Antenna

An Antenna is a transducer, which converts electrical power into electromagnetic waves and vice
versa.
An Antenna can be used either as a transmitting antenna or a receiving antenna.
• A transmitting antenna is one, which converts electrical signals into electromagnetic waves and radiates
them.
• A receiving antenna is one, which converts electromagnetic waves from the received beam into electrical
signals.
• In two-way communication, the same antenna can be used for both transmission and reception. Antenna can
also be termed as an Aerial.

Working principle - Electromagnetic radiation

Invented - Heinrich Hertz
First production - 1886

Electronic symbol -
An Isotropic Antenna is defined as a hypothetical antenna having the same radiation in all directions (i.e.,
uniform radiation). It is assumed that the power gain of an isotropic antenna is 1.0. The dipole antenna has a
power gain of 1.64 or 10 log 1.64 = 2.15 dB above isotropic.
 Basic Types of Antennas Frequency of operation
Physical structure
Mode of Applications •Very Low Frequency (VLF)
•Wire antennas
•Point-to-point communications •Low Frequency (LF)
•Aperture antennas
•Broadcasting applications •Medium Frequency (MF)
•Reflector antennas
•Radar communications •High Frequency (HF)
•Lens antennas
•Satellite communications •Very High Frequency (VHF)
•Micro strip antennas
•Ultra High Frequency (UHF)
•Array antennas
•Super High Frequency (SHF)
•Micro wave
•Radio wave
Type of antenna Examples Applications
Dipole antenna, Monopole antenna, Helix Personal applications, buildings, ships,
Wire Antennas
antenna, Loop antenna automobiles, space crafts
Flush-mounted applications, air-craft, space
Aperture Antennas Waveguide (opening), Horn antenna
craft
Microwave communication, satellite tracking,
Reflector Antennas Parabolic reflectors, Corner reflectors
radio astronomy
Convex-plane, Concave-plane, Convex-
Lens Antennas Used for very high frequency applications
convex, Concave-concave lenses
Circular-shaped, Rectangular shaped metallic Air-craft, space-craft, satellites, missiles,
Micro strip Antennas
patch above the ground plane cars, mobile phones etc.
Yagi-Uda antenna, Micro strip patch array, Used for very high gain applications, mostly
Array Antennas
Aperture array, Slotted wave guide array when needs to control the radiation pattern
 Impedance Matching
According to the standard definition, “The approximate value of impedance of a transmitter, when equals the
approximate value of the impedance of a receiver, or vice versa, it is termed as Impedance matching.”
Impedance matching is necessary between the antenna and the circuitry. The impedance of the antenna, the
transmission line, and the circuitry should match so that maximum power transfer takes place between the antenna
and the receiver or the transmitter.
Necessity of Matching
A resonant device is one, which gives better output at certain narrow band of frequencies. Antennas are
such resonant devices whose impedance if matched, delivers a better output.
•The power radiated by an antenna, will be effectively radiated, if the antenna impedance matches the free space
impedance.
•For a receiver antenna, antenna’s output impedance should match with the input impedance of the receiver
amplifier circuit.
•For a transmitter antenna, antenna’s input impedance should match with transmitter amplifier’s output impedance,
along with the transmission line impedance.
 Radiation
Radiation is the term used to represent the emission or reception of wave front at the antenna, specifying its strength. In
any illustration, the sketch drawn to represent the radiation of an antenna is its radiation pattern. One can simply
understand the function and directivity of an antenna by having a look at its radiation pattern.

Radiation Pattern
The energy radiated by an antenna is represented by
the Radiation pattern of the antenna. Radiation Patterns are
diagrammatical representations of the distribution of radiated
energy into space, as a function of direction. Different antenna
designs produce different radiation patterns. The complexity of
the pattern depends on the antenna's design and construction.
Let us look at the pattern of energy radiation.
The figure given above shows radiation pattern of a dipole
antenna. The energy being radiated is represented by the
patterns drawn in a particular direction. The arrows represent
directions of radiation.

