On the design of VLF transmitting antennas, then and now

This paper considers the way Harold Wheeler addressed the design of a VLF transmitting antenna a half century ago and how we might approach the same problem today. Although we now have access to a host of computing tools for analysis, we must still be able to organize our knowledge of the problem and how we may use it to satisfy a set of practical constraints. These include performance criteria, size and cost, as well as the physical limitations of materials. The purpose of this paper is to review the most basic elements of VLF antenna design and to consider what, if anything, has changed in the intervening years.