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There are 2 types of transmission lines.
The Lossless Transmission Line
A lossless transmission line is an idealized transmission line where no energy is lost as signals travel through it. This means there is no resistance, capacitance, or inductive loss in the line, allowing signals to propagate without attenuation or distortion. In reality, transmission lines experience some loss, but in certain applications (e.g., high-frequency signals over short distances), the line can behave close to lossless. Key parameters like characteristic impedance and signal reflection are still important in analyzing its behavior.
A lossy transmission line is a transmission line where signal energy is dissipated as it propagates, typically due to resistance, dielectric losses, or radiation. As a result, signals experience attenuation, distortion, and phase delay over distance. Losses are caused by the resistance of the conductors (ohmic losses) and the imperfect insulation (dielectric losses) in the line's materials. These effects are more pronounced at higher frequencies and longer distances, impacting signal quality and transmission efficiency.