The question "who first invented the radio"?
For example, in Russia they will say that radio was invented by Alexander Stepanovich Popov, in Italy, it was Guglielmo Marconi, in Germany it will be called Heinrich Hertz, and in the USA they believe that the inventor of radio is Nikola Tesla.
Who really invented the radio?
Radio waves are a kind of electromagnetic wave. A person does not see, hear or otherwise feel the waves of this range. Therefore, the first step to the invention of radio communication was simply to understand that electromagnetic waves exist. Who discovered the existence of electromagnetic waves? The first person who theoretically predicted them was the Scottish physicist James Maxwell. Without the electrodynamics he created, there would be no radio without the theory of electricity and magnetism.Maxwell's electrodynamics work came out in the 1860s. However, Maxwell's theory was not taken seriously at once, and many people considered the predicted electromagnetic waves to be some kind of fiction.
The German physicist Heinrich Hertz was also skeptical about the existence of electromagnetic waves, however, in 1887 he decided to experiment to detect them. And the experiment was successful!Heinrich Hertz used a fairly simple installation. As the radiator of electromagnetic waves, the vibrator connected to the coil of Rumkorf was used. This coil created an electrical impulse, between the balls of the vibrator jumped a spark, and at the same time, the vibrator was studying the electromagnetic wave. At some distance was the receiver - a conductor in the form of a ring with a small gap, in which the reception of the electromagnetic wave also jumped spark.Although Hertz experimentally discovered electromagnetic waves, he did not see any practical application in them. "This is useless. It's just an experiment that proves that Maestro Maxwell was right. - Hertz spoke about his experiments.
But others thought otherwise.
First, the English physicist Oliver Lodge and the French physicist Edouard Branly perfected the electromagnetic wave receiver. In 1890 they repeated the Hertz experiments, but instead of observing a spark in the receiver, they used a metal-sawdust tube. A passage through them of an electric impulse sawdust stick together, and resistance of a tube sharply fell, thus, it was possible to understand that the receiver has caught an electromagnetic wave. The sensitivity of such a receiver was much higher.
In 1891 Nicola Tesla improved the transmitter of electromagnetic oscillations, using the phenomenon of resonance in the generation of waves. However, Tesla occupied any more possibility of transfer of messages, and the possibility of transfer on the big distances of electric energy. In 1883, Tesla gave lectures on the transmission of electrical energy and signals at a distance. But in the practical implementation of radio communication, Tesla was ahead of others.
In 1894, Oliver Lodge at Oxford University held a public demonstration of the transmission of signals at a distance. The receiver and transmitter were in different rooms at a distance of about 40 m. Electromagnetic wave reception was recorded using a galvanometer, and a hammer attached to the clockwork mechanism shaken up the cogerer periodically so that it could receive the signal again.
Although Lodge didn't go any further and didn't improve his practical application, his experiments inspired inventors in other countries, including Alexander Popov.
On April 25, 1895, Popov held a demonstration at a meeting of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society in St. Petersburg. He adds to the receiver a relay and an electric bell, which rings and shakes the cogerer at the time of receiving the electromagnetic wave. In this way, the receiver could operate continuously. Later this event in Russia was considered as an invention of radio. In March 1896 Popov demonstrated the transmission of signals by radio using Morse code, and in 1897 in France under the scheme of Popov began production of equipment for radio communications. In 1899, with the help of this equipment, radio communication was introduced in the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets.
Around the same time, the Italian Guglielmo Marconi was also involved in the practical implementation of radio communications. Marconi settled in England, in 1896 he demonstrated his equipment, and in 1897 he received a patent for the device for wireless communication. It is on this basis that many consider Marconi to be the inventor of the radio. In 1898 Marconi opened his factory in England and became one of the pioneers of practical implementation of radio communication in Europe.
Later on, the introduction of the radio went on at an increasing pace. In 1906, for the first time, the radio broadcasted sound, and in 1909 the first radio station was opened in California.