04/08/2026
One of the peculiar aspects of Einstein's theory of Special Relativity is that the length of objects moving at relativistic speeds undergoes a contraction along the dimension of motion. But, did you know, who first predicted this idea? It was an Irish man who is our "scientist of the day" today.
It's the birthday of Professor
, the man who anticipated the production of radio waves as well as length contraction —
(Scientist of the Day - 03 August)
FitzGerald is known for his work in electromagnetic theory and for the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, which became an integral part of 's special theory of relativity.
In 1883, following from Maxwell's equations, FitzGerald was the first to suggest a device for producing rapidly oscillating electric currents to generate electromagnetic waves. Five years later proved FitzGerald correct by producing radio waves.
Based on the results of the experiment, FitzGerald proposed in 1889 that a measurement of the length of an object in motion would be smaller than one of the same object at rest. proposed a similar idea three years later. Although FitzGerald’s explanation for the phenomenon was wrong, that length contraction, often called Lorentz contraction or Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction, ultimately became a crucial part of Einstein’s special theory of relativity.
A crater on the far side of the Moon is named after him.
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