Peter Reiser

Why does a solid metal enclosure block an incoming wave almost completely, yet still let a sliver of energy through? This installment of EMC Concepts Explained walks through the reflection and transmission math at both shield interfaces, showing exactly why thickness and conductivity make all the difference.

Before you can calculate shielding effectiveness, you need to know whether your material qualifies as a good conductor — and that's where loss tangent comes in. This deep dive connects the math to the physics, from plane wave propagation to practical near- and far-field shielding formulas.