Heinrich Hertz - a discovery that has become fateful.

In 1896, the scientist Popov, the inventor of radio, transmitted and received the world's first radiogram. Its text consisted of two words "Heinrich Hertz". It was a celebration of the German physicist who made a huge contribution to science by experimentally proving the existence of electromagnetic waves. In the history of science, there are not many discoveries that we come into contact with on a daily basis. But without Heinrich Hertz, the modern world would look very different, because everything designed for communication is based on his inventions.

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was born on February 22, 1857 in the family of a respected lawyer. The boy grew up weak and sickly, but he successfully survived the difficult first years of his life, and grew up cheerful and healthy, to the delight of his parents. Everyone around him predicted an amazing career if he chose to follow in his father's footsteps. Heinrich was going to do just that - he entered the Hamburg Real School and was going to study law. But his interests changed when the course of physics began at the school. The parents did not prevent their son from making his own choice and allowed him to move from school to gymnasium, after which he could enter the university.

In 1875 Hertz left for Dresden and entered the Higher Technical School. At first he liked the profession of an engineer, but later he wrote to his mother that being a mediocre scientist was preferable to him than being a mediocre engineer. Therefore, he left the school and went to Munich, where he was immediately accepted into the second year of the university. The years spent in Munich showed Heinrich that university knowledge was not enough, a scientist was needed who was willing to become his supervisor. Therefore, after graduating from the university, Hertz went to Berlin and got a job as an assistant in the laboratory of the largest German physicist of that time, Hermann Helmholtz.

The venerable scientist drew attention to a talented young man, they established good relations, which resulted in strong friendship and close scientific cooperation. Under the guidance of Helmholtz, Hertz successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic "On induction in a rotating ball". At some point, Heinrich began to doubt that his published theoretical work was of value to him as a scientist. He was more and more attracted to experiments.

Under the patronage of his teacher, Hertz received a position as an assistant professor in Kiel, and six years later became a professor of physics at the Higher Technical School in Karlsruhe. There, Hertz was equipped with a scientific laboratory for experiments, which gave him complete creative freedom and the opportunity to do those things in which he felt an interest.

Heinrich Hertz realized that most of all he was interested in fast electrical oscillations, on the study of which he worked as a student. It was in Karlsruhe that Hertz's most fruitful scientific period began, which, unfortunately, did not last long.

After his report on December 13, 1888 at the University of Berlin, Hertz became a popular and authoritative scientist, and electromagnetic waves began to be universally called "Hertz's rays." In 1932 in the USSR, and then in 1933 at a meeting of the International Electrotechnical Commission, the frequency unit "hertz" was adopted, which was then included in the international SI system.

In 1892, Hertz was diagnosed with an infection, he was operated on several times, but they could not save him, he died at the age of 36 in Bonn. He was buried in the Ohlsdorf cemetery. His wife Elisabeth Hertz remained a widow. The Hertz spouses had two daughters, Joanna and Matilda. After Hitler came to power, all three emigrated to England. Despite the fact that Hertz was a Protestant and did not consider him a Jew, the Nazis removed his portrait from a place of honor on the Hamburg City Hall because he was of "partial Jewish origin."

"Evening Moscow" recalled Hertz's discoveries, without which the modern world would be completely different.

Experiments with electromagnetic waves

The electromagnetic theory of the English physicist James Maxwell 25 did not find recognition in the scientific world. Hertz took only 2 years to confirm it experimentally. In his experiments, the scientist was able to reproduce with electromagnetic waves all the phenomena typical of any waves: the formation of a "shadow" behind well-reflecting objects (in this case, metal), refraction in a large prism (made of asphalt), the formation of a standing wave as a result of the superposition of an incident on a metal sheet of a wave and a wave reflected by this sheet. He not only proved the similarity of electromagnetic and light waves, but also managed to measure their length.