The radiation patterns can be field patterns or power patterns.

·The field patterns are plotted as a function of electric and magnetic fields. They are plotted on logarithmic scale.
·The power patterns are plotted as a function of square of the magnitude of electric and magnetic fields. They are plotted on
logarithmic or commonly on dB scale.
 Lobe Formation
In the representation of radiation pattern, we often come
across different shapes, which indicate the major and
minor radiation areas, by which the radiation efficiency of
the antenna is known.
To have a better understanding, consider the following
figure, which represents the radiation pattern of a dipole
antenna.
 The major part of the radiated field, which covers a larger
area, is the main lobe or major lobe. This is the portion
where maximum radiated energy exists. The direction of
this lobe indicates the directivity of the antenna.

 The other parts of the pattern where the radiation is

distributed side wards are known as side lobes or minor
lobes. These are the areas where the power is wasted.

 There is other lobe, which is exactly opposite to the

direction of main lobe. It is known as back lobe, which is
also a minor lobe. A considerable amount of energy is
wasted even here.
 Types of Radiation patterns
The common types of Radiation patterns are −
•Omni-directional pattern (also called non-directional pattern): The pattern
usually has a doughnut shape in three-dimensional view. However, in two-
dimensional view, it forms a figure-of-eight pattern.
• Directional pattern

 Pencil-beam pattern − The beam has a sharp directional pencil shaped pattern.

 Fan-beam pattern − The beam has a fan-shaped pattern.

 Shaped beam pattern − The beam, which is non-uniform and pattern less is known as shaped beam.
 Voltage Standing Wave Ratio <VSWR>
When impedance mismatch exists between any load (e.g. antenna) and the rest of the system, power from the
transmitter flows to the antenna and a fraction of the power is reflected back towards the transmitter. These forward
and reflected waves interfere with each other to produce standing waves along the transmission line. By looking at
the maximum and minimum voltage amplitude of the standing wave, we can calculate the VSWR.

Reflected power is not desirable as ideally all power from the transmitter should be absorbed by the load. The
standing waves can cause heating effects in the cable or damage to the transmitter.
 Radiation Intensity
“Radiation intensity is defined as the power per unit solid angle”
Radiation emitted from an antenna which is more intense in a particular direction, indicates the maximum intensity
of that antenna. The emission of radiation to a maximum possible extent is nothing but the radiation intensity.

Mathematical Expression
Radiation Intensity is obtained by multiplying the radiation density with the square of the radial distance.
U=r2×Wrad
Where
•U is the radiation intensity
•r is the radial distance
•Wrad is the radiation density .
The above equation denotes the radiation intensity of an antenna. The function of radial distance is also indicated
as Φ.
Units
The unit of radiation intensity is Watts/steradian or Watts/radian2
 Antenna Efficiency
Antenna Efficiency is the ratio of power radiated (Prad) by the antenna to the power supplied (P T) to the antenna.
The efficiency of an antenna is usually measured in an anechoic chamber where an antenna is fed with some
power and the strength of the radiated electromagnetic field in the surrounding space is measured.
An ideal antenna has 100% antenna efficiency i.e., it transmits all the power fed to it. But in the real world, a good
antenna radiates only 50 to 60% of power supplied to it.

Effective Antenna Aperture

The Effective Antenna Aperture is the ratio of the available power at the terminals of the antenna to the power flux density
of a plane wave incident upon the antenna, which is polarization matched to the antenna. If there is no specific direction
chosen, the direction of maximum radiation intensity is implied.

The power flux density is the product of electric and magnetic field strength.
 Directivity
Antennas can be designed to radiate energy equally in all directions. Alternatively, antennas can be designed to
radiate energy primarily along a single direction. Directivity D is a unitless measure of the uniformity of the
radiation pattern plot. It is defined as the ratio of the maximum power density over the average power density.

