Hertz, Heinrich Rudolph

Hertz, pronounced hurts or pronounced hehrts, Heinrich Rudolph, pronounced HYN rihkh (1857-1894), was a German physicist. He opened the way for the development of radio, television, and radar with his discovery of electromagnetic waves between 1886 and 1888. James Clerk Maxwell had predicted such waves in 1864 (see Maxwell, James Clerk). Hertz used a rapidly oscillating electric spark to produce waves of ultrahigh frequency. He showed that these waves caused similar electrical oscillations in a distant wire loop. He also showed that light waves and electromagnetic waves were identical (see Electromagnetism). Hertz was born in Hamburg.

Contributor: Richard G. Olson, Ph.D., Prof. of History, Harvey Mudd College.

Hertz, Heinrich Rudolph

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