Vibrator and Hertz resonator

The English physicist Maxwell proved theoretically that oscillating charged particles can emit electromagnetic waves, and the energy of the resulting wave is greater, the greater the frequency of oscillations. It was not difficult to make charged particles oscillate - you need to connect a capacitor and an inductor to get an oscillating circuit. But how to increase the frequency of charge oscillations so that the energy of the emitted waves becomes higher?

Hertz found a solution - he pushed the capacitor plates apart and reduced the plate area. As a result of these manipulations, he received an open oscillatory circuit or wire. To further increase the frequency of oscillation of the electrons inside the wire, Hertz will reduce the number of turns of the coil.

But now it was necessary to make the electrons oscillate inside the resulting piece of wire. Heinrich cut the wire in half, and connected the ends to a high voltage source so that electric sparks would appear between the pieces of wire.

Thus, Hertz made a vibrator (emitter) and a resonator (receiver) of electromagnetic waves. The Hertz vibrator looks like two copper rods with brass balls mounted on the nearest ends. The gap between them is the spark gap. A high voltage current was applied to the rods, and at a certain moment an electric spark arose between the balls, making the resistance of its air gap so small that high-frequency electromagnetic oscillations appeared in the vibrator. Since the vibrator is an open oscillatory circuit, electromagnetic waves are emitted.

To capture the emitted waves, Hertz invented a resonator - a wire open ring, with the same brass balls as the "transmitter" at the ends and an adjustable distance between them. The scientist's devices surprise with their simplicity and seeming efficiency. By changing the size and position of the resonator, Hertz tuned it to the vibration frequency of the vibrator. Small sparks in the resonator jumped at the very moment when discharges appeared between the vibrator balls. The sparks were very weak, so they had to be observed in the dark.

In 1888, after a series of laborious experiments, Hertz experimentally proved the existence of electromagnetic waves predicted by Maxwell, propagating in space.
Hertz was the first person to consciously control electromagnetic waves, but he did not set himself the task of establishing wireless radio communications. However, Heinrich's experiments, which he described in detail in his scientific articles, interested physicists around the world. many scientists began to look for ways to improve the receiver and resonator of electromagnetic waves. The Hertz resonator was not a very sensitive device, and could pick up the electromagnetic waves emitted by the vibrator only within the room. But in the end, the discovery of the scientist led to the invention of the radiotelegraph, and then the radio.

photoelectric effect

To better see the spark during the experiment, Hertz placed the receiver in a darkened box. At the same time, he noticed that the length of the spark becomes smaller. Then Hertz conducted a series of experiments in this direction, in particular, he investigated the dependence of the spark length in the case when a screen of different materials is placed between the transmitter and receiver.

Hertz found that electromagnetic waves traveled through certain types of materials and were reflected by others, leading to the development of radar in the future. In addition, the scientist noticed that a charged capacitor loses its charge much faster when its plates are illuminated with ultraviolet radiation. A new discovery in physics was called the photoelectric effect, and the theoretical justification for this phenomenon was given by Albert Einstein, who received the Nobel Prize for this in 1921.

Radio 1957 No. 2

To the centenary of the birth

"... Hertz does not even think of the possibility of a non-materialistic view of energy"

V. I. Lenin

It is difficult to imagine the life of modern society without radio electronics. There is no such branch of science and technology, the national economy, where the influence of radio electronics would not be affected to one degree or another.

The greatest achievement of our era - the discovery of the atomic nucleus and the conquest of its energy - would be impossible without the widest involvement of methods and means of radio electronics in nuclear research.

Broad-scale automation of production processes in industry, transport and communications is inextricably linked with radio electronics, with the aim of increasing labor productivity, reducing the danger of production and, ultimately, improving the well-being and cultural level of the working people of our Motherland.

The invention of radio and the further rapid development of radio electronics became possible as a result of the most important research and discoveries that proved the relationship of two natural phenomena - light and electrical, and revealed the physical essence of these phenomena.

Back in the middle of the 18th century, the outstanding Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov suggested that light propagates in an oscillatory motion like waves.