Directivity of an antenna is defined as the ratio of the radiation intensity in a given direction from the antenna to
the radiation intensity averaged over all directions. The average radiation intensity is equal to the total power
radiated by the antenna divided by 4π. If the direction is not strictly specified, the direction of maximum radiation
intensity is implied.
Namely, the directivity D of a non-isotropic source is equal to the ratio of its
radiation intensity in a given direction over that of an isotropic source:

If the direction is not specified, it implies the direction of maximum radiation

intensity (maximum directivity) determined as

where Dmax is the maximum directivity, U0 is radiation intensity of isotropic source and Umax is the maximum
radiation intensity. To summarize, directivity is a measure that describes only the directional properties of the
antenna, and it is therefore controlled only by the pattern.
 Antenna Gain
Antenna gain is defined as the degree of directivity of the antenna’s radiation pattern. It is equal to the
product of the antenna’s electrical efficiency and directivity. In other words, it is a passive phenomenon in
which the antenna simply redistributes power to produce more radiated power in a specific direction than
an isotropic antenna would broadcast. A transmitting antenna can acquire antenna gain by making an
antenna directional, that is, with superior performance in one direction than in others. The antenna gain is
denoted by the symbol GdB, and its unit of measurement is decibels (dB). It is directly proportional to the
aperture area, efficiency, and wavelength of the signal.

Antenna gain Formula

GdB = 10 log10 (4πηA/λ2)
Where,
 GdB is the antenna gain,
 η is the efficiency,
 A is the physical aperture area,
 λ is the wavelength of the signal.
 Electromagnetic Polarization
The electromagnetic wave emanating from a transmitting antenna is described by an electric field E and a
magnetic field H. The wave necessarily has both an electric field and a magnetic field because, according to
Maxwell's equations, time varying electric fields induce time varying magnetic fields, and time varying magnetic
fields induce electric fields. At any point in space and at any time, the direction of the electric field, the direction
of the magnetic field, and the direction of propagation of the wave are all mutually perpendicular. More
specifically,
(Direction of E) × (Direction of H) = (Direction of propagation).
Linear polarization
When a wave is transmitted or received, it may be done in different directions. The linear polarization
of the antenna helps in maintaining the wave in a particular direction, avoiding all the other
directions. Though this linear polarization is used, the electric field vector stays in the same plane.
Hence, we use this linear polarization to improve the directivity of the antenna.

Circular polarization
When a wave is circularly polarized, the electric field vector appears to be rotated with all its
components loosing orientation. The mode of rotation may also be different at times. However, by
using circular polarization, the effect of multi-path gets reduced and hence it is used in satellite
communications such as GPS.

Horizontal polarization
Horizontal polarization makes the wave weak, as the reflections from the earth surface affect it.
They are usually weak at low frequencies below 1GHz. Horizontal polarization is used in the
transmission of TV signals to achieve a better signal to noise ratio.

Vertical polarization
The low frequency vertically polarized waves are advantageous for ground wave transmission.
These are not affected by the surface reflections like the horizontally polarized ones. Hence,
the vertical polarization is used for mobile communications.
 Beam width
• Beam width is the aperture angle from where most of the power is radiated. The two main
considerations of this beam width are Half Power Beam Width (HPBW) and First Null Beam
Width (FNBW).
• Half-Power Beam Width
• According to the standard definition, “The angular separation, in which the magnitude of the radiation
pattern decreases by 50% (or -3dB) from the peak of the main beam, is the Half Power Beam Width.”
 Effective Radiated Power

• If the radiated power is calculated by taking half-wave dipole as the

reference, rather than an isotropic antenna, then it can be termed as ERP
(Effective Radiated Power).
• ERP(dBW)=EIRP(dBW)−2.15
• dBiERP(dBW)=EIRP(dBW)−2.15dBi
• If EIRP is known, then ERP can be calculated from formula given above.
 Long-Wire Antennas
A long-wire antenna is a straight conductor of length equal to the wavelength or its multiples (n) that is used as
an antenna. Long-wire antennas are formed by using a number of dipoles with length of wire (L) given by
equation:

Note that n is the number of elements and λ is the wavelength. The directional properties of long-wire antennas
increase as the value of n increases.
Long-wire antennas are designed such that they run parallel or horizontal to the earth’s surface. Usually, the
input terminals of long-wire antennas are formed by one end of the wire and the ground. Long-wire antennas
have traveling waves or uniform patterns in voltage and current and are an example of traveling wave antennas.

