ABSTRACT
The seeds of the numerous advances in physics and in electrical engineering during the first half of the 20th century had been sown in the second half of the 19th century. James ClerkMaxwell, a Scottish professor, had produced the equations that describe the behaviour of the entire range of electromagnetic waves, which includes X-rays, visible light and radio waves. In Germany, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz had demonstrated how some kinds of electromagnetic wave could be generated by an electric circuit and used to create electric currents in a separate circuit a fewmetres distant. GuglielmoMarcheseMarconi had developed this technology, and had constructed equipment that transmitted and detected radio signals over increasing distances. By 1898 he had been able to communicate across the English Channel. Actually he may not have regarded this stretch of water as English, as he had an Italian father and an Irish mother. The Italian name la Manica, like the French la Manche, describes its resemblance to a sleeve rather than its ownership. Intriguingly, the Russian name has been derived by transliteration of la Manche into Cyrillic letters, producing a single six-letter wordLamanx that sounds roughly like the French. On the other hand the Swedish name den engelska kanalen is a simple translation of the English Channel.