The extremely important research of Faraday, Maxwell and Hertz led to a complete change in the idealistic ideas about electrical phenomena as instantaneous "action at a distance" without any connection with the environment and time.

Faraday believed that magnetic phenomena are concentrated in a medium surrounding magnetic bodies or conductors through which electric current flows. He experimentally proved that all space is permeated with magnetic lines of force, which are the carriers of magnetic actions. By this, Faraday contrasted the idea of ​​the medium as a carrier of electromagnetic phenomena with the views of Newton and his followers, who considered electromagnetic phenomena as a manifestation of the action of forces between conductors or magnets without the participation of the environment, i.e., a manifestation of "direct and instantaneous action of forces."

Exploring the phenomena of electromagnetic induction, Faraday came close to the discovery of electromagnetic waves. In this regard, of great interest is Faraday's letter, dated March 12, 1832, and discovered in 1938 in a sealed form in England, with the inscription on it: "New views, to be stored at the present time in a sealed envelope in the archives of the Royal Society."

In this letter, he made the following important assumptions:

The spread of magnetic influence occurs gradually, at a certain speed;

The propagation of magnetic forces has a wave character, and therefore the theory of oscillations can be applied to magnetic and electrical phenomena, just as it was done with respect to sound.

Faraday was unable to confirm experimentally or theoretically these assumptions during his lifetime. Only 31 years later, in 1863, another English scientist - Maxwell - in his famous work "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" theoretically proved the existence of electromagnetic waves.

Maxwell, comparing the properties of light known from experience with the properties of electromagnetic oscillations arising from the mathematical theory developed by him, came to the conclusion that light is electromagnetic waves, that electric and magnetic fields propagate in a light wave. Maxwell calculated that the propagation speeds of electromagnetic waves and light waves are approximately equal.

Maxwell's remarkable theoretical research was not immediately recognized, since it was not so easy to experimentally confirm the predictions arising from his theory. As is known, Maxwell himself did nothing to experimentally verify his most important prediction - the existence of electromagnetic waves. This part of the work awaited a scientist with especially sharp experimental abilities and deep materialistic views on energy.

Such a person turned out to be the great German scientist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.

Heinrich Hertz was born on February 22, 1857 in Hamburg. As a schoolboy, he already showed great interest in physical experiments, making various devices for this with his own hands. After graduating from high school, Hertz experienced a certain period of hesitation in choosing a further life path, which ended with Hertz, having entered the University of Berlin, unreservedly devoted himself to physics. At the university, Hertz studied and worked under the guidance of the famous German scientist Helmholtz. During this period, the range of his scientific interests is very wide: he studies the discharge in gases, hydrometry and hydrodynamics, the theory of elasticity, etc.

In 1884, Hertz began to study electromagnetic oscillations. In his diary for this year, the following entries have been preserved: “I thought about electromagnetic rays”, “I thought about the electromagnetic theory of light”. It can be assumed that from that time Hertz began to resolutely join the materialistic views of Faraday and Maxwell on electrical phenomena.

In the article "On the relationship between the basic equations of Maxwell's electromagnetism and the basic equations opposed to electromagnetism", published in 1884, Hertz appears as a resolute opponent of the idealistic principle of "action at a distance".

In 1886, Hertz began to carry out his famous experiments, which brilliantly confirmed the views of Faraday and Maxwell and became a powerful scientific and experimental foundation for modern radio electronics.

In 1887, as a result of experimental studies, Hertz showed that the electromagnetic field surrounding the conductor has the character of waves, the properties of which coincide with those predicted by Maxwell. In the process of these studies, Hertz creates a number of devices that emit electromagnetic oscillations, constantly moving from a closed vibrator to a straight wire, known in our time as the Hertz vibrator.

To study the propagation of electromagnetic oscillations, Hertz also creates receivers of electromagnetic energy - closed and open resonators.

The great practical value of Hertz's experiments lies in the fact that he showed how to radiate electromagnetic waves into space and how to detect these waves.

