Wire Properties

Right-clicking on a wire displays a pop-up menu, where you can select the Wire Properties command.

Alternatively, you can access the Wire Properties command by:

1. Clicking the Select Wire button (arrow icon) on the toolbar.
2. Left-clicking on the wire to select it.
3. Navigating to Edit > Wire Properties in the main menu.

The Wire Properties command is also available as a button on the toolbar.

Executing the Wire Properties command opens the Wire Properties window, which contains three tabs: Geometry, Attributes, and Materials. This window is designed for viewing wire properties only. To edit a wire, refer to the section Modifying a Wire.

The Geometry Tab

This tab displays the geometrical properties of the selected wire (see Fig. 1), including:

• Start Point: Cartesian coordinates of the wire’s start point.
• End Point: Cartesian coordinates of the wire’s end point.
• Wire Length: Length of the wire.
• Segment Length: Length of a wire segment. For curved wires with non-uniform segments, this is the average segment length.
• Shortest Wavelength (λ): Wavelength corresponding to the highest frequency specified in the Frequency panel.
• Wire Length/λ: Wire length measured in wavelengths (based on the shortest wavelength).
• Segment Length/λ: Length of a wire segment in wavelengths (based on the shortest wavelength).
• Segments Per Wavelength: Number of segments the wire would have if its length were one wavelength. This is the inverse of the segment length measured in wavelengths: 1/(Segment Length/λ).
• Hallen’s Parameter (Ω): A parameter that measures wire thickness, defined as Ω = 2 ln(L/a), where L is the wire length and a is the wire radius.

The Attributes Tab

This tab displays the electrical properties of the selected wire (see Fig. 2), including:

• Number of Segments: Number of segments into which the wire is divided.
• Number of Sources: Number of sources placed on the wire.
• Number of Loads: Number of loads placed on the wire.
• Cross-Section: Type and dimensions of the wire’s cross-section.
• Equivalent Radius: Equivalent radius of the cross-section.
• Equivalent Radius/λ: Equivalent radius as a fraction of the shortest wavelength.
• Thin-Wire Ratio: Ratio of the wire diameter to the segment length. This must be less than 3 when the Exact Kernel option is unchecked in the Settings panel of the Setup tab. If the Exact Kernel option is checked, any value of the thin-wire ratio is allowed. For non-circular cross-sections, the wire diameter is twice the equivalent radius.

The Materials Tab

This tab displays the material properties of the selected wire (see Fig. 3), including:

• Wire Resistivity: Resistivity of the wire in [Ohm·m]. If the wire is coated, this refers to the resistivity of the internal conductor.
• Wire Coating: Parameters of the wire’s coating shield.
• Relative Permittivity: Permittivity (dielectric constant) of the coating material relative to the permittivity of vacuum.
• Relative Permeability: Magnetic permeability of the coating material relative to the permeability of vacuum.
• Thickness: Thickness of the coating shield.