James R. Wait

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James R. Wait was a Canadian electrical engineer and engineering physicist. [1] [2] In 1977, he was elected as a member of National Academy of Engineering in Electronics, Communication & Information Systems Engineering for his contributions to electromagnetic propagation engineering as it affects communication and geophysical exploration. [3]

Contents

Biography

Wait was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on January 23, 1924, received his BS (1948) and MS (1949) in engineering physics and his PhD (1951) in electrical engineering, all from the University of Toronto. Between 1948 and 1951, he worked for Newmont Exploration in Jerome, Arizona, where his research led to several patents in both IP and EM methods of geophysical prospecting. After a brief stint with the Defense Research Communications establishment in Ottawa, Wait first joined the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, and then NOAA; at each, he concentrated predominantly on theoretical aspects of radio-wave propagation.

Gertrude L Norman was his spouse, married in 1951 in Jerome AZ, deceased in 2010, Tucson, AZ. He had two Children, Laura H Wait, born 1954 in Ottawa Canada. She is a well known artist, living in Santa Fe. NM. Jim's son George, born in Boulder, CO in 1956, died in 2010 in Tucson, AZ. George had two children James and Carolyn. Jim has two great grandchildren.

He held numerous teaching and visiting scientist research positions at various prestigious universities and research establishments all over the world. In 1980, he was appointed professor of electrical engineering and geosciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson and in 1988 became one of the prestigious Regents' Professors. He died October 1, 1998, at his home in Tucson. [2]