In his experimental studies, Hertz sought to show the generality of the properties of light and electromagnetic waves. The first devices of Hertz, working on meter waves, did not give him the opportunity to realize this desire. Therefore, he switched to experiments with waves of the order of 60 cm, which led him to brilliant results. In 1888, Hertz published his truly immortal work "On the rays of electric force", in which he summed up his experiments with waves of 60 cm and proved that their distribution obeys the usual optical laws.

To fully confirm Maxwell's theory, it was necessary to experimentally obtain electromagnetic waves closely adjacent to optical rays (the longest infrared rays). Hertz failed to do so. This problem was practically solved by the Soviet scientist Glagoleva-Arkadyeva, who created a generator that emitted electromagnetic waves with a length of 0.18 to 0.3 mm, i.e., lying in the region of long infrared waves.

The discovery and experimental confirmation of the existence of electromagnetic waves naturally raised the question of their use for the practical needs of mankind and historically, primarily for the implementation of electrical communication at a distance without wires. After the publication of the famous experiments of Hertz, the ideas of wireless telegraphy - the prototype of modern radio - were in the air. It is characteristic that Hertz himself, who sought to experiment with very short waves - and this is natural, since he sought to experimentally prove the generality of electromagnetic and light waves - was skeptical about the possibility of using electromagnetic waves for the purposes of telegraphy without wires. So, for example, in 1889, in a famous letter to Huber, Hertz wrote: “... If you were able to build concave mirrors the size of a continent, then you could perfectly set up the experiments that you have in mind. But practically nothing can be done with ordinary mirrors, and you will not be able to detect the slightest action ... ”Nevertheless, this problem was solved.

The merit of the Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov, who managed by the strength of his genius and hard work to make electromagnetic waves serve humanity, is invaluable.

The statements of M. V. Lomonosov, the theoretical and experimental works of Faraday, Maxwell, Hertz, the great invention of A. S. Popov - all this is the clearest example of the continuity of the works of brilliant researchers, due to the materialistic view of energy.

A. S. Popov, working on the creation of a wireless telegraph - radio, took the path of replacing mirrors with a long wire - an antenna and using longer waves than those investigated by Hertz.

The subsequent development of radio engineering was characterized by the development of long, medium and short waves. Ultrashort waves, with which Hertz carried out his famous experiments, did not go beyond the laboratory walls for many years. Only with the invention and development of powerful sources of generation of ultrashort waves - magnetrons - did the rapid development of this range begin to solve various practical problems.

At the same time, the operation of many new radio-electronic VHF devices is based on the optical properties of electromagnetic waves discovered by Hertz. These include radar stations, radio relay communication lines, etc. Very often, these devices use individual elements that were also used by Hertz, for example, parabolic antennas.

Hertz owns another remarkable discovery. While conducting experiments with spark gaps, Hertz discovered that when the spark gap is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the intensity of the spark increases. He studied this phenomenon in some detail, but Hertz could not explain, reveal its essence.

In the work "On the action of ultraviolet light on the discharge of electricity", published in 1887, Hertz wrote: "According to the results of our experiments, ultraviolet light has the ability to increase the length of the spark from the discharge of an induction coil and similar discharges. The conditions under which it exerts its action on these discharges are, of course, rather complicated, and therefore it is desirable to study the action also under simpler conditions, especially without an induction coil.

In trying to be successful in this respect, I have encountered difficulties. Therefore, at the present time, I confine myself to reporting the facts I have established, without creating any theory about how the observed phenomena arise ”(emphasized by me. - L.T.).

This problem was solved by the outstanding Russian scientist A. G. Stoletov, who revealed the physical meaning of the phenomenon discovered by Hertz, formulated the basic laws of the external photoelectric effect and invented the photocell.

The last years of his life, Hertz was engaged in research in the field of mechanics, studied the conditions for the propagation of cathode rays in thin metal layers.

Death interrupted this wonderful life early. On January 1, 1894, at the age of 37, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz died.

