavity 69 ) each contain a laser system with associated mirrors to produce laser assembly 70 . cavity 67 contains laser system 75 , mirror 77 , and mirror 78 . laser system 75 produces beam 76 which is reflected off mirror 77 and mirror 78 . cavity 69 contains laser system 71 , mirror 73 , and mirror 74 . laser system 71 produces beam 72 which is reflected off mirror 73 and mirror 74 . in fig8 laser assembly 70 is mounted on bearing mount 81 to allow laser assembly 70 to rotate . ring gear 83 is mounted around the circumference of laser assembly 70 and engages gear 84 which is turned by motor 85 . motor 85 is supported by motor stand 86 . base 82 supports both motor stand 86 and bearing mount 81 . microwave transmitter 89 is also mounted on base 82 and is coupled to laser assembly 70 through rotary coupling 88 , whose design is well known to those in the field of radar . power to laser assembly 70 is supplied through slip ring assembly 87 . in operation , laser assembly 70 rotates , causing the beams from laser system 75 and laser system 71 to produce a cylindrical conducting shell to act as a waveguide for the energy from microwave transmitter 89 . mirrors 73 , 74 , 77 , and 78 are precisely aligned so that only a single conductive shell is produced . referring to fig7 the reason for using two laser systems is to dynamically balance laser assembly 70 and to reduce the speed at which the system must rotate . alternately , one laser system can be replaced by the appropriate balancing weights . as a further alternative , more than two laser systems may be used as long as they are spaced appropriately in order to preserve the dynamic balance of laser assembly 70 . where more than one laser system is used , they are precisely aligned so that only a single conductive shell is produced . the following describes a system using a single laser system where the laser system is stationary and the plasma beam conduit is formed by an opto - mechanical system using a parabolic section mirror with an offset feed . microwave energy is coupled into the plasma beam conduit through a hole in the parabolic mirror section . the plasma beam conduit has a circular cross - section . fig9 a shows a side view of parabolic reflector 91 with axis 93 and focal point 92 . fig9 b shows the front view of parabolic reflector 91 and focal point 92 . a parabolic reflector has the property that all rays arriving parallel to the axis will be reflected to the focal point . referring to fig1 a , since rays 101 and 102 are parallel to axis 93 they are both reflected off reflector 91 to focal point 92 . similarly , all rays emanating from the focal point and reflecting off the parabolic reflector will depart parallel to the axis . referring to fig1 b , since rays 103 and 104 emanate from focal point 92 and reflect off reflector 91 , they will depart parallel to axis 93 . similarly , in fig1 a , rays 112 and 113 emanate from focal point 92 , reflect off reflector 91 , and depart parallel to axis 93 . if we are only interested in rays 112 and 113 , we do not need all of reflector 91 . fig1 b shows the only part of reflector 91 that we do need , designated as reflector 111 . note that axis 93 still exists even though there is no physical reflector for it to intercept . fig1 a shows the front view of reflector 111 , which is the part of reflector 91 needed to produce a cylinder where rays 112 and 113 represent the boundaries of the cylinder . the part of reflector 91 not used in reflector 111 is simply not built . note that focal point 92 is no longer in front of reflector 111 . this is known as an offset feedpoint . moving a light source from focal point 92 around the outside circumference of reflector 111 produces a cylinder of light . since we will only be using the outside of reflector 111 we can make a hole in the center to produce mirror ring 121 as shown in fig1 b . the front view of mirror ring 111 is shown in fig1 b . in order to make the following drawings clearer we will designate mirror segment 131 and mirror segment 132 on mirror ring 121 in fig1 a . on drawings where mirror segment 131 and mirror segment 132 are shown it is to be understood that they are present as part of mirror ring 121 . referring to fig1 b , the side view of mirror ring 121 showing mirror segment 131 and mirror segment 132 shows two rays coming from focal point 92 . a hole in the center of mirror ring 121 allows us to couple microwave energy from microwave transmitter 134 through microwave hard waveguide 133 to the center of mirror ring 121 . in fig1 , for clarity only mirror segment 131 and mirror segment 132 of mirror ring 121 are shown . a flat mirror at the focal point , shown as fp mirror 141 , is mounted with two degrees of freedom and mirror positioner 142 directs the output from laser system 143 around mirror ring 121 to produce a plasma beam waveguide ( pb waveguide 144 ). mirror positioner 142 is of conventional electromechanical design . as shown in fig1 , the system can be aimed by mounting it in azimuth - elevation mount 151 , which is of conventional design . fig1 shows how the plasma beam can be electrically accelerated between fp mirror 141 and mirror ring 121 of which only mirror segment 131 and mirror segment 132 are shown . by using an electrically conducting material such as beryllium metal for fp mirror 141 and mirror ring 121 , and by using current source 161 to induce an electrical current between the two mirrors , the plasma beam produced by laser system 143 is electrically accelerated . normally , for operator safety , current source 161 will be grounded at mirror ring 121 . current source 161 may be a direct current or an alternating current , and may also be modulated . as one example , the transmission of 3 ghz . microwave energy requires a plasma beam waveguide with a diameter of approximately 2 . 