Wireless Radio: A History

by Lewis Coe

In 1873 Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell first advanced the idea that there might be electromagnetic waves that were similar to light waves, a startling concept to the scientists of his day. About 13 years later, German physicist Heinrich Hertz demonstrated in his laboratory that electromagnetic radiation did indeed exist. But it was not until after Hertz's death that a young Italian named Guglielmo Marconi got the idea for a practical communications system based on Hertz's work. Marconi was surprised and disappointed that the Italian government was not interested in his newly discovered wireless communications system, and thus he took his equipment to England. From that point on, the wireless became identified with Britain. From these beginnings, wireless radio became the basis of a revolution that has resulted in the satellite communications of today. This history first looks at Marconi's invention and then explores its many applications, including marine radio, cellular telephones, police and military uses, television and radar. Radio collecting is also discussed, and brief biographies are provided for the major figures in the development and use of the wireless.

204 pages, Paperback

First published February 8, 2006

Reviews

[Joseph Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s incredible how much we take radio for granted. Before we could pass information through frequency waves, the world was not only completely unrecognizable compared to today, but there was no way anyone could fathom what the future would look like—except, of course, for a variety of eccentric individuals like Heinrich Hertz, Tesla, and Marconi, all working off James Clerk Maxwell’s prediction of electromagnetic waves as early as 1864.
Bottom line: I’d been on the hunt for the most practical, no-nonsense, information-packed read on the history and technology of radio, and this is it.