Classifications of Long-Wire Antennas

Traveling wave antennas and standing wave antennas are two classifications of long-wire antennas based on
the distribution of voltage and current patterns. In traveling wave antennas, the current and voltage can be
represented using traveling waves in the same direction. Traveling wave antennas are non-resonant
antennas. Standing wave antennas are bi-directional traveling wave antennas and are otherwise known as
resonant antennas.
 Resonant Antennas
A resonant antenna, or resonant-length antenna, is an antenna whose length is a quarter of a wavelength, or
multiples thereof, long. In this case, the antenna is purely resistive and its reactance is zero, and hence the
maximum amount of current flows through the antenna.
When the voltage and current distribution form standing wave patterns, then such types of antennas are called
standing wave antennas or resonant antennas. Resonant antennas exhibit a periodic nature. They have traveling
waves propagating in forward and backward directions and are called bi-directional traveling wave antennas. In
resonant antennas, radiated waves traveling in opposite directions establish incident and reflected waves.
For developing standing waves in resonant antennas, the sharp peak in the radiated power is intercepted by the
antenna at a certain frequency, called resonant frequency. The frequency and length of resonant antennas are
directly proportional to each other.
At the resonant frequency, resonant antennas are purely
resistive with zero reactance. The pure resistive nature of
resonant antennas allows maximum current to flow
through them. The resonant antenna ensures a high
standing wave current in it. The standing wave ratio of
resonant antennas is greater than unity at resonance. At
the resonant antenna terminals, the voltage and current
waves are in phase. Such phase distribution between the
voltage and current makes it easy to impedance match the
resonant antennas with receiver and transmission lines.
The resonant antennas are like resonant transmission lines. The dipole antennas are example of this antenna
type. They are open ended at far end with resonant length. The term resonant length refers to multiple of quarter
wavelength. It is placed at a point on the transmission line where it delivers low impedance. Usually, this location
is quarter wavelength (i.e. λ/4) from the open circuit end. The figure-1 depicts half wave dipole and its radiation
pattern looking like a doublet.

The radiation pattern of resonant antennas have two parts viz. one due to forward and the other due to reflected
wave. The figure-2 depicts these as well as combined radiation pattern of resonant antenna.
 Non-Resonant Antennas
Non-resonant antennas or traveling wave antennas are configurations of antennas whose voltage and current can be
represented as one or two traveling waves moving in the same direction. Non-resonant antennas exhibit a non-
periodic nature. There is always a progressive phase pattern associated with the voltage and current distributions in
non-resonant antennas.
In non-resonant antennas, the waves travel in the forward direction or the same direction and are called
unidirectional traveling wave antennas. As the radiated waves are moving in the same direction, there is only an
incident wave in non-resonant antennas—there is no reflected wave. Moreover, the wave patterns in non-resonant
antennas fail to form standing wave patterns.
In non-resonant antennas, there is no
resonant frequency. The frequency of the
non-resonant antenna shares an inverse
relationship with the length of the antenna.
As the frequency increases, the length of
the antenna decreases and vice versa.
The Non-resonant antennas are like Non-
resonant transmission lines. Non-resonant
transmission lines do not have standing
waves. Hence they do not have any
reflected waves and they have only forward
travelling waves.
When the antenna is terminated as depicted in the figure-3, about (2/3) rd power is transmitted as forward waves and
reminding power is dissipated and there is no reflected power towards the input.
From the radiation patterns of both, the difference between resonant antenna and Non-resonant antenna is as follows.
➨Non-resonant antennas are Uni-directional and resonant antennas are bi-directional.
➨In Non-resonant antennas only forward waves exist and in resonant antennas both forward and reflected waves exist.
 Hertz and Marconi Antenna
The λ/2 or Hertz Antenna : is perhaps the most popular antenna in high frequency antennas. Any antenna
complete in itself and capable of self oscillation, such as half or full wavelength (λ/2 or λ) is known as a Hertz
antenna.
 Hertz antenna is as like Dipole antenna with ½ wavelength (λ/2).
 Very small compared to its wavelength that is about one hundredths of the wavelength at its operating
frequency
 Radiation pattern of hertz antenna is not truly isotropic.
 Vertically polarized
 Antenna is placed perpendicular or vertically with respect to Earth’s surface.
 Hertz antenna normally used for small applications and was used in set top TV antenna.