5 inches . naturally , other dimensions may be used in other applications with other requirements . the following describes an opto - mechanical system using two laser systems where the laser systems are stationary and the plasma beam waveguide is formed by an opto - mechanical system using two parabolic section mirrors , each with an offset feed . the plasma beam conduit has a circular cross - section . this is the preferred embodiment . fig1 a shows the front view of parabolic reflector 91 with focal point 92 , where two inside areas of parabolic reflector 91 are highlighted . area 111 has already been described in conection with fig1 b . area 171 is a reflection of area 111 and has the same properties . fig1 b shows the front view of area 111 and area 171 of fig1 a where the center areas of area 111 and area 171 have been removed to form mirror ring 121 and mirror ring 172 . in fig1 a mirror ring 121 has been divided in half to form mirror hring 181 and mirror hring 182 . similarly , mirror ring 172 has been divided in half to form mirror hring 183 and mirror hring 184 . in fig1 b composite mirror ring 187 has been formed from the upper half of the lower mirror ring of fig1 a ( mirror hring 183 ) and the lower half of the upper mirror ring of fig1 a ( mirror hring 182 ). in order to distinguish the two focal points derived from focal point 92 , the focal point associated with mirror hring 182 will be designated as focal point 186 , while the focal point associated with mirror hring 183 will be designated as focal point 185 . in order to make the following drawings clearer we will designate mirror segment 190 and mirror segment 191 on composite mirror ring 187 as shown in fig1 a . in drawings where mirror segment 190 and mirror segment 191 are shown it is to be understood that they are present as part of composite mirror ring 187 made of mirror hring 183 and mirror hring 182 . referring to fig1 b , the side view of composite mirror ring 187 shows ray 196 from laser system 194 reflecting off two - axis mirror positioner 195 located at focal point 185 and ray 199 from laser system 197 reflecting off two - axis mirror positioner 198 located at focal point 186 . with a full composite mirror laser system 194 , mirror positioner 195 , and mirror hring 183 will produce the top half of the plasma beam waveguide , while laser system 197 , mirror positioner 198 , and mirror hring 182 will produce the bottom half of the plasma beam waveguide . hard waveguide 192 couples the energy from microwave transmitter 193 to the center of composite mirror ring 187 . plasma beam waveguides of other cross - sectional shapes , such as rectangular , may be formed by appropriate mirror design . the following describes a system using four laser systems where the laser systems are stationary and the plasma beam conduit is formed by an opto - mechanical system using four parabolic section mirrors , each with an offset feed . the plasma beam conduit has a rectangular cross - section . fig2 a shows the front view of parabolic reflector 91 where rectangular segment 202 of area 201 is highlighted . a ray emanating from focal point 92 that is directed along the center of the long axis of rectangular segment 202 will produce a planar beam . fig2 b shows mirror assembly 203 made from four indentical pieces , each one consisting of rectangular segment 202 in the appropriate position and orientation to form mirror assembly 203 . each rectangular segment has its own focal point . in fig2 the top of the plasma beam waveguide is produced by laser system 2101 , single - axis mirror positioner 2102 , and rectangular segment 2103 . the right side of the plasma beam waveguide is produced by laser system 2104 , single - axis mirror positioner 2105 , and rectangular segment 2106 . the bottom of the plasma beam waveguide is produced by laser system 2107 , single - axis mirror positioner 2108 , and rectangular segment 2109 . the left side of the plasma beam waveguide is produced by laser system 2110 , single - axis mirror positioner 2111 , and rectangular segment 2112 . square section 2113 allows microwave energy to be coupled into the plasma beam waveguide . in fig2 , for clarity only the top and bottom parts are shown . the top of the plasma beam waveguide ( 223 ) is produced by laser system 2101 , single - axis mirror positioner 2102 , and rectangular segment 2103 . the bottom of the plasma beam waveguide ( 224 ) is produced by laser system 2107 , single - axis mirror positioner 2108 , and rectangular segment 2109 . the two sides not shown ( laser system 2104 , single - axis mirror positioner 2105 , rectangular segment 2106 , laser system 2110 , single - axis mirror positioner 2111 , and rectangular segment 2112 complete the plasma beam waveguide . hard waveguide 222 couples the energy from microwave transmitter 221 to the center of mirror assembly 203 and into the plasma beam waveguide . the following describes a system using a single laser system where the laser system is stationary and the plasma beam conduit is formed by an opto - electromagnetic system using a parabolic section mirror with an offset feed . microwave energy is coupled into the plasma beam conduit through a hole in the parabolic mirror section . the plasma beam conduit has a circular cross - section . fig2 shows mirror segment 131 , mirror segment 132 , hard waveguide 133 , microwave transmitter 134 , and laser system 143 as previously described in connection with fig1 . however , in this embodiment a pair or orthogonal electromagnetic coils ( fp coils 231 ) located at the feedpoint are used to deflect the plasma beam around the periphery of mirror ring 121 , of which only mirror segment 131 and mirror segment 132 are shown . fp coils 231 are electrically driven to produce a changing magnetic field to deflect the plasma beam in a circular fashion around the periphery of mirror ring 121 . mirror 232 is used for providing a conducting surface in order to provide an electrically path through the plasma beam . as with the second embodiment , more than one laser system may be used by choosing the appropriate configuration of parabolic section mirrors . the method taught in the second embodiment may also be used to produce a rectangular waveguide . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown , it is to be expressly understood that modifications and changes may be made thereto and that the present invention is set forth in the following claims .