The electromagnetic waves flying away from a radiating antenna, and the electrical currents which give rise to them, are of course invisible. In order to visualize them, in all their temporal and spatial complexity, the two dimensional computer screen is employed. On this screen the Dipole Animator displays projections of these fields and currents.

The properties of nearly all practical antennas are understood using the well-known radiation field of the infinitesimal current element. Dipoles, parabolic dishes, and most other radiators are represented as continuous distributions in space of this elementary source, with the actual current distribution simply assumed, usually quite accurately. This analysis forms the basis of the Dipole Animator's algorithms, and structures an effective user interface as well.

An essential feature of the interface is the use of differential control, in which all independent quantities such as frequency, azimuth, dish radius, element spacing, are controlled incrementally, with dependent quantities such as field magnitude, field phase, current density, power flux, then computed for graphical and numerical display. Vector calculus in polar and Cartesian coordinates serves as the natural language of the interface. Relevant quantities such as wavelength and the polar unit vectors are projected on the screen along with the antenna under simulation. In this way nearly all concepts found in classical treatments of antenna theory find clear expression in the Dipole Animator. The interface is both an animator and a comprehensive calculator of classical electromagnetic field theory.

Dipole Animator was developed in Agilent Vee Pro and runs on Windows XP, Vista, and 7.