The hertz is a familiar unit in the measurement of electricity--as common a word at home supply stores as amp or volt. Like some other units of measure, the hertz (abbreviated Hz) was named after an accomplished scientist.
A hertz is an international measure of electrical frequency, with 1 Hz being one cycle per second.
According to IEEE.org, Heinrich Hertz (1857 - 1894) was born in Hamburg, Germany, and received his doctoral degree in physics in 1880.
In the mid-19th century, James Clerk Maxwell, a British scientist, theorized that the interaction of magnetic and electrical fields produces electromagnetic waves. Some scientists and engineers questioned the theory's validity.
Hertz's experiments on radio waves confirmed Maxwell's theories about electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Electrical outlets have different frequencies in different countries. For instance, while outlets in the United States, Canada and Aruba have frequencies of 60 Hz, outlets in China and Denmark are 50 Hz.
