When dealing with secondary line constants of a transmission line, what exactly is attenuated by the real component of the propagation constant if the losses in the line due to resistance and conductance are already accounted for in the characteristic impedance?

 

Sounds like a homework question.

 

When dealing with secondary line constants of a transmission line, what exactly is attenuated by the real component of the propagation constant if the losses in the line due to resistance and conductance are already accounted for in the characteristic impedance?

What is attenuated by the real component is the amplitude of the signal propagating down the line

 

When dealing with secondary line constants of a transmission line, what exactly is attenuated by the real component of the propagation constant if the losses in the line due to resistance and conductance are already accounted for in the characteristic impedance?

Characteristic impedance is usually expressed as the magnitude of a complex quantity. It's primary usage is to terminate the line with an impedance of the proper magnitude to prevent reflections. The propagation constant is used to decide how much power you need to put into a line of a given length in order to have a useable amount of power coming out.