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E9F01

ANTENNAS AND TRANSMISSION LINES · Transmission lines: characteristics of open and shorted feed lines; coax versus open wire; velocity factor; electrical length; coaxial cable dielectrics; microstrip

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What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

  1. AThe ratio of its characteristic impedance to its termination impedance
  2. BThe ratio of its termination impedance to its characteristic impedance
  3. CThe velocity of a wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
  4. DThe velocity of a wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum
Why Velocity factor (VF) is simply the speed of the wave travelling in the line expressed as a fraction of c, the speed of light in free space: VF = v/c. Because the dielectric surrounding the conductors slows propagation, VF is always less than 1, roughly 0.66 for solid polyethylene coax, about 0.8 for foam coax, and 0.95 or more for open wire line. VF also equals 1/sqrt(dielectric constant), and you use it to find physical length: physical length = VF times the free space length.
Watch out The multiplication version would give a meaningless number far larger than c; velocity factor must be a ratio less than one, so the wave speed has to be on top of the fraction. The impedance ratio choices describe standing wave ratio, not velocity factor.
VF = line speed divided by c, always under 1. Coax 0.66, foam 0.8, open wire 0.95.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
All of E9F E9F02 →

The rest of E9F

  1. E9F01 What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?
  2. E9F02 Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?
  3. E9F03 Why is the electrical length of a coaxial cable longer than its physical length?
  4. E9F04 What impedance does a 1/2-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is shorted at…
  5. E9F05 What is microstrip?
  6. E9F06 What is the approximate physical length of an air-insulated, parallel conductor transmission line that is ele…
  7. E9F07 How does parallel conductor transmission line compare to coaxial cable with a plastic dielectric?
  8. E9F08 Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric…
  9. E9F09 What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is shorted at…
  10. E9F10 What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is shorted at…
  11. E9F11 What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is open at th…
  12. E9F12 What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is open at th…
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