Discuss briefly the experiment conducted by Hertz to produce and detect electromagnetic spectrum.

Explanation

(i) Maxwell's prediction was experimentally confirmed by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz in 1888. the experimental set up used is shown in Figure.
(ii) It consists of two metal electrodes which are made of small spherical metals. These are connected to larger spheres and the ends of them are connected to induction coil with very large number of turns. this is to produce very high electromotive force (emf).
(iii) Since the coil is maintained at very high potential, air between the electrodes gets ionized and spark (spark means discharge of electricity ) is produced.
The gap between electrode (ring type not completely closed and has a small gap in between ) kept at a distance also gets spark. this implies that the energy is transmitted from electrode to the receriver (ring electrode) as a wave, known as electromagnetic waves.
(v) If the receiver is rotated by `90^(@)` - then no spark is observed by the receiver. this confirms that electromagnetic waves are transverse waves as predicted by Maxwell.
(vi) Hertz detected radio waves and also computed the speed of radio waves which is equal to the speed of light `(3 xx 10^(8)" " m s^(-1))`.