Current induced by a plane wave on a thin infinite wire near the earth

The problem of finding the plane-wave induced current on an infinite wire above the earth is discussed. The formal solution to the general case of arbitrary plane-wave incidence angle and arbitrary polarization is presented. An approximate expression for the current is found which is valid over a wider range of parameters encountered in normal applications. This approximate result is compared with a numerical integration of the exact expression. Numerical results are given for the special cases of the plane of incidence containing the wire and the case of the plane of incidence being perpendicular to the wire. The effect of ground conductivity is found to be very significant in some cases when the incident field is near grazing.