What is the far field of an antenna?

Antenna fields are typically divided into two main regions: the near field and the far field. In the near field (close to the antenna), the electric and magnetic fields interact in complex ways, and the shape of the radiation pattern changes drastically as you change your distance from the antenna. As you move further away into the far field (also known as the Fraunhofer region), these fields stabilize and propagate outward as radio waves. In this region, the relative shape of the radiation pattern remains constant, regardless of how much further away you travel. Distractors suggesting that field strength remains constant are incorrect because actual field strength always decreases due to the inverse square law as distance increases. It is the shape of the pattern, not its strength, that stops varying.