Maxwell’s equations are applied in this chapter to investigate the behavior of
electromagnetic plane waves propagation in unbounded homogeneous media. The
behavior of electromagnetic waves propagating in a homogeneous medium is
determined by its electrical properties (permittivity, permeability, and conductivity) and
the operating frequency. General formulas for electromagnetic field components and
basic characteristics such as loss tangent, attenuation constant, phase constant,
propagation constant, intrinsic impedance, phase velocity, wavelength, and skin depth
are derived for an arbitrary medium assuming plane wave propagation. These general
formulas are used to study the behavior of uniform plane waves propagating in lossless
dielectrics, lossy dielectrics, and good conducting media. Moreover, the concepts of
wave polarization and group velocity are also discussed in this chapter. The topics of
the chapter are supported by numerous illustrative examples and figures in addition to
solved problems and homework problems at the end of the chapter.
Keywords: Attenuation constant, circular polarization, elliptical polarization,
group velocity, intrinsic impedance, linear polarization, loss tangent, phase
constant, phase velocity, propagation constant, skin depth, wave polarization.
