Cecil, W5DXP wrote:
"If so, where does the inductance and capacitance in free space come
from to generate that 377 ohms of characteristic impedance?"

First, impedance is a voltage to current ratio as in Ohm`s law. It can
be complex if reactance and resistance are involved, but it`s still a
voltage to current ratio. Antennas radiate power which has the units of
watts, and from the expanding radiation wavefront in free space, this
amounts to watts per square meter.

A wire one meter long placed for maximum excitation when swept by the
passing wave will have a voltage induced across it equal to the wave`s
signal strength in volts per meter.

There are no volts or amps in the wave, only the ability to generate
volts and amps in conductors.

The 377 phms of characteristic impedance is the ratio of the electric
field strength to the magnetic field strength in the wave. Its purpose
is to get the units right. The ratio of energy in the electric and
magnetic components of the wave is really one to one. It is really the
same energy swapped back and forth between the electric field and
magnetic field which physically are at a right angle and both are at
right angles to the direction of travel.

Kraus has done the math for us on page 170 of the 3rd edition of
"Antennas". His answer is 376.7 ohms, a pure resistance. This is the far
field in free space.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI