Hertz, Heinrich Rudolph
{hairtz, hine'-rik}
The German physicist, engineer, and mathematician Heinrich Rudolph Hertz,
b. Feb. 22, 1857, d. Jan. 1, 1894, was the first person to demonstrate the
existence of RADIO waves. His chief inspiration was Herman von HELMHOLTZ.
After studying the work of James Clerk MAXWELL, Hertz demonstrated in 1887
that the velocity of radio waves (also called Hertzian waves) was equal to
that of light. His work ordered the field of electrodynamics, putting an
end to fruitless arguments about action at a distance. The unit of
frequency (one cycle per second) is named the hertz in honor of Hertz's
work.
J. Z. Fullmer
Bibliography: Appleyard, Rollo, Pioneers of Electrical Communications (1968).
Copyright 1995 by Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.
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