  Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) as a smart reflector is
revolutionizing research for next-generation wireless communications.
Complementing this is a concept of using RIS as an efficient propagation medium
for potentially superior path loss characteristics. Motivated by a recent
porous surface architecture that facilitates reconfigurable pathways with
cavities filled with fluid metal, this paper studies the propagation
characteristics of different pathway configurations in different lossy
materials on the reconfigurable surface wave platform by using a commercial
full electromagnetic simulation software and S-parameters experiments. This
paper also looks into the best scheme to switch between a straight pathway and
a $90^\circ$-bend and attempts to quantify the additional path loss when making
a turn. Our experimental results verify the simulation results, showing the
effectiveness of the proposed reconfigurable surface wave platform for a
wide-band, low path loss and highly programmable communications.
