Scattering of electronagnetic waves by wires and plates

The scattering of electromagnetic waves by wires and plates is discussed, particularly with reference to new polarization components which appear. The problem of scattering of radiation by a rectangular plate, for arbitrary angle of incidence, and arbitrary direction of polarization, is solved. The problem of scattering by wires is formulated in terms of the current distributions on the wire when center driven, and when driven as a receiving antenna. A relation between the magnitude of the input impedance of a center driven wire and the scattering properties of the wire is given. The use of simple sinusoidal current distributions is shown to give good results for the scattering of wires of length less than a wavelength. The scattering properties of a wire are shown to provide a method for precisely measuring the magnitude of the input impedance of a center driven wire. This avoids the unknown impedance usually associated with measurements on a center driven wire.