Hermann von Helmholtz, after eleven years of…

Hermann von Helmholtz, after eleven years of detailed analysis of earlier theories, gives his support in 1881 to Maxwell’s field theory, at this time little known in continental Europe, of the propagation of electromagnetic forces.

Oliver Heaviside criticizes Helmholtz's electromagnetic theory because it allows the existence of longitudinal waves.

Based on work on Maxwell's equations, Heaviside pronounces that longitudinal waves cannot exist in a vacuum or a homogeneous medium.

Heaviside does not note, however, that longitudinal electromagnetic waves can exist at a boundary or in an enclosed space.

Hermann von Helmholtz had moved from Heidelberg to Berlin in 1871 to become a professor in physics.

He became interested in electromagnetism and the Helmholtz equation is named for him.

Although he does not make major contributions to this field, his student Heinrich Hertz will become famous as the first to demonstrate electromagnetic radiation.