Heinrich Hertz (1857 - 1894)
Heinrich Hertz is a German physicist who made radio, television, and radar development possible by showing how electromagnetic waves can be transmitted using electricity. Using Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetic light he explained and improved it. Heinrich was the first person understand and prove Maxwell’s theory true. He created a device that created and detected the radio waves. Heinrich was born on February 22, 1857 in Hamburg, Germany. He grew up with a very successful and wealthy family. His father, Gustav Ferdinand Hertz, had a job as a lawyer and then later on a senator. As a child he had an interest toward science and mathematics while studying at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums of Hamburg. Hertz earned his PhD from the University of Berlin in 1880. He then worked as an assistant to Helmholtz and learned about mechanical qualities and wrote many research papers. He then took the role as a teacher at a university where he extended his knowledge on electromagnetism. Then he married Elizabeth Doll which was the daughter of his colleague at the university.
When Hertz began conducting experiments at the University of Bonn he discovered that British scientist James Clerk Maxwell was deceased and left his work behind. Maxwell had created mathematical equations that showed the existence of electromagnetic waves. Maxwell’s work challenged other experimenters to show this to be true. In 1887, Hertz confirmed Maxwell’s theory and proved that electromagnetic radiation has many qualities of light. He also accidently found out that when electromagnetic waves generate light and the light hits special surfaces it creates electricity. Then in 1892, Hertz was diagnosed with at first seemed like a head cold but then an allergy. His health did not recover and he died at the age of 36 in Bonn, Germany on January 1, 1894.
When Hertz began conducting experiments at the University of Bonn he discovered that British scientist James Clerk Maxwell was deceased and left his work behind. Maxwell had created mathematical equations that showed the existence of electromagnetic waves. Maxwell’s work challenged other experimenters to show this to be true. In 1887, Hertz confirmed Maxwell’s theory and proved that electromagnetic radiation has many qualities of light. He also accidently found out that when electromagnetic waves generate light and the light hits special surfaces it creates electricity. Then in 1892, Hertz was diagnosed with at first seemed like a head cold but then an allergy. His health did not recover and he died at the age of 36 in Bonn, Germany on January 1, 1894.