Robert Jack

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Robert Jack (born November 4, 1877 in Quarter near Hamilton , South Lanarkshire , † May 1, 1957 in Dunedin , Otago ) was a Scottish physicist and radio pioneer. In 1921 he created the first radio station in Oceania on the South Island of New Zealand .

Life

He studied mathematics and natural philosophy in Hamilton and Glasgow . Robert Jack continued his education postgraduate in Paris and Göttingen. Among other things, he dealt with the Zeeman effect , the influence of a magnetic field on spectral lines, and received his doctorate from Glasgow University as a Doctor of Science (DSc). After four years of lecturing in physics at the Belfast Alma Mater, Robert Jack moved to the University of Dunedin, New Zealand, as professor of physics in 1914.

Radio Dunedin

Robert Jack brought a high-voltage generator, electron tubes and other components with him from a visit to Great Britain . This enabled him to set up a functioning device for broadcasting music and speech. The first successful sound transmission took place on May 21, 1921, and a few months later the technology had been improved to such an extent that from November 17, programs could be broadcast regularly twice a week. The range was so great that reception on a ship off the Australian southeast coast was possible.

To develop the transmitter, Robert Jack was supported by a team from the technician Jack Sutherland and a few other employees from the physics faculty .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Aitor Anduaga: Wireless and Empire . University Press. Oxford, 2009. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-199-56272-5 .
  2. ↑ Jim Sullivan : Jack, Robert . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Volume IV . Bridget Williams Books , Wellington 1998 ( online [accessed September 15, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Jack, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish physicist and radio pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH Quarter at Hamilton , South Lanarkshire
DATE OF DEATH May 1, 1957
Place of death Dunedin , Otago