Jim Kelley wrote:
How much energy is "in the reflected wave" without a circulator load
resistor?

There's the same amount of energy in the reflected wave
either way, with or without a circulator load resistor.
The reflected wave is incapable of looking ahead and
using its free will to decide how much energy to contain
depending upon its future fate. But that is what some
people would have us believe.

Does your question imply: A reflected wave that is
going to be dissipated in a circulator resistor sometime
in the future contains energy but a reflected wave that
is going to be dissipated after the power is turned off
does not contain energy?

In a one second long lossless transmission line, watts
equal joules. A forward wave of 200 watts contains 200
joules of energy. A reflected wave of 100 watts contains
100 joules of energy. Under such conditions, the source
has supplied exactly 300 joules more than has been
delivered to the load, no more and no less. Conservation
of energy strikes again.
--
73, Cecil, http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp