View Single Post
  #2   Report Post  
Old March 12th 10, 05:38 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna
Dave[_22_] Dave[_22_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Oct 2009
Posts: 85
Default Lossy Coax: how is energy lost ?

On Mar 12, 5:24*pm, "JC" wrote:
In a lossy coax the lost energy is, I suppose, heating up the dielectric.
To try *to visualize that I stripped off 30 cm of dielectric from an old
RG58 cable and put it in a 900 W 2450 MHz standard microwave oven together
with a 100cc cup of water as dummy load.
2 minutes after switching on the water was boiling but the polyethylene was
only slightly *warmer due to the proximity to the boiling water., Can I
conclude that RG58 dielectric has no loss at 2350 MHz ?
Certainly not ( it is well known that all the PE food containers used in
such ovens are not heated ), but what is wrong in this test ? how does it
differ from the dielectric heated in an actual operating lossy cable ?
JC


there is more than dielectric heating. there is also heating in the
resistance of the conductors and leakage from incomplete shielding.