Bared-End Ground for an Insulated Buried Antenna Cable

The impedance, effective length, and current distribution of a grounding electrode are examined numerically. Its length varies frown being electrically short to being larger than a skin depth. The electrode is taken to be the bared extension of an insulated buried antenna. It is shown that there is little to be gained in making the electrode longer than a skin depth, unless the current distribution can be forced to spread out further along the electrode. Whether or not the properties of the grounding electrode will be affected by the impedance per unit length of the conductor is an important consideration. A criterion to help in this regard is developed.