Five years later, the results of his remarkable work served as the basis for the outstanding invention of our time - the radio.

The name of Heinrich Hertz will be preserved in the memory of progressive people all over the world.

Heinrich Hertz a brief biography of the German physicist, the founder of electrodynamics is presented in this article.

Heinrich Hertz short biography

Heinrich was born on February 22, 1857 into a Jewish family of a lawyer who later became a senator. The guy studied well, loved all subjects and wrote poetry.

In 1875 he graduated from the gymnasium, and entered the Dresden, and then the Munich Technical Higher School. But deciding to follow the path of the exact sciences, he enters the University of Berlin. In this educational institution, he spent days and nights in physical laboratories. After the summer holidays, in 1879 he returned to the university and worked on the work "On Induction in Rotating Bodies", which was a doctoral dissertation. Hertz quickly completed the study, despite the fact that the work was designed for at least three months. Having successfully defended the work, he received a doctorate degree.

Hertz in the period from 1883 to 1885 headed the Department of Theoretical Physics in Kiel. Since there was no laboratory here, he dealt with theoretical issues. The scientist corrected Neumann's system of electrodynamics equations.

In 1885, Heinrich Hertz received an invitation from a technical school in Karlsruhe. Having accepted it, he conducts famous experiments here, investigating the distribution of electric force. In the physics classroom, having discovered several induction coils, he conducted lecture demonstrations with them. It was then that Hertz discovered that with the help of coils it is possible to obtain electrical fast oscillations. As a result, he created a high-frequency generator - a source of high-frequency oscillations and a resistor that received these oscillations.

Without stopping to conduct numerous experiments, Heinrich comes to the conclusion that there are electromagnetic waves that propagate at a finite speed. Research in this area is set out in his 1888 work On the Rays of Electric Force. Thus, he was the first to discover electromagnetic waves.

Mentor Heinrich Hertz once called the student "the favorite of the gods." And this is, in principle, understandable. After all, almost all areas of modern physics arose from the works of Hertz. He was one of the founders of electrodynamics. But he was not only engaged in science. He composed poetry, was an excellent turner ... Alas, poor health prevented him all his life. The biography of Heinrich Hertz will be told to the reader in the article.

In a family of Jewish financiers

One of the founders of electrodynamics was born at the end of the winter of 1857 in Hamburg. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz grew up and was brought up in a Jewish family. All his ancestors were mainly financiers and bankers. They also adopted Lutheranism in time.

The great-grandfather of the brilliant physicist at one time was able to establish one of the well-known banks, which is still functioning.

Hertz's dad worked as a lawyer, and after a while he became a senator. Mom grew up in the family of an army doctor.

In addition to little Heinrich, he also had brothers. Note that they all worked in the financial sector, like the head of the family.

Fine Turner

At birth, Heinrich was a very weak child. And his parents were very afraid for him, for his life.

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was a diligent, obedient and inquisitive boy. He also had a phenomenal memory. He was an excellent student, and in the class he was considered an unsurpassed student in quick wit.

Young Heinrich Hertz also studied Arabic and physics with great interest. He loved to read, and most of all preferred the works of Dante and Homer. In fact, he himself tried to write poetry.

After classes, on Sundays, he began to visit the so-called. school of arts and crafts. His teachers taught him the basics of drawing and turning. One of the mentors admitted at one time that Hertz would have made an excellent specialist in this regard. By the way, these skills were more than useful to him when he began to design his experimental facilities. By the way, his first physical instruments were made when he was still at school.

Heinrich's parents, of course, hoped that he would follow in his father's footsteps. They rightly believed that jurisprudence gave a good income, and was always in honor. And the young man himself was preparing to become a lawyer.

fateful decision

When he received his Abitur, he began to study in Dresden and Munich. He continued to be strongly attracted to technology. Heinrich decided to become an engineer. In these educational institutions, he was able to take part in the construction of one of the German bridges.

