hertz

[hurts] /hɜrts/
noun, plural hertz, hertzes.
1.
the standard unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one cycle per second.
Abbreviation: Hz.
Origin
1925-30; named after H. R. Hertz

Hertz

[hurts, hairts; German herts] /hɜrts, hɛərts; German hɛrts/
noun
1.
Gustav
[goo s-tahf] /ˈgʊs tɑf/ (Show IPA), 1887–1975, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1925.
2.
Heinrich Rudolph
[hahyn-rikh roo-dawlf] /ˈhaɪn rɪx ˈru dɔlf/ (Show IPA), 1857–94, German physicist.
Related forms
Hertzian
[hurt-see-uh n, hairt-] /ˈhɜrt si ən, ˈhɛərt-/ (Show IPA), adjective
Examples from the web for hertz
  • The students tested a range of frequencies from five to several hundred hertz.
  • The result runs at six hertz, about a millionth of the speed of a typical laptop computer.
  • It emits short bursts of light at frequencies sometimes reaching thousands of hertz.
British Dictionary definitions for hertz

hertz

/hɜːts/
noun (pl) hertz
1.
the derived SI unit of frequency; the frequency of a periodic phenomenon that has a periodic time of 1 second; 1 cycle per second Hz
Word Origin
C20: named after Heinrich Rudolph Hertz

Hertz

/hɜːts; German hɛrts/
noun
1.
Gustav (ˈɡʊstaf). 1887–1975, German atomic physicist. He provided evidence for the quantum theory by his research with Franck on the effects produced by bombarding atoms with electrons: they shared the Nobel prize for physics (1925)
2.
Heinrich Rudolph (ˈhainrɪç ˈruːdɔlf). 1857–94, German physicist. He was the first to produce electromagnetic waves artificially
Derived Forms
Hertzian, adjective
Word Origin and History for hertz

Hertz

unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second, 1928, named in reference to German physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894).

hertz in Medicine

hertz (hûrts)
n. pl. hertz
Abbr. Hz
A unit of frequency equal to 1 cycle per second.

hertz in Science
hertz
  (hûrts)   

The SI derived unit used to measure the frequency of vibrations and waves, such as sound waves and electromagnetic waves. One hertz is equal to one cycle per second. The hertz is named after German physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894).
hertz in Culture
hertz [(hurts)]

The international unit of frequency: one cycle per second. The abbreviation for hertz is Hz.

Note: Household current in the United States is sixty hertz.
Encyclopedia Article for hertz

unit of frequency. The number of hertz (abbreviated Hz) equals the number of cycles per second. The frequency of any phenomenon with regular periodic variations can be expressed in hertz, but the term is used most frequently in connection with alternating electric currents, electromagnetic waves (light, radar, etc.), and sound. It is part of the International System of Units (SI), which is based on the metric system. The term hertz was proposed in the early 1920s by German scientists to honour the 19th-century German physicist Heinrich Hertz. The unit was adopted in October 1933 by a committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission and is in widespread use today, although it has not entirely replaced the expression "cycles per second."

Learn more about hertz with a free trial on Britannica.com