When Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was born in Germany in 1857, the world knew that electromagnetism existed (see James Clerk Maxwell , Joseph Henry, Michael Faraday and others). But, the world didn’t know it for sure. Hertz did not invent the physical interaction that occurs between electrically charged particles of course. He was just the first to prove that it was definitely real. And really fast. Speed of light fast.
Nowadays, electromagnetism is everywhere we go, although only a few scientists think about it all the time. To the rest of us it is the unseen ‘x’ factor making our electric motors, generators, relays, loudspeakers, hard disks and scientific instruments work.
When asked the secret of his success, Irish poet George Bernard Shaw said it was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. By age 15, Heinrich Hertz was already obsessed with knowledge. His mother recalled later “when he sat with his books nothing could disturb him or draw him away from them.”
When he turned 21, Heinrich Hertz was already attracting attention as a budding genius collecting gold medals in scientific competitions. In a letter to his mother he wrote, “I cannot tell you how much more satisfaction it gives me to gain knowledge for myself and for others directly from nature, rather than to be merely learning from others and myself alone.”
We promised to keep our blogs short and informative. Suffice to say our brilliant scientist left deep footprints in the fields of meteorology, contact mechanics, and electromagnetic and cathode waves. Alas, a blood infection cut his life short at age 36. His wife remained single and his two daughters never married severing the link to his DNA.
When the nazi government discovered Heinrich Hertz was half-Jewish it tried to obliterate his memory, but failed. We measure electrical frequency in hertz.
He has appeared on countless postage stamps. A crater on the far side of the moon bears his name. The electromagnetism in your car alternator is his legacy to you. His signature is everywhere.
Related
Basic Principles of an Alternating Current (AC)
Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851): Pioneer Of Electromagnetism