My work explores the practical aspects of how bound, stored, or static electromagnetic energy transforms into moving electromagnetic energy. I’ve applied this expertise in the design of ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas, as well as in wireless systems that operate using near-field wireless principles. Q-Track designs indoor location systems that locate tags […]
Electromagnetics
174 posts
Today I will present a Lunch-N-Learn seminar to the Central Indiana Section of the IEEE this Monday, September 21, at 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. His talk is hosted by Frost Brown Todd, LLC in downtown Indianapolis. Register here. My talk, Energy Flow in Reactive Fields, proposes a novel definition […]
Noted antenna engineer, Alan Boswell of Great Baddow, Essex, UK, died August 5, 2015 at Broomfield Hospital. His funeral was on August 20 at Chelmsford Crematorium. Should you wish to make a charitable donation in his memory, two charities that were close to Alan’s heart are the British Lung Foundation […]
The folks at Loughborough University in the UK have developed and released a fascinating educational application to illustrate the behavior of waves. The Loughborough Wave App offers an intuitive interface to allow the user to explore a variety of simple wave phenomena. This is not an analytic tool. Rather it’s […]
One of the great pleasures of having written a book is hearing feedback from readers. I’m particularly interested in readers who have applied ultrawideband antenna ideas and concepts to solve problems with which I was completely unfamiliar. Martin Judd of High Frequency Diagnostics in Glasgow, Scotland has graciously agreed to […]
I will be presenting a Lunch-N-Learn seminar to the Joint Communications, Antennas & Propagation, and Microwave Theory and Techniques (JCAM) Chapter of the Huntsville Section of the IEEE this Wednesday, August 19, at 11:15 am to 12:45 pm. Lunch (Chicken Tenders) will be served, courtesy of our hosts at Technology […]
Noted antenna expert, Alan Boswell, was kind enough to share his thoughts on the second (revised) edition of The Art and Science of UWB Antennas. His review follows… The first thing to say to someone familiar with antennas who picks up this book is that its subject matter is not […]
I’ve started a page to host corrections to the second edition of The Art and Science of UWB Antennas. There are only two so far, but I’m confident a careful reader will have no trouble adding to the list. The first discoverer of an error will receive the fame of […]
SafeSpot™ systems make busy workplaces safer by warning pedestrians and forklift drivers of potential collisions. The system triggers a warning around blind corners if a forklift-forklift or forklift-pedestrian collision is imminent. Q-Track’s innovative system employs near-field electromagnetic ranging to detect proximity of forklifts and passive IR to detect pedestrians. Workers […]
Professor Steve Holland of the Milwaukee School of Engineering is an expert on UWB antennas and broadband matching. He reviewed Chapter 4 of my book as I was writing it, and he provided me with helpful feedback and insights on matching UWB antennas. His conference paper “Wideband Impedance Matching Techniques” […]
Can a preface itself have a preface? At the risk of being hopelessly self-referential, I suppose that’s how one might characterize this post. The preface to the second edition of The Art and Science of UWB Antennas follows. By way of introduction, the preface was actually the last part of […]
Here’s a video version of my May 23 talk at ATLOSCon in Atlanta Georgia on Fields Versus Action at a Distance. I subtitled my talk “How Electromagnetics Works,” because in retrospect, that would have made a better title. My talk discusses the conflict between action at a distance and field-based […]
Every signed copy of The Art and Science of UWB Antennas will come with a complimentary bookplate. Designed by Patricia Forrest and inspired by a classic design from 1950s science fiction illustrator Ed Emshwiller, the bookplate features equations and graphics from the text. Design elements include: Impulses combining destructive on […]
I’m presenting a talk on “Fields Versus Action-At-A-Distance” at ATLOSCon 2015 in Atlanta this morning. This talk focuses on the conflict between the action-at-a-distance and the field approach to physical understanding from the days of Newton and Descartes to the present. Faraday devised the field concept in reaction to then prevalent […]
Some distinguished early readers offer enthusiastic reviews for the revised second edition of The Art and Science of Ultrawideband Antennas. “Schantz introduces time domain methods in antenna engineering and microwave techniques, which relate to ultrawideband signals in this expanded second edition. The book is delightfully illuminating, and includes well-researched historical […]
This week, I’ll be presenting my paper on “A simple procedure for measuring gain of very electrically small antennas” at the 2014 Loughborough Antenna and Propagation Conference. Gain measurements of very electrically small antennas (VESAs) present special challenges. These antennas radiate with poor efficiency, and great care is needed to […]
Last week, I traveled to the Allerton Park and Retreat Center to present a new paper on fundamental electromagnetic physics at the 2014 Antenna Applications Symposium. My paper, “On Energy Flow in Standing Waves,” analyzes and explains the propagation of energy in a variety of standing waves. The conventional point […]
The Heaviside Memorial Project successfully raised funds and completed the restoration of the memorial to Oliver Heaviside and his family in the Paignton Cemetary near Torquay, Devon. Details and additional photos of the unveiling ceremony are available at their web site. The group, organized by the Newcastle Electromagnetics Interest Group […]
He developed the theory of transmission lines, coined such terms as inductance, impedance, and admittance, and rewrote James Clerk Maxwell’s awkwardly expressed equations into the vector form familiar to any student of electromagnetics. Today, Oliver Heaviside’s neglected tombstone is barely legible and is beginning to lean. Chris Spargo and Professor […]
Yesterday, UWB pioneer Time Domain announced their acquisition by a private equity group led by Bonaventure Capital and Fidelis Capital. Time Domain did not disclose the terms of the transaction. Additional details are available in a statement from the company and in coverage from the Huntsville Times.
I’ll be presenting my short course on UWB antennas at the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Symposium (APS) in Memphis, TN on Sunday July 6. This is the first time I’ve been back to IEEE APS since 2007, and my short course includes some interesting revisions from the second edition of […]
Near-field wireless technology is an emerging area of great importance in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Specific applications include low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) RFID, Near-Field Communications (NFC), Near-Field Electromagnetic Ranging (NFER), and wireless power transfer. This talk discusses the origins of near-field wireless, surveys applications, presents near-field links […]
From Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell, vol 2, LIV, p.311 (Proceedings of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, vol. VII, 1876). Emphasis added inn bold. I HAVE no new discovery to bring before you this evening. I must ask you to go over very old ground, and to turn […]
Roger Bowley of the University of Nottingham demonstrates a dramatic increase in the range of your car’s ~315MHz key-fob merely by holding it to his head (H/T Glenn Wolenec).