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From: bhoughto@cmdnfs.intel.com (Blair P. Houghton)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Signal Propagation, Baud Rate, and Attenuation
Message-ID: <1559@inews.intel.com>
Date: 2 Jan 91 19:04:03 GMT
References: <1126@soleil.UUCP> <1991Jan2.055516.14616@NCoast.ORG> <1991Jan2.164234.21958@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
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In article <1991Jan2.164234.21958@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> morrison@cs.uiuc.edu (Vance
Morrison) writes:
>In <1991Jan2.055516.14616@NCoast.ORG> bbs@NCoast.ORG (XBBS System) writes:
>>Could someone out there explain to me why a signal can physically travel
>>further on a metal media at a slower baud rate ?

>There are two main reasons for a length restriction for cableing, 
>attenuation and dispersion.  

[...most of user-friendly description of the horribly hairy
math involved in dispersion calculations deleted...and yes,
we (current/former) EE students actually (do/did) have to
do these in homework problems in required undergraduate
courses, occasionally in time domain only... (:-(/:-))]

>Now it is relatively easy to see what is going on.  If we sent a square 
>waveform down a cable, the high frequency components of the waveform will
>arrive before the lower frequency components.  Thus the signal does not
>'add up' right and the signal is distorted.  This causes a rounding of
>the edges of the waveform.

Rounding and ringing, actually.

				--Blair
				  "One nit, no charge."