Umair Gaines
Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, sometimes transliterated as Oersted, discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism in 1820. Ørsted found that a compass needle was deflected from magnetic north when an electric current was turned on nearby, confirming a direct relationship between electricity and magnetism. This discovery sparked further research into electrodynamics, with French physicist André-Marie Ampère developing a mathematical law to describe the magnetic forces between current-carrying wires.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Hans Christian Ørsted |
| Other names | Oersted, Ørsted |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Profession | Chemist and physicist |
| Date of birth | 14 August 1777 |
| Date of death | 9 March 1851 |
| Place of birth | Rudkøbing |
| Known for | Discovering the connection between electricity and magnetism, discovering aluminium, founding the Polytechnical Institute in Copenhagen, starting the Society for Dissemination of Natural Science |
| Awards and honours | Copley Medal (1820), 3,000 francs (1820), Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1821), Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London (1821), Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1822), Member of the American Philosophical Society (1829) |
| Related people | Johann Wilhelm Ritter, Hans Christian Andersen, Anders Sandøe Ørsted, André-Marie Ampère, James Clerk Maxwell, Michael Faraday, William Christopher Zeise, Friedrich Wöhler |
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What You'll Learn
Hans Christian Ørsted's discovery
Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism in 1820. Ørsted was born in Rudkøbing in 1777 and developed an interest in science while working for his father, a pharmacist. He became a professor at the University of Copenhagen in 1806 and continued to research electric currents and acoustics.
In Germany, Ørsted met Johann Wilhelm Ritter, a physicist who believed there was a connection between electricity and magnetism. Ørsted's conversations with Ritter drew him into the study of physics. He had been searching for a connection between electricity and magnetism since 1818, but his initial results confused him.
On April 21, 1820, Ørsted noticed that when he turned on an electric current by connecting a wire to a battery, a nearby compass needle deflected away from magnetic north. Ørsted interpreted this to mean that magnetic effects radiate from all sides of a wire carrying an electric current, as do light and heat. He soon published his findings, showing that an electric current produces a circular magnetic field as it flows through a wire.
Ørsted's discovery, now known as Oersted's law, caused a sensation and raised his status as a scientist. It also sparked intense interest in the scientific community, especially in French physicist André-Marie Ampère, who developed a mathematical law to describe the magnetic forces between current-carrying wires. Ørsted's work represented a major step toward a unified concept of energy and brought about a communications revolution due to its application to the electric telegraph.
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Ørsted's influence on André-Marie Ampère
In 1820, Hans Christian Ørsted discovered that an electric current could deflect a compass needle away from magnetic north, establishing a clear relationship between electricity and magnetism. This discovery influenced French physicist André-Marie Ampère to develop a mathematical formula to describe the magnetic forces between current-carrying wires.
Ampère's work was a direct response to Ørsted's findings, which sparked widespread interest in electrodynamics and the unified concept of energy. Ørsted's discovery, now known as the Ørsted effect, had a significant impact on the development of the electric telegraph, with mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace suggesting the possibility of such a device soon after Ørsted's announcement. Ampère promptly presented a paper based on Laplace's idea, demonstrating the immediate influence of Ørsted's discovery on the scientific community.
The Ørsted effect refers to the phenomenon where an electric current creates a magnetic field. This discovery led to Ørsted's law, which formalised the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Ørsted's work laid the foundation for further advancements in the field, including Michael Faraday's experiments demonstrating that a changing magnetic field could induce an electric current.
Ørsted's influence on Ampère extended beyond their scientific contributions. Ørsted, a Danish chemist and physicist, was a leader of the Danish Golden Age and a close friend of writer Hans Christian Andersen. He played a pivotal role in advancing physics and chemistry education at the University of Copenhagen, where he served as a professor. Ørsted's influence helped establish new laboratories and foster a culture of scientific research and discovery, creating an environment that likely influenced Ampère's subsequent work.
In conclusion, Ørsted's discovery of the connection between electricity and magnetism directly inspired Ampère's mathematical formulation of magnetic forces. Ørsted's work catalysed a wave of research in electrodynamics and unified energy concepts, with Ampère being a key contributor. Ørsted's influence extended beyond his scientific discoveries, shaping educational institutions and scientific accessibility, which likely created a conducive environment for Ampère's subsequent achievements.
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Ampère's mathematical law
In 1820, Hans Christian Ørsted discovered that an electric current generates a magnetic field, confirming a direct relationship between electricity and magnetism. Ørsted's discovery sparked a flurry of research into the relationship between electricity and magnetism, including French physicist André-Marie Ampère's formulation of a mathematical law, now known as Ampère's circuital law.