During this period, the German physicist was skeptical about his abilities and at first believed that doing science was not his destiny. But then he realized that an engineering career also did not appeal to him.

When the specialization began, Hertz realized that the passion for science still takes its toll. He did not want to become a narrow specialist and was eager for scientific work. Parents accepted this difficult decision of their son and supported him. In the spring of 1978, young Hertz went to the capital of Germany, where he became a student in the physics department of the university.

First confession

At the university, his mentor was the greatest physicist of that era, Ferdinand Helmholtz. He could not help but pay attention to this sensible young man. He invited him to solve a rather difficult problem in the field of electrodynamics. At the same time, he had no doubt that a talented student would not only be interested in this issue, but also successfully resolve it.

In those days, electrodynamics, in fact, was still incomprehensible to everyone. Scientists used very dubious theories in this regard. And no one has yet formed a clear idea of ​​the physical nature of the magnetic and electric fields.

Helmholtz gave his student nine months to solve the problem. Hertz always preferred to do science in laboratories, and therefore took up the solution of the task.

The young scientist showed the qualities of a researcher's character. He was too hardworking, stubborn. In addition, he possessed the art of the experimenter. He himself began to manufacture and debug devices.

As a result, the Helmholtz problem was solved in just three months, and not nine, as previously thought. The mentor was not mistaken in the abilities of Heinrich. His student had a completely unusual talent.

Hertz was awarded an award for his work.

Doctoral dissertation

After a student vacation, in the summer of 1879, Hertz made attempts to conduct a new series of experiments. In fact, they were a continuation of the previous ones. At that time, he began to study induction in rotating bodies. He took this topic as a dissertation for the title of Doctor of Science.

Heinrich believed that he was able to complete his work in a couple of months, after which he would defend the project itself. Recall that the scientist was still a student at the University of Berlin.

The talented physicist worked with enthusiasm and completed his research. Nevertheless, Hertz managed to demonstrate his excellent command of the experimental apparatus. Working on a lathe in this regard, of course, helped.

In a word, he defended his dissertation more than successfully and became a doctor. Note that for those times it was a rare occurrence. Especially for a student.

Beginning of a graduate career

In 1880, Hertz received a university degree. At first, as a professional specialist, he helped his mentor and was an assistant.

A little later, the German physicist moved to Kalsruhe, where he became a professor at the Higher Technical School. Six months later, he decided to get married. His wife was Elizabeth Doll. They say that marriage was one of the most important reasons for the end of the period of depression, which, as it turns out, he suffered. From now on, nothing held him, and he plunged headlong into science.

Notable Hertz instruments

In Karlsruhe, Professor Hertz had at his disposal a physical laboratory with equipment. Now he could already move from bare theory to full-fledged practice. It was here that he managed to conduct brilliant experiments related to the propagation of electric force, which were proposed by the British physicist Maxwell. Only a few understood that a new era in science was coming - the era of electricity and magnetism.

In the late 80s of the XIX century, the scientist managed to carry out his experiments. They were able to prove the fact of the reality of electromagnetic waves.

In one of the laboratory cabinets, he saw two induction coils, and with enviable activity began to experiment with them.

Of course, for those years, the equipment that he used seemed too elementary. But the results they got were impressive.

During the experiments, he managed to create not only a high-frequency generator, but also a receiver for these vibrations (resonator).

In a word, he invented and designed his well-known emitter of electromagnetic waves - the Hertz vibrator or Hertz radio transmitter. The scientist did not stop there. A corresponding Hertz radio receiver was also created.

Glory of the scientist

Upon completion of the experiments, he shared the results in his work entitled "On the Rays of Electric Force". This opus came out at the end of 1888.

Scientists were forced to agree that the fact of the existence of electromagnetic waves is now irrefutable. Thus, 1888 was the year of the discovery of electromagnetic waves. And, accordingly, Hertz confirmed experimentally that Maxwell's theory was absolutely correct.

Hertz was a real triumph. In 1889, European countries began to give him awards. In the academies of sciences of different states, he was elected as their corresponding member. At home, he was awarded a prestigious order.

