This article describes a demonstrator comprising four software tools that was developed to assist theteaching of some fundamental concepts about wave propagation in transmission lines and that can also serve as a student virtual laboratory. The tools, developed in MATLAB, are easy to use and offer a new approach, which intends to explore the physical basis of transmission line theory, including the transmission line model as a
ladder inductor-capacitor circuit, the
concept of traveling waves and their
interaction in the transmission line,
the nature of transmission line input
impedance, and impedance matching
issues. The tools are made available
online to be used, modified, or improved
by the community.