Ulrich Bangert wrote:
an exellent treatment on this question has been published in QEX December 94
under the title "Where does the power go?"

Unfortunately, that article doesn't explain where the
power does go. A much better treatment of the subject
is in "Optics", by Hecht. To understand where the
power does go, one must understand destructive and
constructive interference. Please see my transmission
line example in another posting.

The energy content of a transmission line during
steady-state is always exactly enough to support
the forward traveling wave and the reverse traveling
wave without which there would be no standing wave.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com