Electromagnetic (EM) wave scattering by many parallel infinite cylinders is studied asymptotically as a tends to 0, where a is the radius of the cylinders. It is assumed that the centres of the cylinders are distributed so that their numbers is deter
mined by some positive function N(x). The function N(x) >= 0 is a given continuous function. An equation for the self-consistent (limiting) field is derived as a tends to 0. The cylinders are assumed perfectly conducting. Formula for the effective refraction coefficient of the new medium, obtained by embedding many thin cylinders into a given region, is derived. The numerical results presented demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach and its efficiency for solving the many-body scattering problems, as well as the possibility to create media with negative refraction coefficients.
