High Tech Buzzwords

Does it travel?




Maxwell's equations

(without the equations)



"It's nothing, I guess, it's of no use whatsoever!"
-- Heinrich Hertz
  (referring to his own work)





'What is this?'

-- The short answer:

It's an attempt to demonstrate how electromagnetic waves, that travel in space at the speed of light, are generated with no reference to Maxwell's equations.


bewildered equations crossed out

-- The long answer:

It's generally accepted that the only way to perceive a space-traveling electromagnetic wave (the heart of wireless telecommunications), is through the mathematics of Maxwell's equations.

However, even if you are fluent in the language of mathematics, you may find it rather hard to grasp a space-travelling electromagnetic wave from the formal presentation of Maxwell's equations. Yet, with some mathematical manipulation and a considerable amount of wishful thinking, it's possible to show that they, indeed, seem to predict a "space-traveling wave" of some sort. Do they?


'What is next then?'

The following will attempt to answer this question by employing the basic physics of electrical and magnetic interactions with no reference to Maxwell's equations. It will, then, compare its outcome with Maxwell's equations theoretical prediction. Finally, it will reveal how close this prediction comes to the reality, as it was discovered by Heinrich Hertz through his brilliant experimental setup.


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