ABSTRACT
This chapter considers a lossless line, extending toward infinity in both directions. It uses an intuitive approach in the construction of solutions to the wave equation, and emphases the interpretation of results in the transmission-line setting rather than on the theoretical aspects of differential equations. The constraint that the wave equation itself imposes on a possible solution is a mild one, namely, that the second derivatives of the function with respect to t and z be directly proportional to each other. The proportionality may be simplified to an equality by the following change of variable. A uniform lossless electrical transmission line may be described by the following two parameters, each stated on a per-unit-of-length basis: inductance l and capacitance c. The magnitude of a voltage wave traveling in one direction is at all times and locations equal to the product of the magnitude of the accompanying current wave and the characteristic impedance, Z0.
