International holidays - Public Radio Broadcasting Day

The need to transmit information over long distances appeared in humans at the dawn of the development of civilization. At first, a simple but effective system of outposts was used, which sent signals using smoke, and then people began to send carrier pigeons that delivered important correspondence over long distances. This was not enough, although man has used such methods for centuries. Only by the middle of the 19th century did the telegraph appear, but over time it also ceased to satisfy the growing human need to transmit increasingly complex messages. On May 7, 1895, Russian physicist Alexander Popov presented to the general public his new invention - a unit that showed rapid fluctuations in atmospheric electricity. Translated from Latin, the word “radio” means “to emit, emit rays.” This device uses electromagnetic rays to transmit information. Today every schoolchild knows about this, but humanity managed to timidly approach the hypothesis of their existence only at the end of the 17th century, after which it lay on a dusty shelf for many years. Only in the 1830s did the British scientist James Maxwell bring it to light and confidently declare the existence of the electromagnetic field, backing up his guesses with a strong theory. A little later, the American dentist Malon Loomis told everyone about the discovery of a wireless method of transmitting information. The inventor transmitted signals through two kites, to which he had previously attached electrical wires. One of them was used as a radio transmitter, and Loomis entrusted the second with the mission of a radio receiver. It was an enterprising American dentist who was the first in the world to receive a patent for wireless communications back in 1872. Unfortunately, the document did not contain an accurate description of his invention, the drawings of which were also not preserved for posterity. Over the next twenty years, various scientists began to conduct successful experiments using electromagnetic waves. Faraday's theory turned out to be correct. It is precisely because physicists and engineers in different parts of the world began to come up with the same ideas almost simultaneously that several countries are still arguing about who owns the palm in the invention of radio. In Italy they believe that fame and honor should go to the engineer Guglielmo Marconi. In the USA they prove that the first was the brilliant Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla. In 1895 he received a patent for a radio receiver, and two years earlier - a transmitter. In Germany, Heinrich Hertz, who conducted his experiments in 1888, is considered the pioneer of methods for transmitting and receiving radio signals. The British prove that Oliver Lodge was the first. For a long time, even radio waves were called Hertzian waves. Popov and Marconi's devices could only transmit signals. For example, communication could be carried out using Morse code. Tesla's apparatus, which was based on an oscillatory circuit, was a radio signal converter into an acoustic one. Many historians agree that Popov's invention lay on the shelf for some time, as his experiments were classified because the physicist was then working for the Navy. The debate about who was the first still continues, but does it make sense? James Maxwell prepared the ground, and brilliant minds in different countries almost at the same time developed his ideas, which were literally in the air. It is safe to say that each of them made an invaluable contribution to this invention, which was undoubtedly important for humanity. We have the opportunity to transmit information at a distance. This step was the first on the path of great discoveries - telephone communications, television, the Internet. Every year on January 13, International Public Broadcasting Day is celebrated - a holiday for those who still love to listen to their favorite radio stations at home in the mornings before work or in the car while traveling.