Heaviside, Oliver

Heaviside, Oliver (1850-1925), British physicist, who correctly predicted the existence of an electrically conducting layer in the atmosphere, by means of which radio signals could be transmitted around the curvature of the Earth. Born in London and self-educated, Heaviside worked as a telegrapher until deafness forced him to retire. He contributed to electromagnetic theory by applying mathematics to the study of electric circuits and, later, wave motion. His mathematics also contributed to the development of practical long-distance telephony. In 1902 Heaviside conceived what was later proved to be the ionosphere, a prediction made that same year by the American engineer Arthur Edwin Kennelly; the ionosphere was long called the Kennelly-Heaviside layer.