This paper investigates the transient response of uniform

transmission lines. The case of a general RLC line is examined, along with the special case of a line with low total series resistance. Computer-aided circuit simulations in conjunction with theoretical considerations are used to obtain a physical interpretation of the results. It is shown that for an

line terminated In

as long as the total series resistance of the line is less than 2.5 R_0, there is no delay penalty caused by pulse distortion on the line. The only delay penalty is caused by the line attenuation, which yields a lower slope for the output waveform.