Electric Waves

Source: Radiation, Light and Illumination - Location: Lecture I, electric-wave section needs scan verification View source record

Steinmetz Usage

Electric waves are the longer-wave, lower-frequency side of the radiation spectrum: wireless telegraph waves, Hertzian waves, and even the wave aspect of alternating-current circuit fields.

The key source move is scale. Steinmetz does not treat radio waves and circuit fields as unrelated worlds. He explains that ordinary low-frequency AC fields have such enormous wavelength that propagation is usually ignored, while higher-frequency systems and distributed lines force the wave character back into view.

Modern Equivalent

Radio-frequency electromagnetic waves and propagating time-varying fields.

Why It Matters

Steinmetz’s treatment connects power engineering, wireless, high-frequency discharge, lightning/surge phenomena, and optics in one scale.

$$\lambda = \frac{S}{f}$$

Related Sources

• Radiation, Light and Illumination, Lecture I: electric waves and the radiation spectrum.
• Elementary Lectures: electric waves, impulses, oscillating currents.
• Transient Electric Phenomena: standing waves, traveling waves, propagation velocity, distributed line behavior.

Diagrammatic Explanation

Research Tasks

• Extract Steinmetz’s electric-wave demonstrations from the original figures.
• Compare “electric waves” with modern electromagnetic wave terminology.
• Separate wireless-wave material from ordinary low-frequency circuit-field approximation.
• Add Tesla-era comparison only after parallel Tesla passages are anchored.

Reader Synthesis

What Steinmetz Is Doing Here

Electric waves connect optical radiation, wireless waves, high-frequency circuit behavior, and transmission-line disturbances.

The current strongest source route is Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations, with 83 candidate hits across 12 sections.

Modern Translation

Modern readers can map this to electromagnetic waves and distributed-parameter circuit behavior, while keeping Steinmetz’s older wave vocabulary visible.

This page currently tracks 176 candidate occurrences across 6 sources and 20 sections.

Mathematical And Visual Route

Follow frequency, wavelength, velocity, line constants, reflection, standing waves, and traveling waves.

Use the math/visual bridge lower on this page to jump into formula families, source visual maps, and candidate figure leads.

Interpretive Boundary

Field-medium interpretations are useful as comparison layers only after the source distinction between circuit waves, radiation, and line phenomena is clear.

Layer labels stay active: source claim, modern equivalent, mathematical reconstruction, historical note, and interpretive reading are not interchangeable.

Fast Reading Path For Electric Waves

Passage	Hits	Location	Open
Chapter 4: Traveling Waves Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations	33	lines 30244-31450	read - research review
Lecture 8: Traveling Waves Elementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients	26	lines 5279-6124	read - research review
Lecture 8: Traveling Waves Elementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients	26	lines 4745-5520	read - research review
Chapter 3: Standing Waves Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations	15	lines 29316-30243	read - research review

Research Position

• Tracked vocabulary: Electric waves, Wave Propagation, Electrical Radiation.
• Concordance: Electric waves - Wave Propagation - Electrical Radiation.
• Source discipline: the table above is for reading and navigation; exact quotation still requires scan verification.
• Editorial rule: expand this page by promoting scan-checked passages, equations, and diagrams from the linked workbench pages, not by adding unsourced generalizations.

Source-Grounded Dossier

Generated evidence layer: this dossier is built from the processed concept concordance. Counts and snippets are OCR/PDF-text aids, not final quotations. Verify against scans before making exact claims.

176

Candidate occurrences tracked for this page.

6

Sources with at least one hit.

20

Sections, lectures, chapters, or report divisions to review.

What The Current Corpus Shows

Read this concept as a connector between optical radiation, wireless or high-frequency waves, and transmission-line behavior. Keep wavelength, frequency, velocity, and source context visible.

The strongest current source concentration is Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations with 83 candidate hits across 12 sections.

The dossier is meant to turn a concept page into a reading path: begin with Steinmetz’s source wording, then use the research links only when you need candidate counts, snippets, mathematical reconstruction, historical context, or interpretive layers.

