A typical propagation scene in EM.Terrano consists of several elements. At a minimum, you need a transmitter (Tx) at some location to launch rays into the scene and a receiver (Rx) at another location to receive and collect the incoming rays. A transmitter and a receiver together make the simplest propagation scene, representing a free-space line-of-sight (LOS) channel. A transmitter is one of EM.Terrano's several source types, while a receiver is one of EM.Terrano's several observable types. A simpler source type is a Hertzian dipole representing an almost omni-directional radiator. A simpler observable is a field sensor that is used to compute the electric and magnetic fields on a specified plane.
An outdoor propagation scene may involve several buildings modeled by impenetrable surfaces and an underlying flat ground or irregular terrain surface. An indoor propagation scene may involve several walls modeled by thin penetrable surfaces, a ceiling and a floor arranged according to a certain building layout. You can also build mixed scenes involving both impenetrable and penetrable blocks. Your sources and observables can be placed anywhere in the scene. Your transmitters and receivers can be placed outdoors or indoors. A complete list of the various elements of a propagation scene is given in the '''Physical Structure''' section of EM.Terrano's Navigation Tree as follows(click on each type to learn more about it):
* '''[[Block_Types#Impenetrable_Surfaces_for_Outdoor_Scenes|Impenetrable Surfaces]]''': feature reflection and diffraction of impinging rays. Rays hit the facets of this type of blocks and bounce back, but they do not penetrate the object. It is assumed that the interior of such blocks or buildings are highly absorptive.