Re: Current Flow
Maxwell's equations are a set of equations found by trial and error to allow us to predict what we actually observe in electrical experiments. Maxwell's most important contribution to Maxwell's equations is the concept of an abstract field (more important than displacement current).
Today we think of E and H fields as real things. They are not. They are abstract mathematical concepts that let us predict things like current flow, power, etc. All this is described in detail in an article to be published in the June issue of IEEE Microwave Magazine.
For AC signals (like the spectral components of a high speed signal), the current flow is electrons moving. But remember, for AC, the electrons are moving back and forth. One electron never makes it from one end of the wire to the other. Current flow is a real physical thing, just count the electrons moving back and forth.
However, all the fields are abstract mathematical concepts, they are not real. Why do we calculate these abstract fields (something I have been doing for over 25 years)? Because once calculated, they let us predict things like cross talk and reflections, etc. Do not pretend for even one second that we actually understand WHY these things happen.
So, we should view the current as the cause of the EM wave. But the EM wave is only an imaginary mathematical helper that helps us figure out what happens when that current flows. And what happens, if you think about it, is really pretty amazing...and no one has even the faintest idea why it happens.
Hi flatulent -- There is no wave tilt for TEM waves. There is for Beverage antennas, and I do think (but am not sure), that that tilt is critical for their proper operation. And Beverages do work very very well. I have three of them.