Hertz and Marconi: A Comparison Between The Apparatus of Their Landmark Experiments

We all know that Heinrich Hertz [Hamburg, Germany, 1857 – Bonn, Germany, 1894] (Figure 1a) first proved the existence of electromagnetic waves in his laboratory. His spark-based experiments [1, 2] demonstrated not only the existence of waves by showing that the transmitter in the proximity of a conducting wall generated nodes and antinodes that were compatible only with wave propagation [3], but also confi rmed the theoretical prediction by James Clerk Maxwell [Edinburgh, Scotland, 1831 – Cambridge, England, 1879] that the speed of such waves was equal to the speed of light [2, 4].