Input impedance of horizontal dipole aerials at low heights above the ground

The large increase in the radiation resistance of a horizontal dipole at low heights above the ground, predicted by the mathematical analysis of Sommerfeld and Renner, is confirmed by actual measurement for the case of an essentially pure dielectric ground. Measurements carried out above a series of conducting mats of increasing mesh size corroborate the supposition that the large increase in the radiation resistance at low heights is caused by a corresponding increase in the energy radiated downwards into the dielectric ground.