Wave dispersion

thadman

Let us assume we possess a line radiator. It's extent is infinite and it radiates 360*.

As far as I understand, an expanding spherical wave of order 0 is not dispersive. I assume an expanding cylindrical wave of order 0 would possess dispersion, however I am not certain.

Could any members offer insight on this?

Best Regards,
Thadman

Bob S

i don't think any radiated wave can be dispersive in a vacuum, because all wavelengths travel at the same velocity. To be non-dispersive, there can not be any (wavelength dependent) attenuation either, because dispersion and attenuation are coupled through the dispersion relations. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispersion_relation
Bob S