Publications

Some representative of Prof. Wait's crucial journal publications

In IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
  1. 1953 Radiation from a vertical electric dipole over a stratified ground
  2. 1954 Radiation from a vertical dipole over a stratified ground (Part II)
  3. 1956 On the conductance of slots
  4. 1956 Effect of the ground screen on the field radiated from a monopole
  5. 1957 The transient behavior of the electromagnetic ground wave on a spherical earth
  6. 1958 Pattern of an antenna on a curved lossy surface
  7. 1958 On the measurement of ground conductivity at VLF
  8. 1959 Guiding of electromagnetic waves by uniformly rough surfaces : Part I
  9. 1959 Guiding of electromagnetic waves by uniformly rough surfaces : Part II
  10. 1959 U.S.A. national committee report URSI subcommission 6.3 antennas and waveguides, and annotated bibliography
  11. 1960 On the excitation of electromagnetic surface waves on a curved surface
  12. 1961 Resonance characteristics of a corrugated cylinder excited by a magnetic dipole
  13. 1962 Effective impedance of a wire grid parallel to the earth's surface
  14. 1963 Preface: Special issue on electromagnetic waves in the earth
  15. 1963 The possibility of guided electromagnetic waves in the earth's crust
  16. 1963 Curves for ground wave propagation over mixed land and sea paths
  17. 1964 Propagation of radio waves past a coast line with a gradual change of surface impedance
  18. 1964Influence of a disc-shaped ionospheric depression on VLF propagation
  19. 1965 Propagation of electromagnetic pulses in terrestrial waveguides
  20. 1966 Radiation from a spherical aperature antenna immersed in a compressible plasma
  21. 1966 Influence of a sub-surface insulating layer on electromagnetic ground wave propagation
  22. 1967 Asymptotic theory for dipole radiation in the presence of a lossy slab lying on a conducting half-space
  23. 1968 Radio propagation over a cylindrical hill including the effect of a surmounted obstacle
  24. 1968 Correction to "The whispering gallery nature of the earth-ionosphere waveguide at VLF"
  25. 1969 On mode conversion of VLF radio waves at a land-sea boundary
  26. 1970 Theory of a vertical tubular antenna located above a conducting half-space
  27. 1972 Normal mode model for electromagnetic propagation in the earth crust waveguide
  28. 1972 Electromagnetic pulse transmission in homogeneous dispersive rock
  29. 1972 Subsurface electromagnetic fields of a circular loop of current located above ground
  30. 1972 Electromagnetic scattering from a wire grid parallel to a planar stratified medium
  31. 1972 Subsurface electromagnetic fields of a circular loop of current located above ground
  32. 1972 Range dependence of the surface impedance and wave tilt for a line-source excited two-layer earth
  33. 1973 Effect of edge reflections on the performance of antenna ground screens
  34. 1974 Guided electromagnetic waves along an axial conductor in a circular tunnel
  35. 1974 Diffusion of electromagnetic pulses into the earth from a line source
  36. 1975 On the electromagnetic field of a dielectric coated coaxial cable with an interrupted shield
  37. 1975 The transient electric field response of an array of parallel wires on the Earth's surface
  38. 1975 Note on excitation of the electromagnetic earth-crust waveguide
  39. 1975 Electromagnetic fields of a dielectric coated coaxial cable with an interrupted shield—Quasi-static approach
  40. 1977 Effect of a lossy jacket on the external field of a coaxial cable with an interrupted shield
  41. 1977 Radio frequency transmission via a trolley wire in a tunnel with a rail return
  42. 1994 Comments on "Propagation of EM pulses excited by electric dipole in a conducting medium"
  43. 1991 EM scattering from a vertical column of ionization in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide
  44. 2000 On the convergence of a perturbation series solution for reflection from periodic rough surfaces
Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium
  1. 1963 Oblique propagation of radio waves across a coast line with a sloping beach
  2. 1966 Influence of a sub-surface insulating layer on electromagnetic ground wave propagation
  3. 1966 Illumination of an inhomogeneous spherical earth by an LF plane electromagnetic wave
  4. 1972 Effect of edge reflections on the performance of antenna ground screens
  5. 1973 On the pulse response of a dipole over an impedance surface
  6. 1974 Guided electromagnetic waves along axial conductors in a circular tunnel
  7. 1975 Electromagnetic fields of a dielectric coated coaxial cable with an interrupted shield
  8. 1975 Electromagnetic wave transmission within the earth
  9. 1976 Attenuation on a surface wave G-line suspended within a circular tunnel
  10. 1979 Ground wave theory via normal modes – an historical perspective
  11. 1999 A viable model for power focussing in a lossy cylinder
In IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques
  1. 1956 Currents Excited on a Conducting Surface of Large Radius of Curvature
  2. 1957 The Impedance of a Wire Grid Parallel to a Dielectric Interface
  3. 1967 On the Theory of Shielded Surface Waves
  4. 1975 Propagation Along a Braided Coaxial Cable in a Circular Tunnel
  5. 1976 Electromagnetic Theory of the Loosely Braided Coaxial Cable: Part I
  6. 1976 Propagation Along a Braided Coaxial Cable Located Close to a Tunnel Wall (Short Papers)
  7. 1977 Influence of Spatial Dispersion of the Shield Transfer Impedance of a Braided Coaxial Cable (Letters)
In IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
  1. 1971 Electromagnetic Induction Technique for Locating a Buried Source
  2. 1987 Resistivity and Induced Polarization Response for a Borehole Model
  3. 1989 Comments, with reply, on "Electric field sensors in electromagnetic sounding" by Wu Xiao Wu and David V. Thiel
In IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility
  1. 1974 Comments on "Shielding Performance of Metallic Cylinders" and Comments by C. W. Harrison, Jr., and Reply by D. Schieber
  2. 1974 Comments on "The Use of the Lorentz Reciprocity Theorem to Prove Equality of the Open Circuit Voltages of a Receiving Dipole and a Monopole"
  3. 1976 Analysis of Radio Frequency Transmission along a Trolley Wire in a Mine Tunnel
  4. 1977 Electromagnetic Surface Wave Propagation over a Bonded Wire Mesh
  5. 1977 Electromagnetic Field Analysis for a Coaxial Cable with Periodic Slots
  6. 1989 Reply to comments on Wait's "In defense of J.A. Stratton"
  7. 1994 Comments on "The EM field of an improved lightning return stroke representation"
In the Proceedings of Institution of Electrical Engineers / IEEE
  1. 1952 The Magnetic Dipole Antenna Immersed in a Conducting Medium
  2. 1953 Complex Magnetic Permeability of Spherical Particles
  3. 1956 Radiation Patterns of Circumferential Slots on Moderately Large Conducting Cylinders
  4. 1956 An investigation of slot radiators in rectangular metal plates
  5. 1957 The Mode Theory of VLF Ionospheric Propagation for Finite Ground Conductivity
  6. 1957 The Attenuation vs Frequency Characteristics of VLF Radio Waves
  7. 1957 The Geometrical Optics of VLF Sky Wave Propagation
  8. 1957 Introduction to the VLF Papers
  9. 1959 Preface to the surface wave papers
  10. 1960 The Resonance Excitation of a Corrugated-Cylinder Antenna
  11. 1962 Introduction to the Theory of VLF Propagation
  12. 1962 Average Decay Laws for VLF Fields
  13. 1966 Some factors concerning electromagnetic wave propagation in the earth's crust
  14. 1966 Groundwave propagation along three-section mixed paths
  15. 1974 Recent analytical investigations of electromagnetic ground wave propagation over inhomogeneous earth models
In Electronics Letters
  1. 1966 Dipole resonances of a magnetoplasma column
  2. 1966 Limiting behaviour of a thin plasma sheet for a transverse magnetic field
  3. 1971 Influence of Earth curvature on the subsurface electromagnetic fields of a line source
  4. 1971 Electromagnetic-pulse propagation in a simple dispersive medium
  5. 1972 Transient magnetic fields produced by a step-function-excited loop buried in the earth
  6. 1972 Absorption mode for e.l.f. electromagnetic propagation in the Earth-crust waveguide
  7. 1972 Locating an oscillating magnetic dipole in the earth
  8. 1973 Resistance of earth electrodes
  9. 1976 Long-wave behaviour of the Beverage wave aerial
  10. 1976 Analyses of electromagnetic scattering from wire-mesh structures
In India, IEE-IERE Proceedings
  1. 1970 Analysis of v.l.f. propagation in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide over a mixed land/sea path. Part I
  2. 1970 Analysis of v.l.f. propagation in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide over a mixed land/sea path. Part II
  3. 1970 Transient analysis for an electric dipole on a disk ground screen
In IEEE Transactions on Communications
  1. 1974 Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Propagation Along a Horizontal Wire Located Above or Buried in the Earth
  2. 1974 Historical Background and Introduction to the Special Issue on Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Communications
  3. 1975 Coupling Between a Radiating Coaxial Cable and a Dipole Antenna
  4. 1976 Calculated Channel Characteristics of a Braided Coaxial Cable in a Mine Tunnel
In IEEE Transactions on Communication Technology
  1. 1971 Subsurface Electromagnetic Telecommunication—A Review
In IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting
  1. 1974 Comments on "Transmission of Circular Polarized Waves Between Elevated Antenna"
In IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering
  1. 1977 Propagation of ELF electromagnetic waves and project sanguine/seafarer
In IEEE International Conference on Engineering in the Ocean Environment, Ocean 72
  1. 1972 The sanguine concept
In International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Electromagnetic Theory, 1998. MMET 98. 1998
  1. 1998 VLF scattering from red sprites: vertical columns of ionisation in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide
In IRE Transactions on Communications Systems
  1. 1958 Transmission Loss Curves for Propagation at Very Low Radio Frequencies
In IEEE Transactions on Education
  1. 1970 A Pitfall in the Scalar Electromagnetic Formulation of Kirchhoff Theory
In Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  1. 1954 Reflection from a mirror surface with an absorbent coating
In Applied Scientific Research B
  1. 1954 Reflection at arbitrary incidence from a parallel wire grid, 4, pp. 393–400.
In Canadian Journal of Physics
  1. 1955, Scattering of a plane wave from a circular dielectric cylinder at oblique incidence, 33, pp. 189–195.
In Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
  1. 1949 Detection of Overheated Transmission Line Joints by Means of a Bolometer