The embodiment of the ideas of Hertz

But still, the best proof of the reliability of Maxwell's theory was not experiments at all, but the practice and implementation of scientific ideas.

So, almost a decade after Hertz's experiments, electromagnetic waves began to be applied in practice.

Although the scientist himself absolutely did not see the significance of the radio waves he discovered. He even decided to write a letter to the members of the Chamber of Commerce of Dresden. He suggested that we stop researching these waves. He believed that this occupation, according to him, is absolutely useless.

However, if Hertz did not see the point in using waves, then the Russian scientist Alexander Popov more than appreciated the discovery of the German professor. He managed to apply it for radio communications. By and large, he became the founder of modern radiophysics. And the first words that were transmitted over the first wireless connection were "Heinrich Hertz." This happened in the spring of 1896, when Hertz himself was no longer in the world.

The last years of the life of the great scientist

After the triumph, Hertz was offered to move to Bonn. There he would head the department of physics at the university. He accepted the offer and began to live there.

Once, while experimenting, he witnessed how sparks appeared in his experimental apparatus. These results were the discovery of a completely new phenomenon. It's called the "photoelectric effect".

Incidentally, later a follower of Hertz, the brilliant Albert Einstein was able to theoretically substantiate this phenomenon. For this he was given the Nobel Prize. This happened back in 1921.

Death of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

The hard work of the scientist did not go unpunished for him. And in 1892, after a long migraine, he was given a terrible diagnosis. He was diagnosed with blood poisoning. He went blind, then his teeth, ears, nose ached. Doctors tried to save the brilliant experimenter. He went through a series of operations, but all were in vain. On the first day of 1894 he was gone. The remaining unfinished work was completed and published by Hertz's mentor, Hermann Helmholtz.

heirs

Elisabeth Hertz, wife of a genius, never remarried.

The inventor's daughters, Matilda and Joanna, also did not recognize the delights of family life. Hertz left no heirs.

When Hitler came to power in the country, the daughters and mother emigrated to the shores of Foggy Albion.

Hertz's nephew followed in the footsteps of his famous uncle. He also studied physics and even became a Nobel laureate. He was able to create a medical sonograph. All modern ultrasound machines came out of this device.

Life after death

To perpetuate the memory of the brilliant physicist, a new unit of frequency was introduced. It's called Hertz.

In 1987, a corresponding medal was established. Every year it is awarded to students - theorists and experimenters.

One of the lunar craters and a television and radio communication tower in Germany are named after Heinrich Hertz ...

The date of February 22, 1857 forever entered the annals of physics, it was then that Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was born, a talented researcher, the founder of dynamics, who proved to the world the existence of electromagnetic waves

Heinrich Hertz grew up in the house of a lawyer, the boy's father, Gustav, a lawyer by occupation, eventually rose to the position of senator of his hometown of Hamburg. Mother - Betty Augusta, was the daughter of a noble Cologne magnate, the founder of a bank that still operates in Germany. Heinrich became the firstborn of Gustav and Betty, then he had three younger brothers and a sister.

As a child, the boy was in poor health, so he did not like outdoor games or physical education, but he enthusiastically read books and learned foreign languages, training his memory. He taught himself Sanskrit and Arabic. Along with the gymnasium, Heinrich went to the school of crafts on weekends, where he spent a lot of time drawing and studying carpentry. Even at school, he made attempts to create apparatus and instruments for the study of physics, and these signs indicated that the child was striving for knowledge.

After graduating from school and receiving a certificate, the young man continued his studies, first in Dresden, and later in Munich, got acquainted with technical disciplines in the capital of Germany. But the profession of an engineer no longer attracted Heinrich, the desire to engage in scientific activities defeated all doubts, and in 1878 he became a university student in Berlin. There, the fateful meeting of the young Hertz with the talented physicist and experienced inventor Hermann Helmholtz took place. He noticed the outstanding abilities of Heinrich and became his leader in practical classes. At that time, neither the magnetic nor the electric field had been fully explored. It was believed that there are simple fluids that have inertia, and it is from this inertia that an electric current appears and disappears in a conductor.

