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planewave
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In my electromagnetic engineering class we were talking about Hertzian dipole antennas with an oscillating current source (transmission line) driving the antenna. As part of the description of the behavior as the two ends of the antenna have opposite charges an electric field is created from the positive charge to the negative charge. Since the current is oscillating through the antenna at one point in the middle the charges become neutralized and the e-field has already propagated some distance into space so it detaches but remains continuous. I'm having difficulty in conceptualizing how this e-field (and h-field) can exist in a state where they are neither bound by charges nor propagating as a plane wave. Could another engineer or a kind physicist help a student understand this phenomena better?