Wait's books

Patents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface wave</span> Physical phenomenon

In physics, a surface wave is a mechanical wave that propagates along the interface between differing media. A common example is gravity waves along the surface of liquids, such as ocean waves. Gravity waves can also occur within liquids, at the interface between two fluids with different densities. Elastic surface waves can travel along the surface of solids, such as Rayleigh or Love waves. Electromagnetic waves can also propagate as "surface waves" in that they can be guided along with a refractive index gradient or along an interface between two media having different dielectric constants. In radio transmission, a ground wave is a guided wave that propagates close to the surface of the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transmission medium</span> Conduit for signal propagation

A transmission medium is a system or substance that can mediate the propagation of signals for the purposes of telecommunication. Signals are typically imposed on a wave of some kind suitable for the chosen medium. For example, data can modulate sound, and a transmission medium for sounds may be air, but solids and liquids may also act as the transmission medium. Vacuum or air constitutes a good transmission medium for electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves. While a material substance is not required for electromagnetic waves to propagate, such waves are usually affected by the transmission media they pass through, for instance, by absorption or reflection or refraction at the interfaces between media. Technical devices can therefore be employed to transmit or guide waves. Thus, an optical fiber or a copper cable is used as transmission media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waveguide</span> Structure that guides waves efficiently

