Oliver Heaviside Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Oliver Heaviside (May 18, 1850 - February 3, 1925) was a self-taught British mathematician and physicist. Though Heaviside was at odds with the scientific establishment for most of his life, he changed the face of mathematics and science.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Innovations 3 See also 4 Publications 5 Further reading 6 External links and references |
Heaviside was born in Camden Town, London (England). He was short and red-headed, and suffered from scarlet fever during his youth, the illness having a lasting impact on him, leaving him partly deaf. Although he was a good scholar (placed fifth out of five hundred students in 1865), he left school at 16 and began learning about Morse code and electromagnetism.
Heaviside became a telegraph operator, initially in Denmark and, later, at the Great Northern Telegraph Company. Heaviside continued to study and, in 1872, while working as a chief operator in Newcastle upon Tyne, he started an analysis of electricity. In 1874, Heaviside left this position and researched in isolation at his parents' house. Here he helped develop transmission line theory (also known as the "telegrapher's equations").
Heaviside showed mathematically that uniformly distributed inductance in a telegraph line would diminish both attenuation and distortion, and that, if the inductance were great enough and the insulation resistance not too high, the circuit would be distortionless while currentss of all frequencies would be equally attenuated. Heaviside's equations helped further the implementation of the telegraph.
In 1880, Heaviside researched the skin effect in telegraph transmission lines.
Heaviside, after 1880, recast Maxwell's mathematical analysis from its original quaternion form to its modern vector terminology, thereby reducing the original twenty equations in twenty unknowns down to the four differential equations in four unknowns we now know as Maxwell's equations.
The four re-formulated Maxwell's equations describe the nature of static and moving electric and magnetic charges, and the relationship between the two, namely electromagnetic induction.
Between 1880 and 1887, Heaviside developed the operational calculus (involving the D notation for the differential operator, which he is credited with creating), a method of solving differential equations by transforming them into ordinary algebraic equations which caused a great deal of controversy when first introduced, owing to the lack of rigour in his derivation of it. His famous quote is from a reply to criticism over use of operators [before justified formally].
In 1887, Heaviside proposed that induction coils should be added to the transatlantic telegraph cable (increasing self-induction) in order to correct the distortion which it suffered. For political reasons, this was not done. Michael Idvorsky Pupin later devised means of extending the range of long-distance telephone communication by placing loading coils (of wire) at intervals along the transmitting wire which followed up on the ideas of Heaviside's research.
Around 1889, after Joseph John Thomson's research into the electron, Heaviside worked on the concept of electromagnetic mass. Heaviside treated this as "real" as material mass, capable of producing the same effects. Wilhelm Wien later verified Heaviside's expression (for low velocities).
In 1902, Heaviside proposed the existence of the Kennelly-Heaviside Layer of the ionosphere which bears his name (which was originally investigated by Nikola Tesla around July 3, 1899). Heaviside's proposal included means by which radio signals are transmitted around the earth's curvature. The existence of the ionosphere was confirmed in 1923.
In later years his behaviour became quite eccentric, having been at odds with the scientific establishment for most of his life. Heaviside would sign correspondences "W.O.R.M." during this time. Heaviside also started painting his fingernails pink and had granite blocks moved into his house for furniture. Heaviside died in Paignton, Devon (England). Most of his recognition was gained posthumously.
Heaviside coined the term "electret" for the electric analogue of a permanent magnet, or, in other words, any substance that exhibits a quasi-permanent electric polarization (e.g. ferroelectric). He also developed the Heaviside step function, which he used to model the flow of current in an electric circuit.
Other
This is an Article on Oliver Heaviside. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Oliver Heaviside Biography
Early years
Middle years
Later years
Innovations
See also
Publications
Further reading
Sorted by date.External links and references
