It happened in 1886, the year regarded with great impact on culture, civilization and human development by producing and detecting electromagnetic waves by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, a brilliant representative of the German scientific spirit. Since antiquity, light, structure and their propagation have been a special concern for philosophers as can be seen even in the treaty of Aristotle's natural philosophy called "Physics". The search for answers, explanations are sought, is seeking physical basis of this phenomenon. Only in 1840 Michael Faraday, experiments on light polarization in the magnetic field, formulate opinions on how theoretical light propagation along the lines of electric and magnetic force.
Another English physicist James Clark Maxwell mathematically possessing an excellent bag, provides the scientific world in 1873, his "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism," which claimed that the phenomena of electricity and magnetism is due to forces and motion in an environment that calls him simply "ether". This support, Maxwell thinks, contributes to the spread of electricity and magnetism in space. Appreciate the very light (which included the caloric radiation and other radiation) is an electromagnetic disturbance in waves that are transmitted due to the electromagnetic field. In addition, expressing the certainty that all the radiation travels through space at the same speed - the speed of light. But all the hypotheses of Faraday and Maxwell expressed by mathematical analyzes merely a theory and was not matched by a practical experiment. Translation and highlighting previously expressed mathematically radiation were made by young German professor Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.
Born in Hamburg in 1857, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz studied physics at Munich and Berlin, then became assistant to the famous physiologist and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz. Then working as a professor of physics at a high school in Karlsruhe and continued successful research became his passion. 1889 Heinrich Rudolf Hertz mean for nomination as professor at the University of Bonn where he taught physics for a period of only five years. Leave this world in 1894 to only 36, leaving behind a beautiful work, is seen as a brilliant scientist, outstanding exponent of the tradition of German universities.
Reply to Maxwell's mathematical formulations for the formation, propagation and wave propagation speed, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz had to dispose of a first device to produce "disturbances" electromagnetic. Build an electrical oscillator coil Ruhmkorff type, that is an electromagnet, where the mayor was composed of several turns and a secondary number of turns. Secondary was connected to two metallic spheres quite close. When the primary winding was connected intermittently to a galvanic battery, the two spheres appeared ocintilatii. A spark is visible electromagnetic disturbance can not be treated as a continuous phenomenon, seen in the various levels of intensity. Flow of the discharge sparks for Heinrich Rudolf Hertz became a convenient source of electromagnetic radiation.
The next step meant building a detector to emphasize the presence of radiation in space and their propagation velocities. Important detector was disarmingly simple, being essentially a circle with a small wire interstitium. When the oscillator spark and was located near this circle, the circle between the ends open flame appeared. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz discovered the secret of electromagnetic radiation and relativele programs were called radio waves which are shown as radio today. Small circle detector was called electric resonator. Complex oscillator - reasonable toured laboratories to be held and to remove doubts, showing that Maxwell's brilliant insights, thanks have a check genius physicist Heinrich Rudolph practice Hertz. It remained that this fundamental discovery to have a practical application for the benefit of humanity.
After the death of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz in England have been translated and published works on the production and detection of radio waves. A copy of these papers came into the hands of a young man who will read fascinated by the life to put into practice the brilliant discoveries. The young man was none other than Marconi.
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, the discovery is widely recognized as a genius of humanity, formed and trained at a German school academic honor, the unit of frequency electrical signals bears his name: Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, a name that is found in textbooks in physics treaties, in encyclopedias, but also in all documents and prospectuses appliances based their operation on the coil resonator oscillators and circle.
