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A Hertzian dipole is an ideal electrically short oscillating electric dipole used to model radiation from a localized current element. In vacuum its far-field electric dipole radiation has ${\sin }^2\theta$ angular power distribution and total power $P={\mu }_0|\ddot{\mathbf{p}}{|}^2/(6\pi c)$, evaluated at the retarded time. The electric-dipole approximation for radiation requires a source much smaller than its radiation wavelength.

For a lossless ideal Hertzian dipole driven by an incident wave, use its induced open-circuit voltage and its feed impedance $R_{\mathrm{rad}}+iX$. A conjugately matched load has impedance $R_{\mathrm{rad}}-iX$. The same induced current therefore delivers equal power to the load and to radiation resistance: $P_{\mathrm{sca}}=P_{\mathrm{load}}$. The scattered wave has the usual dipole angular pattern. In direction of gain $G$, its scattering cross-section is $G{A}_{\mathrm{eff}}$, since the load receives $S_{\mathrm{inc}}{A}_{\mathrm{eff}}$.

This ideal single-mode scattering is not the same as a signal that travels through an already matched antenna port, reflects from a mismatched terminating load, and returns. A zero port reflection coefficient removes that latter echo but does not make the physical dipole invisible to the incident field. Additional structural scattering, ohmic loss or a different load changes the result.

Use axes adapted to the two orthogonal rotations in the diagram:For a linearly oscillating Hertzian dipole with real unit axis $\mathbf{d}$ and total time-averaged radiated power $P$, the angular distribution of electric dipole radiation isThe normalization follows from $\int {\sin }^2\vartheta d\Omega =8\pi /3$. Equal readings therefore implyHere $d_z\ne 0$, since otherwise all components would vanish. Reversing the axis is immaterial, so choose $d_z>0$. The complete family isDefine $a=\sqrt{2}-1$, $b=-\sqrt{2}-1$, and $D=1+(s_B\sqrt{2}-1{)}^2+(s_C\sqrt{2}-1{)}^2$. Then $d_z^2=1/D$, and the absolute intensity fixesFor the measured distance and intensity, the allowed axes and powers are:

The intensity data do not select a unique orientation or total power. This is the dipole-axis ambiguity from three intensity measurements: the readings constrain squared projections and lose their signs. For example, the first branch makes an angle $30.36^{\circ }$ with $A$, but the other branches are equally consistent with the three measurements. A further suitable observation direction or polarization measurement is needed to remove the ambiguity. The calculation uses radiation-zone intensities, as appropriate to the Hertzian dipole model.

Use the ideal electrically short Hertzian dipole, $d\ll \lambda$, with negligible ohmic loss. Far-field statements additionally require an observation distance large compared with the wavelength and source dimensions. These assumptions distinguish its radiation from near-field coupling and from scattering by a general extended antenna structure.

Only the $1/r$ fields transport a nonzero outgoing power to infinity. Retain those terms from the Hertzian dipole fields:The brackets mean evaluation at the retarded time,for a point source at the origin in vacuum. They are not a time average. The radial Poynting vector in the radiation zone isIntegrating over a sphere usesThereforeNear-field terms either give inverse powers of $r$ after the surface integral or describe reversible exchange with the near field. The emitted power labelled by source time $t_{\mathrm{src}}$ is ${\mu }_0\ddot{p}(t_{\mathrm{src}}{)}^2/(6\pi c)$; the enclosing surface receives it one light-travel time later. For a changing dipole orientation, the general form is $P={\mu }_0|\ddot{\mathbf{p}}{|}^2/(6\pi c)$.

Radiation resistance represents emitted electromagnetic power as a real input resistance of an antenna. It does not describe conversion to heat inside the conductor. If peak current amplitude is used, $P_{\mathrm{rad}}=|I_0{|}^2{R}_{\mathrm{rad}}/2$. Real ohmic loss adds a separate resistance and lowers radiation efficiency. For an ideal short uniform-current element of length $d$, the Hertzian dipole gives $R_{\mathrm{rad}}=80{\pi }^2(d/\lambda {)}^2$ in ohms, using the usual vacuum impedance approximation $120\pi \Omega$.

Two aligned lossless Hertzian dipoles in one another's broadside radiation zone have gain $G=3/2$ and one-way received-power fraction $\eta =G^2[\lambda /(4\pi r){]}^2$. If the second remains conjugately matched, its matched-load scattering of a Hertzian dipole reradiates the same power as its load absorbs. Applying the reciprocal far-field link on the return gives $P_{\mathrm{echo}}=P_t{\eta }^2$, proportional to $r^{-4}$. The statement concerns physical dipole reradiation; a pure antenna load-mismatch echo model omits that scattering and is not interchangeable with it.