Terms And Aliases Tracked

Electric waves, electric-waves, standing wave, traveling wave, travelling wave, wave front, wave propagation, electric radiation, electrical radiation, radiant energy

Concordance Records

Electric waves - Wave Propagation - Electrical Radiation

Source Distribution

Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations83 candidate hits across 12 sections.Electrical Radiation, Wave PropagationElementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients32 candidate hits across 2 sections.Wave PropagationElementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients31 candidate hits across 2 sections.Wave PropagationRadiation, Light and Illumination19 candidate hits across 6 sections.Electric waves, Electrical Radiation, Wave PropagationGeneral Lectures on Electrical Engineering8 candidate hits across 1 sections.Wave PropagationFour Lectures on Relativity and Space3 candidate hits across 2 sections.Electric waves, Wave Propagation

Priority Passages To Read

Chapter 4: Traveling Waves - 33 candidate hits

Source: Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations (1909)

Location: lines 30244-31450 - Tracked concepts: Wave Propagation

Read manuscript textResearch reviewFocused snippets

CHAPTER IV. TRAVELING WAVES. 20. As seen in Chapter III, especially in electric power cir- cuits, overhead or underground, the longest existing standing wave has a wave length which is so small compared with the critical wave length - where the frequency becomes zero - that the effect of the damping constant on the frequency and the wave length is negligi...

... the fre- quency constant q and the wave length constant k can be neglected, that is, frequency and wave length assumed as inde- pendent of the energy loss in the circuit. Usually, therefore, the equations (74) and (75) can be applied in dealing with the traveling wave. In these equations the distance traveled by the wave per second is used as unit len...

Lecture 8: Traveling Waves - 26 candidate hits

Source: Elementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients (1914)

Location: lines 5279-6124 - Tracked concepts: Wave Propagation

Read manuscript textResearch reviewFocused snippets

... y dis- tance angle co, and at any time t, that is, time angle 0, then is p = ei, = eo^e~2"* cos (0 =F co - 7) sin (0 =F co - 7), = ^6-^«'sin2(0Ta>-7), (2) and the average power flow is Po = avg p, (3) = 0. Hence, in a stationary oscillation, or standing wave of a uni- form circuit, the average flow of power, po, is zero, and no power flows along the c...

... ^o [1 + cos 2 (</> =F CO -7)], (5) and the average flow of power is po = avg p, (6) Such a wave thus consists of a combination of a steady flow of power along the circuit, jpo, and a pulsation or surge, pi, of the same nature as that of the standing wave (2) : pi =^%-2"*cos2((/)Tco-7). (7) Such a flow of power along the circuit is called a traveling w...

Lecture 8: Traveling Waves - 26 candidate hits

Source: Elementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients (1911)

Location: lines 4745-5520 - Tracked concepts: Wave Propagation

Read manuscript textResearch reviewFocused snippets

... tance angle co, and at any time t, that is, time angle <£, then is p = ei, = e0ioe~2ut cos (</> T co - 7) sin (0 =F co - 7), = ^|V2«<sin2(c/>=Fco-7), (2) and the average power flow is Po = avg p, (3) = 0. Hence, in a stationary oscillation, or standing wave of a uni- form circuit, the average flow of power, p0, is zero, and no power flows along the ci...

... = = eQiQe-2ut cos2 co - 7), and the average flow of power is p0 = avg p, (5) (6) Such a wave thus consists of a combination of a steady flow of power along the circuit, p0) and a pulsation or surge, pi, of the same nature as that of the standing wave (2) : Such a flow of power along the circuit is called a traveling wave. It occurs very frequently. Fo...

Chapter 3: Standing Waves - 15 candidate hits

Source: Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations (1909)

Location: lines 29316-30243 - Tracked concepts: Wave Propagation

Read manuscript textResearch reviewFocused snippets

CHAPTER III. STANDING WAVES. 14. If the propagation constant of the wave vanishes, h = 0, the wave becomes a stationary or standing wave, and the equa- tions of the standing wave are thus derived from the general equations (50) to (61), by substituting therein h = 0, which gives R2 = V(k2 - LCm2)2; (97) hence, if k2 > LCm2, R2 = tf- LCm2; and if /c2 < LCm...

