The Evolution of Antenna Technology: History, dipoles, and loops

This article is a historical review of the introduction, development, and advancement of antenna technology, starting with the spark-gap transmission and reception by Hertz in the late 1880s. The article underscores some of the basic antenna designs that contributed to the evolution of antenna technology, especially linear dipoles and loops, which were part of Hertz’s 1886 spark-gap dipole transmitter and loop receiver experiment, and also describes some of their basic radiation characteristics.