On Wed, 03 Mar 2004 00:56:57 GMT, "Old Ed"
wrote:

"Lossless resistance?" Would that be zero resistance,
or perhaps a negative resistance, as in the active part of
a tunnel diode's V-I characteristic?

I am a career EE, with a couple of graduate EE degrees;
and this is something entirely new to me. Could you explain
this concept, and/or provide some references?

Thanks, Ed

Hi Ed,

This is the most useless term employed in these threads; what I call a
difference without a distinction.

To put it shortly, it is the resistance observed in an infinite
transmission line (better known as the Characteristic Z) or the
resistance of an antenna (better known as the Radiation Resistance).
You will note that a competent engineer already understands the nature
of this resistance, shrubs may need more words to obtain the same
knowledge.

Some explanations like to force it into the same definition of Z, and
then add more words to denote there is not reactance, and then more
words to add there is no heat generated.

In other words (too many of them) the issue is driven from the physics
of heat which if anyone peeled back the onion layers, then they would
find they have not actually escaped from it all, and more words are
forced into the definition to argue what dissipation means.

Principally, a new instrument has been added to the Ohm Meter, the
thermometer, to prove you have in fact measured the value of a carbon
composition resistor. No one actually does this; no one actually
could offer a suitable caloric answer if their life depended on it;
and certainly no one could tell you what the resistance is from a
thermometer reading. But they would demand it is necessary none the
less. ;-)

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC