For 119 years, society can not decide in any way who invented the radio. The fact is that almost at the same time this brilliant discovery was made by several scientists from different countries. Alexander Popov, Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Heinrich Hertz, Ernest Rutherford - all these people are somehow connected with the radio. It is not so important which of them was first visited by ingenious thought; all scientists have made an invaluable contribution to the development of science.
Electromagnetic field discovery
If you ask a Russian and a European about who invented the radio, the answers will be completely different, the first will answer that it is Popov, and the second - Marconi. Who is right, in fact, and who is wrong? The concept of electromagnetic field was introduced in 1845 by Michael Faraday, this was one of the most important discoveries of mankind. 20 years after this, James Maxwell created the theory of the electromagnetic field and deduced all its laws. The scientist proved: electromagnetic radiation can propagate in space at the speed of light.
Hertz Achievements
The opening of the radio was largely due to Heinrich Hertz. This ingenious scientist in 1887 created a generator and resonator of electromagnetic waves. Just a year later, he demonstrated to the public the presence of electromagnetic waves propagating with the speed of light in free space. Some historians insist that Faraday, Maxwell and Hertz invented the radio. The first and second discovered the presence of electromagnetic waves, and Henry created the device.
The problem is that the Hertz design worked only at a distance of several meters from each other, only a spark was visible in the receiver, and even then in the dark. The device was not perfect and needed improvement. A brilliant engineer and experimenter did not cost anything to improve his invention. Unfortunately, Hertz died at the age of 37 in 1894, shortly before the discovery of Marconi and Popov.
The similarity of the experiments of Marconi and Popov
From a technical point of view, Popov and Marconi did not discover anything new, but only used the inventions of other scientists to create an improved device. Scientists added grounding and an antenna to the Hertz design, and for the best signal reception, they installed a coherer - a glass tube with metal filings inside. This device was invented by Edward Brangley, and improved by Oliver Lodge. Scientists were not interested in the practical use of the coherer, but Marconi and Popov used it instead of a spark to turn on the bell. It turns out that the Russian and the Italian did the same thing, but which of them thought of it first is still unknown. Of course, in Russia they sacredly believe that it was Popov Radio who created it.
Biography of Popov
Alexander Stepanovich Popov was born in the Urals on March 16, 1859 in the family of a priest. At first he graduated from the general education classes of the theological seminary, but since he was attracted to electronics, the young man went to Petersburg, where he entered the university at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. At first he worked as an ordinary fitter, and in 1882 Popov wrote and defended a dissertation on dynamoelectric machines.
After graduation, Alexander Stepanovich was preparing to receive a professorship. In 1883, the scientist began to teach in Kronstadt in the Mine officer class. In parallel, Popov conducted pedagogical work at the Technical School of the Maritime Department. After 8 years, Alexander Stepanovich was invited to work at the Electrotechnical Institute of St. Petersburg as a professor at the Department of Physics. In 1905, Popov became the director of this institution. The great scientist died on January 13, 1906, a hemorrhage in the brain became the reason for the imminent death.
Advantages of Popov
Alexander Stepanovich actively collaborated with the Navy, and it was for the Navy that he invented the radio. Popov was always interested in Hertz's experiments, so in 1889 he gave a series of lectures with accompanying demonstrations on the topic of research on the relationship between electric and light phenomena. The scientist hinted at the meetings that this knowledge can be applied in practice, which aroused interest from the leadership of the Navy.
Alexander Stepanovich can be safely called the first person in Russia, who not only understood the value of Hertz’s experiments, but also found practical application for them. On May 7, 1895, when Popov invented the radio and demonstrated the designed device at a meeting of Russian physicists, nothing was known about the creation of Marconi. It is May 7 in Russia that is considered to be the day the radio was created.
Popov devoted the whole of 1895 to the improvement of the radio, he conducted experiments on the reception and transmission of electromagnetic waves at a distance of 60 m. On January 20, 1897, the Russian scientist had to defend his right to the primacy of the invention. In the newspaper "Kotlin" appeared an article "Telegraphy without wires", learning about the experiments of Marconi, it was written by Popov. The first radio was invented by Alexander Stepanovich, he demonstrated it in the spring of 1895 and planned to continue to work on improving it, but he did not document his instrument in any way.
The principle of operation of the first radio
Many inventors could not find application for their inventions, and only ingenious people with special abilities and extraordinary thinking can translate a scientific idea into reality, and Alexander Popov is one of those geniuses. The radio, created by the great scientist, consists of the discoveries of various engineers and physicists. So, Popov used a coherer as a conductor, he thought of using this device as a call and an incoming signal recorder. Alexander Stepanovich put together a coherer, a bell and an antenna, building a device for receiving waves and lightning discharges. Using a radio, the scientist could transmit meaningful text with special signals.
Why in Europe consider Marconi the founder of the radio?
Scientists still can not come to a consensus on the issue of who invented the radio. Alexander Popov demonstrated his invention on May 7, 1895, and Guglielmo Marconi made a patent application only in June 1896. At first glance, everything seems to be clear, the Russian scientist should give the palm, but not everything is so simple. The fact is that Popov did not seek to tell the general public about his research, but only a narrow circle of people — scientists and naval officers — informed about them. He understood how important this work was for his homeland, so he was in no hurry with printed publications, doing the practical part.
Guglielmo Marconi grew up in a capitalist country, so he sought to consolidate not a historical or scientific priority, but a legal one. He did not dedicate anyone to the course of things, but only when the invention was ready, he made an application for a patent. Of course, history has nothing to do with the legal side, but still some historians side with Marconi. The patent was granted on July 2, 1897, that is, two years after Popov's demonstration of his invention. Nevertheless, Marconi had a document securing his priority, and the Russian scientist limited himself to only a printed publication.
Reaching the Americans
In a dispute over who invented the radio, in 1943, the Americans intervened, because even in their country there was a craftsman who created the receiver. The USA was outraged by the fact that the first place is shared by Europeans and Russians, because this is their compatriot Nikola Tesla, the famous electrical engineer and scientist, the first to make such a great discovery. The veracity of this allegation has been proven in court.
Tesla in 1893 patented a radio transmitter, and two years later - a radio receiver. The device of an American scientist could convert acoustic sound into a radio signal, transmit it, again converting it into acoustic sound. That is, it worked like modern devices. The designs of Popov and Marconi noticeably lose, because they could only transmit and receive radio signals with Morse code.
Who should give the palm?
Which scientist was the first to invent radio? The answer to this question is not so important, the main thing is that the best minds of mankind have worked to create a new device, put their work and knowledge into it. Marconi, Popov and Tesla are not connected with each other, they lived in different countries and even on different continents, so no one stole ideas from anyone. It turns out that the idea of creating a radio for scientists came at about the same time. This set of circumstances once again confirmed Engels' law: if the time for discovery has come, then someone will definitely make this discovery.