History and Research
The existence of radio waves was predicted by James Clerk Maxwell in 1864 from his equations. In 1888, Heinrich Hertz was the first to demonstrate the existence of radio waves by building a spark gap radio transmitter that produced 450 MHz microwaves, in the UHF region. The equipment he used was primitive, including a horse trough, a wrought iron point spark, and Leyden jars. He also built the first parabolic antenna, using a zinc gutter sheet. In 1894 Indian radio pioneer Jagdish Chandra Bose publicly demonstrated radio control of a bell using millimeter wavelengths, and conducted research into the propagation of microwaves.
Perhaps the first, documented, formal use of the term microwave occurred in 1931:
- "When trials with wavelengths as low as 18 cm were made known, there was undisguised surprise that the problem of the micro-wave had been solved so soon." Telegraph & Telephone Journal XVII. 179/1
In 1943, the Hungarian engineer Zoltán Bay sent ultra-short radio waves to the moon, which, reflected from there, worked as a radar, and could be used to measure distance, as well as to study the moon.
Perhaps the first use of the word microwave in an astronomical context occurred in 1946 in an article "Microwave Radiation from the Sun and Moon" by Robert Dicke and Robert Beringer. This same article also made a showing in the New York Times issued in 1951.
In the history of electromagnetic theory, significant work specifically in the area of microwaves and their applications was carried out by researchers including:
| Work carried out by | Area of work |
|---|---|
| Barkhausen and Kurz | Positive grid oscillators |
| Hull | Smooth bore magnetron |
| Varian Brothers | Velocity modulated electron beam → klystron tube |
| Randall and Boot | Cavity magnetron |
Read more about this topic: Microwave
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