Transient field produced by a traveling-wave wire antenna

The electromagnetic fields of a transient traveling wave current on a straight wire segment are calculated directly in the time domain. Retarded potential theory is used to establish an impulse response valid in both far and near zones. A closed-form expression for the field due to a rectangular current pulse is obtained, and corresponding plots are given. Numerical results from this permit the investigation of the differences between near versus far zones and coated versus uncoated wires. Experimental findings for both coated and uncoated wires show good agreement with theory. A formula for far-zone radiation from an arbitrarily shaped wire is developed; results for a proposed directive antenna geometry are presented