Lecture 1: Nature And Different Forms Of Radiation - 13 candidate hits

Source: Radiation, Light and Illumination (1909)

Location: lines 608-1548 - Tracked concepts: Electric waves, Electrical Radiation, Wave Propagation

Read manuscript textResearch reviewFocused snippets

... uch low frequencies, but such very low frequencies NATURE AND DIFFERENT FORMS OF RADIATION. 15 have been observed in the radiations of bodies of very low tem- perature, as liquid air, or in the moon's rays. 7. Very much longer waves, however, are the electric waves. They are used in wireless telegraphy, etc. I here connect (Fig. 12) FIG. 12. the conde...

... e terminals, and the arrival of the electric wave at A2 causes a small spark to jump across the gap Gv which closes the circuit of the tungsten lamp L, thereby lighting it as long as the wave train continues. 16 RADIATION, LIGHT, AND ILLUMINATION. The electric waves used in wireless telegraphy range in wave lengths from 100 feet or less to 10,000 feet...

Lecture 17: Arc Lighting - 8 candidate hits

Source: General Lectures on Electrical Engineering (1908)

Location: lines 9920-12795 - Tracked concepts: Wave Propagation

Read manuscript textResearch reviewFocused snippets

... nner, thus giving rise (to very different wave shapes of the impulses. So some impulses may rise very rapidly, with •A. I. E. E. Transact. March, 1907: "Lightning Phenomena in Electric Circuits." LIGHTNING AND LIGHTNING PROTECTION 273 extremely steep wave front, and slowly die down. Others may rise slowly, then suddenly fall and reverse, or a series o...

... interference between the reflected waves, the incoming waves and the waves passing over the reactances, and so give rise to systems of standing waves or oscillations, similarly as an ocean wave rolling on to a sloping beach breaks up into surf. Where a traveling wave is reflected, the combination of the reflected wave and the incoming wave produces a...

Reading Layers To Build Out

Layer	What to add next
Steinmetz wording	Pull exact source passages only after scan verification; keep OCR text labeled until then.
Modern engineering reading	Translate the source usage into present electrical-engineering or physics language without erasing the older vocabulary.
Mathematical layer	Link equations, variables, diagrams, and worked examples when the concept has formula candidates.
Historical layer	Identify whether the term is still used, renamed, absorbed into modern theory, or historically obsolete.
Ether-field interpretation	Keep interpretive readings separate from Steinmetz’s explicit claim and from modern physics.
Open questions	Record places where the concordance suggests a lead but the scan or edition has not yet been checked.

Next Editorial Actions

1. Open the highest-priority source-text passages above and verify the wording against scans.
2. Promote exact definitions, equations, diagrams, and hidden-gem passages into this page with source references.
3. Add related concept links, equation pages, and diagram pages once the evidence is scan checked.
4. Keep speculative or Wheeler-style readings in explicitly labeled interpretation blocks.

Math And Visual Evidence Map

Generated bridge: this section crosslinks the concept page with the formula atlas, figure atlas, source visual maps, and source formula maps. It is a routing layer, not final interpretation.

1237

Formula candidates routed to this concept.

142

Figure candidates routed to this concept.

8

Modern guide diagrams related to this concept.

Formula Families To Review

Transients, Oscillation, And Damping - Waves, Lines, Radiation, And Frequency

Source Maps For This Concept

theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations visuals - theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations formulas - elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses visuals - elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses formulas - electric-discharges-waves-impulses-1914 visuals - electric-discharges-waves-impulses-1914 formulas - radiation-light-and-illumination visuals - radiation-light-and-illumination formulas - general-lectures-electrical-engineering visuals - general-lectures-electrical-engineering formulas - four-lectures-relativity-space visuals - four-lectures-relativity-space formulas

Related Modern Guide Diagrams

Distributed Constants Of A Transmission Line

Modern reading aid for line capacity, inductance, leakage, waves, and transients.

distributed-constants, capacity, inductance, waves

Open SVG - recreated visual index

Impulse Surge And Reflection

Modern reading aid for lightning, impulses, discharges, and traveling waves.

