A laboratory experiment carried out by Heinrich Hertz in 1888 to generate and detect
→ electromagnetic waves for the first time. It involved a
high voltage power source, consisting of two → capacitors,
each provided with a conducting rod. The rods were separated by a small
→ spark gap and connected to an
→ induction coil. When the electrodes were raised to a sufficiently high
→ potential difference, a spark passed across the gap,
and an oscillating discharge took place. A group of waves
with a wavelength of a few meters were emitted at each discharge. A wire loop
provided with a detecting spark gap, held away from the oscillating sparks,
produced sparks upon arrival of the
oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
See also: → hertz (Hz); → experiment.
