How did Heinrich Hertz’s experiments contribute to Guglielmo Marconi’s work?

Heinrich Hertz’s experiments were foundational to Guglielmo Marconi’s development of wireless telegraphy. Between 1885 and 1889, Hertz successfully produced and detected electromagnetic waves in his laboratory, proving the theories of James Clerk Maxwell and demonstrating that these waves—later known as radio waves—behaved similarly to light and heat.12

Marconi, an Italian physicist, built upon these discoveries by repeating Hertz’s experiments to investigate electromagnetic wave techniques. While Hertz had demonstrated the transmission of waves over short distances using spark gaps, Marconi sought to turn this scientific phenomenon into a practical system of communication. By systematically refining the apparatus—such as connecting the spark gap to an elevated wire (an antenna) and the Earth—Marconi was able to significantly increase the range of signal transmission from a few feet to miles, eventually bridging the Atlantic Ocean.3452