The λ/4 or Marconi Antenna : When an antenna utilizes the ground as part of its resonant circuit, it is a
Marconi antenna. A quarter wave antenna (λ/4) is an example of Marconi antenna, where the ground operates as
the missing quarter wavelength. Most of the low and medium frequency antenna are of Marconi types. The
invention of the λ/4 earthed antenna in which the earth is one plate of the condenser, is considered to be the
most important contributions of Marconi to the radio engineering. Marconi produced lofty and efficient antenna
system from the short Hertzian radiator and achieved a long distance communication with low radio frequency.
 Most common vertical antenna is known as Marconi antenna.
 Electrically Marconi antenna operates as a Hertz antenna.
 Physically Marconi antenna is only a one-quarter wavelength (λ/4) long
 Used in radio broadcasting transmitters of high power.
 Dipole Antenna
•The radiation of energy when done through such a bent wire, the end of such transmission line is
termed as dipole or dipole antenna.
•The reactance of the input impedance is a function of the radius and length of the dipole. The
smaller the radius, the larger the amplitude of the reactance. It is proportional to the wavelength.
Hence, the length and radius of the dipole should also be taken into consideration. Normally, its
impedance is around 72Ω.
• The figure shows the circuit diagram of a
normal dipole connected to a transmission
line. The current for a dipole is maximum at
the center and minimum at its ends. The
voltage is minimum at its center and
maximum at its ends.
• The types of wire antennas include Half-wave
dipole, Half-wave folded dipole, Full-wave
dipole, Short dipole, and Infinitesimal dipole.
All of these antennas will be discussed in
further chapters.
 Antenna impedance and resonance
The dipole contains reactance in the form of distributed capacitance and inductance. When adjusting the dipole
length, the resonant point occurs when reactance "X" drops to near zero as seen in the following table:

Dipole length, L Reactance, X Impedance, Z

L > λ/2 +X Antenna is Inductive
L = λ/2 0 Antenna is Resonant, Z = 72Ω
L < λ/2 -X Antenna is Capacitive