A waveguide is a structure that guides waves by restricting the transmission of energy to one direction. Common types of waveguides include acoustic waveguides which direct sound, optical waveguides which direct light, and radio-frequency waveguides which direct electromagnetic waves other than light like radio waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coaxial cable</span> Electrical cable type with concentric inner conductor, insulator, and conducting shield

Coaxial cable, or coax, is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ; many coaxial cables also have a protective outer sheath or jacket. The term coaxial refers to the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing a geometric axis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio wave</span> Type of electromagnetic radiation

Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 gigahertz (GHz) and wavelengths greater than 1 millimeter, about the diameter of a grain of rice. Like all electromagnetic waves, radio waves in a vacuum travel at the speed of light, and in the Earth's atmosphere at a slightly slower speed. Radio waves are generated by charged particles undergoing acceleration, such as time-varying electric currents. Naturally occurring radio waves are emitted by lightning and astronomical objects, and are part of the blackbody radiation emitted by all warm objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Very low frequency</span> The range 3–30 kHz of the electromagnetic spectrum

Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten myriameters. Due to its limited bandwidth, audio (voice) transmission is highly impractical in this band, and therefore only low data rate coded signals are used. The VLF band is used for a few radio navigation services, government time radio stations and for secure military communication. Since VLF waves can penetrate at least 40 meters (131 ft) into saltwater, they are used for military communication with submarines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antenna (radio)</span> Electrical device

In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an electric current to the antenna's terminals, and the antenna radiates the energy from the current as electromagnetic waves. In reception, an antenna intercepts some of the power of a radio wave in order to produce an electric current at its terminals, that is applied to a receiver to be amplified. Antennas are essential components of all radio equipment.

This is an index of articles relating to electronics and electricity or natural electricity and things that run on electricity and things that use or conduct electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extremely low frequency</span> The range 3-30 Hz of the electromagnetic spectrum

Extremely low frequency (ELF) is the ITU designation for electromagnetic radiation with frequencies from 3 to 30 Hz, and corresponding wavelengths of 100,000 to 10,000 kilometers, respectively. In atmospheric science, an alternative definition is usually given, from 3 Hz to 3 kHz. In the related magnetosphere science, the lower-frequency electromagnetic oscillations are considered to lie in the ULF range, which is thus also defined differently from the ITU radio bands.

Super high frequency (SHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range between 3 and 30 gigahertz (GHz). This band of frequencies is also known as the centimetre band or centimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten centimetres. These frequencies fall within the microwave band, so radio waves with these frequencies are called microwaves. The small wavelength of microwaves allows them to be directed in narrow beams by aperture antennas such as parabolic dishes and horn antennas, so they are used for point-to-point communication and data links and for radar. This frequency range is used for most radar transmitters, wireless LANs, satellite communication, microwave radio relay links, satellite phones, and numerous short range terrestrial data links. They are also used for heating in industrial microwave heating, medical diathermy, microwave hyperthermy to treat cancer, and to cook food in microwave ovens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waveguide (radio frequency)</span> Hollow metal pipe used to carry radio waves

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A radio transmitter or receiver is connected to an antenna which emits or receives the radio waves. The antenna feed system or antenna feed is the cable or conductor, and other associated equipment, which connects the transmitter or receiver with the antenna and makes the two devices compatible. In a radio transmitter, the transmitter generates an alternating current of radio frequency, and the feed system feeds the current to the antenna, which converts the power in the current to radio waves. In a radio receiver, the incoming radio waves excite tiny alternating currents in the antenna, and the feed system delivers this current to the receiver, which processes the signal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio atmospheric signal</span> Broadband electromagnetic impulse

A radio atmospheric signal or sferic is a broadband electromagnetic impulse that occurs as a result of natural atmospheric lightning discharges. Sferics may propagate from their lightning source without major attenuation in the Earth–ionosphere waveguide, and can be received thousands of kilometres from their source. On a time-domain plot, a sferic may appear as a single high-amplitude spike in the time-domain data. On a spectrogram, a sferic appears as a vertical stripe that may extend from a few kHz to several tens of kHz, depending on atmospheric conditions.

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References

  1. G..QT.&newsearch=true Sato, G., In memory of Dr. James R. Wait IEEE Antennas & Propagation Society, IEEE. Volume 41, Issue 2, April 1999, pp. 44–46.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Ernest K. (September 2000). "James R. Wait—Remarkable Scientist". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation . 48 (9): 1278–1286. Bibcode:2000ITAP...48.1278S. doi:10.1109/TAP.2000.898758.
  3. James R. Wait was elected in 1977

External articles