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| Hans Christian Oersted |
Ørsted established in
1820 that an electrical current coursing through a wire creates a magnetic
field that can deflect a compass needle.
This was the first demonstration of the interdependence
between electricity and magnetism. The experiment, which became a classic, was
based on philosophical principles, as Oersted believed that all forces were
interconnected.
At the time of discovery, Ørsted did not suggest any
satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon, nor did he try to represent the
phenomenon in a mathematical framework. However, three months later he began
more intensive investigations. Soon thereafter he published his findings,
proving that an electric current produces a magnetic field as it flows through
a wire.
His observation stimulated further work on electromagnetic
phenomena by numerous investigators, including André Ampère and Michael Faraday,
leading to a grand synthesis in 1873 by English physicist James Clerk Maxwell.
In his honor, Oersted is the unit of magnetic field strength
in CGS electromagnetic units. It is defined as the field at the center of a
single-turn circular coil of radius 1 cm and carrying a current of 1/(2π) abamperes.
Oersted also worked on thermoelectricity, was the first to
prepare metallic aluminum, studied the compressibility of liquids (with an
instrument of his invention called a piezometer) and gases, and conducted
research on various chemical topics.
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