At the resonant point, the antenna presents to the transmitter a pure resistance of about 72Ω. Since normal
radio systems don't operate in a vacuum the actual value is closer to 50Ω which matches up perfectly with our
coaxial cable.
Making the dipole length longer or shorter than 1/2 wavelength will increase the reactance and the antenna will
not be properly matched to the rest of the system. In some applications where the environment does not permit
full size antennas to be installed, one would have to use antennas shorter than half wavelength (making the
antenna more capacitive). By adding some inductance in the form of a "loading coil" to the base, this extra
capacitance can be cancelled out.
 Half-Wave Dipole
The dipole antenna is cut and bent for effective radiation. The length of the total wire, which is being used as a
dipole, equals half of the wavelength (i.e., l = λ/2). Such an antenna is called as half-wave dipole antenna. This
is the most widely used antenna because of its advantages. It is also known as Hertz antenna.
Frequency range
The range of frequency in which half-wave dipole operates is around 3KHz to 300GHz. This is mostly used in
radio receivers.
Construction & Working of Half-wave Dipole
It is a normal dipole antenna, where the frequency of its operation is half of its wavelength. Hence, it is called as
half-wave dipole antenna.
The edge of the dipole has maximum voltage. This voltage is alternating (AC) in nature. At the positive peak of
the voltage, the electrons tend to move in one direction and at the negative peak, the electrons move in the
other direction. This can be explained by the figures given below.
The figures given above show the working of a half-wave
dipole.
•Fig 1 shows the dipole when the charges induced are in
positive half cycle. Now the electrons tend to move
towards the charge.
•Fig 2 shows the dipole with negative charges induced.
The electrons here tend to move away from the dipole.
•Fig 3 shows the dipole with next positive half cycle.
Hence, the electrons again move towards the charge.
 Half-Wave Folded Dipole
A folded dipole is an antenna, with two conductors connected on both sides, and folded to form a cylindrical
closed shape, to which feed is given at the center. The length of the dipole is half of the wavelength. Hence, it is
called as half wave folded dipole antenna.
Frequency range
The range of frequency in which half wave folded dipole operates is around 3KHz to 300GHz. This is mostly used
in television receivers.
Construction & Working of Half-wave Folded Dipole
This antenna is commonly used with the array type
antennas to increase the feed resistance. The most
commonly used one is with Yagi-Uda antenna. The
following figure shows a half-wave folded dipole antenna.
This antenna uses an extra conducting element (a wire or a
rod) when compared with previous dipole antenna. This is
continued by placing few conducting elements in parallel,
with insulation in-between, in array type of antennas.
The following figure explains the working of a half-wave
folded dipole antenna, when it is provided with excitation.
Half-Wave Folded Dipole
If the diameter of the main conductor and the folded dipole
are same, then there will be four folded (two times of
squared one) increase in the feed impedance of the
antenna. This increase in feed impedance is the main
reason for the popular usage of this folded dipole antenna.
Due of the twin-lead, the impedance will be around 300Ω.
 Full-Wave Dipole
If the length of the dipole, i.e. the total wire, equals the full wavelength λ, then it is called as full
wave dipole. If a full wavelength dipole is used either for transmission or for reception, let us see
how the radiation will be.

Construction & Working of Full-wave Dipole

The full-wave dipole with its voltage and current distribution is shown here. Both the positive and
negative peaks of the wave induce positive and negative voltages respectively. However, as the
induced voltages cancel out each other, there is no question of radiation.
The figure shows the voltage distribution of full-wave dipole whose length is λ. It is seen that two
half-wave dipoles are joined to make a full-wave dipole.
The voltage pattern when induces its positive
charges and negative charges at the same time,
cancel out each other as shown in the figure. The
induced charges make no further attempt of
radiation since they are cancelled. The output
radiation will be zero for a full wave transmission
dipole.