Ampère's circuital law, often simply referred to as Ampère's law, relates the circulation of a magnetic field around a closed loop to the electric current passing through that loop. In other words, Ampère's law specifies the magnetic field associated with a given current or vice versa, as long as the electric field does not change over time. The law is expressed as:
> The line integral of the magnetic field surrounding a closed loop equals the number of times the algebraic sum of currents passing through the loop.
The left side of the equation describes an imaginary path encircling a wire that generates a magnetic field. The equation states that the magnetic field added at every point along this path is numerically equal to the current encircled by the route.
Ampère's law can be used to determine the magnetic field associated with a given current or the current associated with a given magnetic field. However, it only applies in magnetostatic situations involving steady, continuous currents flowing in closed circuits.
Ampère's law is similar to Gauss's Law, as it allows for the determination of the magnetic field produced by an electric current in configurations with a high degree of symmetry. However, while Gauss's Law involves evaluating an integral over a closed surface, Ampère's law involves evaluating an integral over a closed path.
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Michael Faraday's work
Michael Faraday is best known for his work on electricity and magnetism. Faraday's work in the early 19th century marked a significant advancement in understanding the relationship between electricity and magnetism, leading to the principle of electromagnetic induction. Faraday's experiments revealed that an electrical current could induce a magnetic force, and conversely, that moving a magnet through a coil could generate an electric current. This reciprocal relationship was initially demonstrated through a series of experiments where Faraday used coils of wire and magnetic materials, showcasing that an induced current was produced when the magnetic field interacted with the electrical setup.
Faraday's first recorded experiment was the construction of a voltaic pile with seven British halfpenny coins, stacked together with seven discs of sheet zinc, and six pieces of paper moistened with saltwater. With this pile, he passed an electric current through a solution of sulfate of magnesia and succeeded in decomposing the chemical compound. Faraday also invented an early form of what was to become the Bunsen burner, which is still in practical use in science laboratories worldwide as a convenient source of heat.
Faraday conducted a series of experiments treating electromagnetism and published a compendium of existing knowledge about the field in his "Historical Sketch of Electromagnetism" in late 1821 and early 1822. In 1824, Faraday briefly set up a circuit to study whether a magnetic field could regulate the flow of a current in an adjacent wire, but he found no such relationship. This experiment followed similar work conducted with light and magnets three years earlier that yielded identical results.
Faraday's breakthrough came when he wrapped two insulated coils of wire around an iron ring and found that upon passing a current through one coil, a momentary current was induced in the other coil. This phenomenon is now known as mutual inductance. In subsequent experiments, he found that if he moved a magnet through a loop of wire, an electric current flowed in that wire. The current also flowed if the loop was moved over a stationary magnet. His demonstrations established that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field.
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James Clerk Maxwell's equations
Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism in 1820. Ørsted found that a compass needle was deflected from magnetic north when an electric current was turned on nearby. This discovery spurred further research into the relationship between electricity and magnetism.
Building on the work of Ørsted, French physicist André-Marie Ampère developed a mathematical law to describe the magnetic forces between current-carrying wires. Michael Faraday, starting about a decade after Ørsted's discovery, demonstrated that a changing magnetic field induces an electric current.
Following Faraday and Ampère's work, James Clerk Maxwell developed a set of equations, now known as Maxwell's equations, that formally unified electricity and magnetism. Maxwell was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who is credited with developing the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. His equations for electromagnetism achieved the second great unification in physics, after Isaac Newton's theory.
Maxwell's equations are a set of coupled partial differential equations that form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, and electric and magnetic circuits. They describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated by charges, currents, and changes in the fields. The equations also relate the electric and magnetic fields to total charge and total current, including complicated charges and currents at the atomic scale.
Maxwell's equations have had a significant impact on modern technology. They provide a mathematical model for electric, optical, and radio technologies, such as power generation, electric motors, wireless communication, and radar. In 1865, Maxwell published his famous twenty equations, which showed that light and magnetism are manifestations of the same substance. He predicted the existence of radio waves and demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light.
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Frequently asked questions
Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, sometimes transliterated as Oersted, discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields.
Ørsted discovered the connection during a lecture in 1820. He noticed that when he turned on an electric current, a compass needle held nearby deflected away from magnetic north.
Ørsted's findings sparked further research into electrodynamics. French physicist André-Marie Ampère developed a mathematical law to describe the magnetic forces between current-carrying wires.
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