Irregularities in Broad-Band Wire Transmission Circuits

The effects of inhomogeneities along the length of a wire transmission circuit are considered, affecting its use as a broad-band transmission medium. These inhomogeneities give rise to reflections of the transmitted energy which in turn cause irregularities in the measured sending or receiving end impedance of the circuit in its overall attenuation, and in its envelope delay. The irregularities comprise departures of the characteristic from the average, in an ensemble of lines, or departures from a smooth curve of the characteristic of a single line when this is plotted as a function of frequency. These irregularities are investigated quantitatively.