Hertz, Heinrich Rudolf (1857-1894)
Heinrich Hertz was born in Hamburg and studied at Berlin, where in 1880 he became assistant to Hermann von Helmholtz. In 1883 he began to lecture in Kiel, in 1885 was called to the technical school at Karlsruhe, and in 1889 succeeded Clausius at Bonn. Hertz greatly advanced the science of electromagnetism, continuing the work of Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell, and was an ingenious experimenter. He discovered, broadcast (c. 1886), and received the radio waves predicted by Maxwell. He showed also that they could be reflected and refracted much as light, and that they traveled at the same though their wavelength was much greater. The unit of frequency, the hertz, is named after him. Related category • PHYSICISTS Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) |