Part 2/11:
Understanding Heaviside's contributions requires us to look back to earlier developments in telegraphy and mathematics. In 1855, William Thompson—later known as Lord Kelvin—published a theory of signal propagation through cables, playing a pivotal role in establishing the first transatlantic telegraphic link between Europe and North America. Notably, Thompson’s theoretical model was rooted in earlier work by Joseph Fourier, whose 1822 book, The Analytical Theory of Heat, introduced the concept of heat flow modeled mathematically.