Car antenna ? !!!!!

hi all

how the car antenna works?

i mean if we take for example channal at the AM broadcast band at 1 Mhz it will need an antenna with length relative to the wavelength which is 300 m ! say even relative to wavelenght/10 which 30m ! but in the real world it is about 50 cm ! how they design it? by this lenght it will be a very low gain antenna ?

does any any one has idea?


thx all

The car antenna is a "small antenna". See Balanis or Stutzman/Thiele for small antenna concept and theory.