Who invented the radio? When Popov invented the radio

For 119 years, the 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, Henry Hertz, Ernest Rutherford - all these people are somehow connected with the radio. It's not so important which of them was first visited by a brilliant thought, all scientists invested in the development of science an invaluable contribution.

The discovery of the electromagnetic field

If you ask a Russian and a European about who invented the radio, the answers will be completely different, the first one will say that it's Popov, and the second one is Marconi. Who is right, in fact, and who is wrong? The concept of the electromagnetic field was introduced in 1845 by Michael Faraday, it was one of the most important discoveries of mankind. Twenty years later, James Maxwell created the theory of the electromagnetic field and derived all its laws. The scientist has proved: electromagnetic radiation can spread in space with the speed of light.

Herz's achievements

The opening of the radio took place largely thanks to Henry Hertz. This brilliant scientist in 1887 created a generator and a resonator of electromagnetic oscillations. Literally a year later he demonstrated to the public the presence of electromagnetic waves propagating at the speed of light in free space. Some historians insist that the radio was invented by Faraday, Maxwell and Hertz. The first and second discovered the presence of electromagnetic waves, and Heinrich created the device.

The problem is that Hertz's design worked only a few meters apart, only a spark could be seen in the receiver, and even then in the dark. The device was not perfect and required improvement. The ingenious engineer and experimenter did not need to improve their 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

If considered from a technical point of view, then Popov and Marconi did not discover anything new, but only used the inventions of other scientists to create an improved instrument. To the Hertz design, scientists added grounding and antenna, and for better reception of the signal, a coherer was installed - a glass tube with metal filings inside. This device was invented by Edward Brangly, and perfected by Oliver Lodge. The scientists were not interested in the practical application of the coherer, but Marconi and Popov used it instead of a spark to activate the bell. It turns out that the Russian and the Italian did the same thing, but who of them thought of this first, is still unknown. Of course, in Russia they believe that they created Popov Radio.

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 educational classes of the theological seminary, but since he was attracted by electronics, the young man went to Petersburg, where he entered the university for the physics and mathematics faculty. At first he worked as an ordinary electrician, and in 1882 Popov wrote and defended his thesis on dynamo-electric machines.

After graduating from the university, Alexander Stepanovich was preparing to receive a professorship. In 1883, the scientist began to teach in Kronstadt in the Ministry of the officer class. In parallel, Popov conducted pedagogical work at the Technical School of the Maritime Department. After 8 years, Alexander Stepanovich was invited to the Electrotechnical Institute of St. Petersburg to work 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, the cause of his imminent death was a cerebral hemorrhage.

Advantages of Popov

Alexander Stepanovich actively cooperated with the navy, and it was for the fleet that he invented the radio. Popov was always interested in the experiments of Hertz, so in 1889 he read a series of lectures with accompanying demonstrations on the topic of research on the relationship between electrical and light phenomena. The scientist hinted at meetings that this knowledge can be applied in practice, what caused interest from the leadership of the navy.

Alexander Stepanovich can safely be called the first person in Russia, who not only understood the value of Hertz's experiments, but also found them practical application. May 7, 1895, when Popov invented the radio and demonstrated a constructed device at a meeting of Russian physicists, nothing was known about the creation of Marconi. It is on May 7 in Russia is considered to be the day of creation of radio.

The whole of 1895 Popov devoted to improving 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 invention of invention. In the newspaper "Kotlin" an article appeared "Telegraphing without wires", after learning about the experiments of Marconi, Popov wrote it. The first radio was invented by Alexander Stepanovich, he demonstrated it in the spring of 1895 and planned to continue working on his improvement, but he did not document his device in any way.

Principle of operation of the first radio receiver

Many inventors could not find applications for their inventions, and only brilliant people with special abilities and extraordinary thinking can translate the scientific idea into reality, it is to these geniuses that Alexander Popov belongs. Radio, created by a great scientist, consists of the discoveries of different 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, constructing a device for receiving waves and lightning discharges. With the help of a radio receiver, a scientist could transmit meaningful text with special signals.

Why in Europe is the founder of the radio Marconi?

Scientists still can not come to a single agreement on the question of who invented the radio. Alexander Popov demonstrated his invention on May 7, 1895, and Guglielmo Marconi applied for a patent only in June 1896. At first glance, it seems everything is clear, the palm should be given to the Russian scientist, but not everything is so simple. The fact is that Popov did not try to tell the general public about his research, but only a narrow circle of people - scientists and naval officers - informed them about them. He understood how important this work was for his homeland, that is why he did not hurry with printed publications, doing 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 initiate anyone, but only when the invention was ready, he applied for a patent. Of course, history has nothing to do with the legal side, but still some historians take sides with Marconi. The patent was issued on July 2, 1897, that is, two years after Popov's demonstration of his invention. Nevertheless, Marconi had a document fixing his priority, and the Russian scientist confined himself only to a printed publication.

Achievement of Americans

In the debate about who invented the radio, in 1943 Americans intervened, because they also had a craftsman in their country who created the receiver. The United States was outraged by the fact that Europeans and Russians share the first place among themselves, because this is their compatriot Nikola Tesla, the famous electrical engineer and scientist, was the first to make such a great discovery. The veracity of this statement was proved in court.

Tesla patented a radio transmitter in 1893, and two years later - a radio receiver. The device of an American scientist could convert an acoustic sound into a radio signal, transfer it, again transforming it into an acoustic sound. That is, it worked like modern devices. The designs of Popov and Marconi noticeably lose, because they could transmit and receive only radio signals with the 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 worked on creating a new adaptation, invested their labor and knowledge in it. Marconi, Popov and Tesla are in no way connected with each other, they lived in different countries and even on different continents, so no one did not steal ideas. It turns out that the idea of creating a radio scientist came about at about the same time. This combination of circumstances once again confirmed the law of Engels: if the time for discovery has come, then this discovery is sure to be made by someone.