One of the great scientists of modern civilization, the man to whom we owe the mighty specs of megahertz and gigahertz, is being commemorated by Google. February 22nd of this year marks the 155th anniversary of the
One of the great scientists of modern civilization, the man to whom we owe the mighty specs of megahertz and gigahertz, is being commemorated by Google. February 22nd of this year marks the 155th anniversary of the birth of Heinrich Hertz, born in the north German town of Hamburg in 1857, and Google is marking the occasion with an animated gif of an undulating wave. Before you think that a somewhat tacky tribute, the animation actually pays homage to Hertz's achievement in being the first person to successfully demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic waves — the understanding of which has since led us to such things as radio and television broadcasts, cellular phones, radar, and of course, Wi-Fi. That wasn't the only discovery he made in a brief but academically active life, and his achievements have also been acknowledged with the naming of the SI unit for measuring frequency — one hertz being equal to one cycle per second — which is most commonly used today when discussing wireless communication standards and computer processor throughput. Google's new Doodle will become visible in your territory once the clock ticks past midnight between the 21st and 22nd.