Also known as: Heinrich Hertz
Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894) was a German physicist who first conclusively demonstrated electromagnetic waves, experimentally confirming James Clerk Maxwell’s theory.1
Life and work
In the late 1880s Hertz built spark-gap transmitters and resonant receivers, showing that invisible waves travelled across his laboratory, reflected, and refracted like light — proving they were electromagnetic.
Contribution
His experiments turned Maxwell’s mathematics into observed fact, opening the door to radio communication.1
Legacy
The SI unit of frequency, the hertz (Hz), is named in his honour — fitting, given he proved the radio wave exists.
Sources
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Heinrich Hertz — Wikipedia, for biography and his proof of electromagnetic waves. ↩ ↩2