Radiation Pattern
As there is no radiation pattern, no directivity and no gain, the Full wave dipole is seldom used as
an antenna. Which means, though the antenna radiates, it is just some heat dissipation, which is a
wastage of power.
 Inverted V-Antenna
V-antenna operating frequency is limited. This can be modified by using another antenna, which is a non-resonant
antenna or a travelling wave antenna. A travelling wave antenna produces no standing wave, as discussed
previously.
Frequency Range
The frequency range of operation of an inverted vee antenna (or V-antenna) is around 3 to 30 MHz. This antenna
works in high frequency range.
Construction & Working of Inverted V-Antenna
A travelling wave antenna, used in high-frequency band is an inverted V-
antenna. This inverted V-antenna is easily installed on a non-conducting
mast.
Inverted V-Antenna
The maximum radiation for an inverted V-antenna is at its center. It is
similar to a halfwave dipole antenna. The antenna is placed in the shape of
an inverted V, with its two transmission lines or legs bent towards the
ground making 120° or 90° angle between them. The center of the antenna
should not be higher than λ/4.The angle made by one of the legs with the
axis of the antenna, is known as the tilt angle and is denoted by θ.
Radiation Pattern
The radiation pattern of inverted V-antenna is uni-directional pattern, as no
standing waves are formed here. It can be clearly understood by the
radiation pattern shown below.
The figure illustrates the radiation pattern of an inverted V-antenna. Primary
radiated field is shown along with the fields when the tilt angles are 120˚
and 90˚ in the figure given above. The gain and directivity are improved by
having an array of antennas.
 Helical
Helical antenna is an example of wire antenna and itself forms the shape of a helix. This is a
broadband VHF and UHF antenna.
Frequency Range
The frequency range of operation of helical antenna is around 30MHz to 3GHz. This antenna
works in VHF and UHF ranges.
Construction & Working of Helical Antenna
Helical antenna or helix antenna is the antenna in which the conducting wire is wound in
helical shape and connected to the ground plate with a feeder line. It is the simplest antenna,
which provides circularly polarized waves. It is used in extra-terrestrial communications in
which satellite relays etc., are involved.
VHF Antennas, 132-174 MHz, 3 dBd Gain
Quarter-wave whip antenna on Rubber ducky antenna on 446 MHz UHF VHF ground
an FM radio for 88–108 MHz plane antenna

Loop antenna for

transmitting at high
Yagi–Uda television antenna Log-periodic dipole array frequencies, 2m
diameter
 Microwave horn antenna
dipole variant for Two-element turnstile Corner reflector UHF bandwidth 0.8–18 GHz
VHF television reception antenna for reception of TV antenna
weather satellite data,
137 MHz
Animation of a half-wave dipole antenna transmitting radio
waves, showing the electric field lines. The dipole, in the center,
consists of two vertical metal rods with an alternating current
at its resonant frequency applied at its center from a radio
transmitter (not shown) The voltage alternately charges the
two ends of the antenna positive (+) and negative (−). Standing
waves of current (red arrows) flow up and down the rods. The
alternating voltage on the rods creates loops of electric field
(black lines) that pinch off into closed loops and radiate away
from the antenna at the speed of light. These are the radio
waves. The radiated power is greatest in the horizontal
direction, perpendicular to the antenna, and decreases to zero
above and below the antenna, on the antenna axis. This picture
only shows the electric field in a single plane through the
antenna axis; the field is actually axially symmetrical about the
antenna. The action is shown slowed down drastically in this
animation; real radio waves oscillate at rates of thirty thousand
to a billion cycles per second.
Animation showing a half-wave dipole
antenna receiving power from a radio wave.
The antenna consists of two metal rods each
one-quarter of the wavelength long, attached
through a parallel transmission line to a
resistance R equal to the characteristic
impedance of the antenna, representing the
receiver. The electromagnetic wave is
represented by its electric field (E, green
arrows) (it should be kept in mind that the
drawing only shows the field along one line,
while the radio wave is actually a plane wave
and the electric field is actually the same at
every point on a plane perpendicular to the
direction of motion).
The wave's magnetic field is not shown. The oscillating electric field exerts force on the electrons in the antenna rods , causing
them to move back and forth in currents (black arrows) between the ends of the antenna rods, charging the ends of the
antenna alternately positive (+) and negative (−). Since the antenna is a half-wavelength long at the radio wave's frequency, it
excites standing waves of voltage (V, red) and current in the antenna. The voltage along the antenna elements is represented
graphically by a band of red whose thickness at any point is proportional to the magnitude of the voltage. The oscillating
currents flowing back and forth from one antenna element to the other, pass down the transmission line and through the radio
receiver, represented by R. In this animation the action is shown slowed down drastically; the radio waves received by dipoles
actually oscillate back and forth at tens of thousands to billions of cycles per second.