Heinrich conducted experiments to identify inertia, but at first there was no result. Despite this, in 1879 his work received a prize from the university, which served as an impetus for the continuation of practical studies. The young naturalist was not upset by failures and stubbornly continued his research, which formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation. On February 5, 1889, Heinrich, who at that time was 32 years old, defended her with excellent marks.

In 1882, the young scientist became interested in studying the theory of elasticity and spent a lot of time solving problems. Then he moved to the town of Kiel - there he was offered to lecture on theoretical physics at the university. Three years later he received a professorship at the Higher School in Karlsruhe and married Elisabeth Doll.

Having become a married man, Heinrich did not abandon his experiments. He continued to work on the study of inertia, drawing on the theory of Maxwell, who proposed that radio waves were as fast as the speed of light. For three years, from 1886 to 1889, Hertz conducted his experiments and still found proof that electromagnetic waves actually exist.

And although the young physicist used primitive equipment for his experiments, he was able to get surprisingly serious results. His work confirmed the existence of electromagnetic waves, in addition, he determined the speed with which they propagate, reflect and refract. This discovery laid the foundations of modern electrodynamics, and Heinrich Hertz was awarded many prizes for his work. So in 1889, the Society of Sciences in Italy presented him with a medal. Matteuchi, the Academy of Sciences of Paris awarded the scientist a worthy prize, in addition, the Academy in Vienna presented the young talent with the Baumgartner Prize. Almost immediately, Heinrich became a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin, Rome, Vienna and Munich. The unit of frequency, Hertz, was named after him.
The famous discoverer empirically confirmed Maxwell's theory - the speed of waves and the speed of light are absolutely identical. The conclusions made by Heinrich are truly invaluable; on their basis, wireless telegraph, television and radio were subsequently created.

The discovery of the photoelectric effect is associated with the name of Heinrich. During the tests, he needed special lighting in order to clearly see the spark during the experiments. To do this, the famous physicist put the receiver inside a dark box, and noted that the length of the spark in the box becomes much smaller. Heinrich continued to study this fact, and determined the relationship of the spark with the environment. So, for example, he found that the length of the spark depends on the material from which the screen is made between the receiver and transmitter. Some materials freely passed electromagnetic waves, while other materials reflected and refracted them. This observation later became the basis for the invention of radar.
The results of these experiments led to the discovery of a new physical phenomenon, called the "photoelectric effect". A few decades later, Albert Einstein, continuing to study this phenomenon, explained it from the point of view of theory, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.

The final years of the activity of the German tester are connected with the writing of a serious work "The principles of mechanics, set forth in a new connection." In this work, the author presented readers with an unusual approach to the above-mentioned discipline. He proved the basic theorems of mechanics, and also described the mathematical apparatus, using his own original method, known today as the "Hertzian principle" (it is also called the principle of least curvature).

Heinrich Hertz died on January 1, 1894, in Bonn. At that time he was 36 years old. The cause of death was blood poisoning, which was a complication after suffering a migraine. And even the fact that he underwent several operations could not save the inventor, it was not possible to defeat the disease.

The scientist was buried in Hamburg. Heinrich's wife remained faithful to her beloved and never remarried. Together with their two daughters, Matilda and Joanna, the scientist's widow emigrated to England in the 1930s. Heinrich's daughters were never married and also had no children, for this reason the German explorer did not leave any descendants.

But the name Hertz sounded many times in scientific circles - Heinrich's nephew - Gustav Ludwig Hertz also connected his life with physics and even received the Nobel Prize. Gustav's son, Karl Hertz, invented sonography, a method of examination used in medicine.
In 1930, the International Electrotechnical Commission officially established the unit of measurement - Hertz. The discovery of a successful experimenter perpetuated the memory of him and made him world famous.