Light transmission thru various plastic

[Kenny9091]

I need to construct a lamp using some sort of plastic about an inch thick to transfer light from one edge to the other.  I need to know which material transmits the most light (least lumin loss) from a source  - or which material has the least "resistance", so to speak.  I need to put a light bulb near the edge of some sort of plastic, I was thinking either a piece of polyester resin,  a urathane, or a polymethyl methacrylate (perspex), and I what I'm asking is which one (or one I haven't mentioned out of ignorance) will deliver the largest percentage of the source light out the opposite edge.  
Thanks
Ken

 

[patprimmer]

Poly Methyl Methacrylate, is by far the best of the above list re light transmission.
Ally resins, sometimes branded CR39 is also used extensivly in lenses Regards
pat

 

[freedesigner]

To have a correct transmision of light you should not forget to treat your plastic part as an optical fibre.
The principle of transmision is that light should "bounce inside of the plastic.
Optical fibres have to 2 layers of different densities to achieve refraction, your second layer will be air.
So the outside of your plastic should be A1 finish to force this condition.
The way the light goes "in" is also important, this is the angle of the light source to the part. I have usually seen this done with a "slant" edge of the part, also polished very well.