Bob Bob wrote:
If I then take a stripline cct terminated at one end with a 50r resistor
and a detect diode at the other and is a half wave long, what is the
current/voltage distribution in this configuration.

Since the ends of the 1/2WL conductor are open circuits, standing
waves on the conductor are the result. The standing wave(s) consists
of the superposition of the forward wave(s) and the reflected wave(s).
This is exactly why the forward and reflected waves cannot be ignored
(as some gurus advise) if understanding is the goal.

For a 1/2WL conductor, the standing wave has a cosine envelope with
a phase near zero all along the line because the forward and reflected
phasors are rotating in opposite directions. The current is obviously
zero at the ends and maximum in the center.

The resistor termination at one end dissipates either the forward
wave or reflected wave depending upon which end it is located. The
dipole at the other end rectifies the other wave. If you are measuring
the forward power, the forward wave is rectified by the diode and the
reflected wave is dissipated/attenuated by the resistor. I have an
old Heathkit SWR meter that operates the same way. There's two pickup
conductors, one for forward power and one for reflected power.

In short, the resistor dissipates one of the component traveling waves
thus preventing reflections while the diode rectifies the other traveling
wave, thus providing a voltage proportional to that other traveling wave.
Which wave is dissipated and which wave is rectified depends upon which
end of the conductor the resistor and diode are located.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp