A Google Doodle for Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

 

It is Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, the German physicist who expanded the electromagnetic theory of light, birthday and Google celebrates it with a doodle! Little may be known about the physicist but Hertz was actually the personality who discovered the electromagnetic waves which led to the progress of the radio, the wireless telegraph and later television. The unit of frequency (one cycle per second) is named after him (hertz) to honor his efforts.

 

It was at the tender age of 22 that Hertz earned a PHd from the University of Berlin. In 1885, he became a full-time professor at the University of Karlsruhe – the same year he discovered electromagnetic waves.

After a series of successful experiments, he was able to generate and detect electromagnetic radiation in 1888. Earlier in 1884, the British physicist James Clerk Maxwell had put forth a similar study but Hertz’s discovery added newer dimensions and clarified former doubts.

 

Today, his name is a common term used for radio and electrical frequencies - hertz (Hz), kilohertz (kHz) and megahertz (MHz). Hertz died in 1894 after being detected with Wegener's granulomatosis. He was only 36. He had two daughters who never married and according to the book by Susskind, he does not have any descendants.