lightning-surges, impulse-current, traveling-wave

Open SVG - recreated visual index

Magnetic And Dielectric Energy Storage

Modern reading aid for Steinmetz’s paired magnetic-field and dielectric-field language.

dielectric-field, magnetic-field, energy-storage

Open SVG - recreated visual index

Equivalent Sine Waves And Harmonics

Modern reading aid for wave-shape analysis and higher harmonics.

harmonics, wave-shape, fourier-analysis

Open SVG - recreated visual index

Spectrum Of Radiation

Modern navigation guide for Steinmetz’s electric-wave, visible-light, ultraviolet, and X-ray spectrum bridge.

radiation, electric-waves, frequency, spectrum, ether

Open SVG - recreated visual index

Transient Condenser Response Redraw Sheet

Modern redraw sheet for logarithmic charge, critical damping, oscillatory charge, and decrement.

transient-phenomena, oscillation-damping, capacity, condenser

Open SVG - recreated visual index

Highest-Priority Formula Leads

Candidate	Family	OCR/PDF text	Routes
theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations-eq-candidate-0272 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	At the moment 0 = 0, let the e.m.f. e = E cos (0 - 00) be	source research review
electric-discharges-waves-impulses-1914-eq-candidate-0240 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	e = 2;oCe-”’ sin (0 =F co - 7) j	source research review
electric-discharges-waves-impulses-1914-eq-candidate-0293 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	i = e~ ”’ J ai cos </) cos co + 6i sin cf) cos co + Ci cos 0 sin co	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-eq-candidate-0195 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	i = io cos (0 - 7) = io cos 7 cos <j> + i0 sin 7 sin	source research review
theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations-eq-candidate-0276 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	Since e = E cos (0 - 00) = impressed e.m.f.,	source research review
theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations-eq-candidate-0296 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	i = -z | cos (I? - 00- 0J- i~x° cos (00 + OJ j (9)	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-eq-candidate-0220 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	if = 140 cos 0.2 1 - 80 sin 0.2 1,	source research review
theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations-eq-candidate-0137 strong-formula-candidate	transients-oscillation	i = I cos (d - 45°),	source research review

Highest-Priority Figure Leads

Candidate	Caption lead	Section	Routes
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-001 Fig. 1	G, the line A, and the load L, a current i flows, and voltages e Fig. 1. exist, which are constant, or permanent, as long as the conditions of the circuit remain the same. If we connect in some more	Lecture 1: Nature And Origin Of Transients	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-003 Fig. 3	permanent condition corresponding to the closed switch can occur, Fig. 3. the stored energy has to be supplied from the source of power; that is, for a short time power, in supplying the stored energy, flows not	Lecture 1: Nature And Origin Of Transients	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-006 Fig. 6	changes between potential gravitational and kinetic mechanical Fig. 6. Double-energy Transient	Lecture 1: Nature And Origin Of Transients	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-025 Fig. 25	frequency, and as the result an increase of voltage and a distor- tion of the quadrature phase occurs, as shown in the oscillogram Fig. 25. Various momentary short-circuit phenomena are illustrated by the oscillograms…	Lecture 4: Single-Energy Transients In Alternating Current Circuits	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-029 Fig. 29	2 3 4 5 Fig. 29. 6 seconds	Lecture 5: Single-Energy Transient Of Ironclad Circuit	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-033 Fig. 33	\ Fig. 33. hence, substituted in equation (28),	Lecture 6: Double-Energy Transients	source research review
elementary-lectures-electric-discharges-waves-impulses-fig-034 Fig. 34	A B Fig. 34. However, if (8) are the equations of current and voltage at a point A of a line, shown diagrammatically in Fig. 34, at any other	Lecture 7: Line Oscillations	source research review
theory-calculation-transient-electric-phenomena-oscillations-fig-099 Fig. 99	given for ^ = 0, where tt = t] for any other point of the line X the wave shape is the same, but all the ordinates reduced by the factor £~115* in the proportion as shown in the dotted curve in Fig. 99. Fig. 101 shows…	Chapter 4: Traveling Waves	source research review