Radio technology has long been one of the most commonly used
forms of mass communication that could connect people from around the world. Although
its history ranges back far, its become adaptable through the years for it to
still be used in the large variety of ways that it is today.
Those who work with radio in some capacity have a lot to be thankful
for in German physicist Heinrich Hertz, whose work with radio waves helped him
discover that it was possible for these radio waves to be transmitted
wirelessly. This was the initial step towards radio technology.\
The history behind the exact creator of the radio is foggy.
There had always been discussions and visions of some sort of radio
communications system prior to the late 1800s, but no strides were seen until Nikola
Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi made developments towards what would become known as
the radio in the 1890s. There has been a debate over whether Marconi or Tesla
is the true inventor of the radio.
The debate comes from the fact that Tesla showcased a type
of wireless radio around the same time that Marconi produced his wireless
telegraphy. Although Tesla’s feat occurred in 1893, and Marconi only received his
patent in 1896, Marconi is widely seen today as the “father and
inventor of the radio”. This is because Marconi received his patent before Tesla,
and also because Marconi achieved the feat of being the first to broadcast
radio signals across the Atlantic in 1901.
Nevertheless, radio has been able to advance through the
years. After being used to communicate on and across waters for the military during
World War I, radios were able to put into everyday homes during the 20s when
broadcasting corporations started to sprout up. One of the most prominent
examples is the Westinghouse Company, whose commercial radio license in 1920 for
the KDKA station became the first of its kind to be authorized by the U.S. government.
This became home to the very first radio broadcast that was licensed by the
government in 1920. As a result, radio advertisements were created as radios
became much more mainstream.
In the same year Lee de Forest invented AM, or
amplitude-modulated, radio. This came about as a result of his invention of a “electromagnetic
radiation” detector to make the radio waves signals stronger for broadcast. This
helped spawn the creation of AM radio, thereby enabling the creation of many
more radio stations to run at once. The widely known FM radio wasn’t invented
for another 13 years, which was done by Edwin Howard Armstrong in 1933. This
frequency-modulated radio could control the noise static seen in AM radio broadcasts
much more easily. With less interference between multiple radio stations, this
allowed for much more room for radio players on the airwaves.
Nowadays, we see radio everywhere, from our cars, to our
phones, and laptops, which is interesting considering this is so different from
its original use. At first glance, it seems like radio would be pushed to the
side as online streaming of music has become so accessible through apps like Spotify,
apple music, and tidal. Even though these apps have become so popular, radio
features have still found a way to be implemented into them, with personalized radio
stations for certain artists and genres within those apps. It’s impressive how
radio has the ability to adapt to the technological advancements of today, and
be implemented in both online and traditional radio stations and still see a
wide range of use in both mediums. Personally, I see this as a good sign for
the radio industry in future. Considering how adaptable radio is, I believe it
will remain a mainstay in some capacity in the future as technology advances.
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