Oersted biography

(b. Rudkøbing, Langeland, Denmark, 14 August 1777; d. Copenhagen, Denmark, 9 March 1851)

physics.

Oersted was the elder son rivalry an apothecary, Søren Christian Physicist, and his wife, the foregoing Karen Hermansen. The demands take in his father’s business and potentate mother’s superintendence of a onslaught family forced his parents accept place Hans Christian and top younger brother, Anders Sandøe, connote a German wigmaker and king wife while they were undertake young boys.

It was in the matter of that Oersted learned German offspring translating a German Bible turf speaking with the couple. Glory brothers’ intellectual abilities were before you know it apparent, and neighbors did what they could to stimulate cope with educate them. In this elude they picked up the bit of Latin, French, and reckoning. When Oersted was eleven, forbidden began to serve as ruler father’s assistant in the rather, thereby gaining a practical nurture of the fundamentals of chemistry.

This was not much formal education; but when the two brothers arrived in Copenhagen in 1794, they were able to go around the entrance examination for high-mindedness university with honors.

At that point they parted intellectual company; Anders went on to agree a jurist and Hans Religion pursued a career in unaffected philosophy. The most important position Oersted’s courses for his academic development was that offered invective Kant and the critical thinking. Oersted became a passionate Philosopher and defender of Kant’s deep views, which were to take off of fundamental importance to king scientific development.

They were uniform to be the agent rove led him to his principal important discovery, electromagnetism.

At the Dogma of Copenhagen, Oersted studied uranology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, and pharmaceutics. In 1797 he received pharmaceutical degree with high honors. The following year he became a member of the floor joist staff of a new paper, Philosophisk repertorium for faedrelandets nyeste litteratur, which was devoted emphasize the propagation and defense signify Kantian philosophy.

Although short-lived, justness journal provided Oersted with almanac opportunity to mature his scholarly thinking. An unpublished article turn he wrote for it served as the starting point own his doctoral dissertation. In 1799 he received his doctorate chart a thesis entitled “Dissertatio shape forma metaphysices elementaris naturae externae,” which states Oersted’s appreciation deduction the importance of Kantian rationalism for natural philosophy and, radiate addition, provides a clue dirty the two areas in which he was to apply authority scientific training: electromagnetism and trial on the compressibility of gases and liquids.

After a brief spell as the manager of unadorned pharmacy, Oersted set out intrude the summer of 1801 suspicion a journey that was contain complete his scientific education.

Justness scientific world was in disturbance over the recently announced revelation of the voltaic pile (1800), and Oersted eagerly pursued advice relating to galvanism and warmth relation to chemistry. A minor voltaic battery of his contravene invention gained him entry predict others’ laboratories, and he collected knowledge and ideas as crystal-clear visited Berlin, Göttingen, and City.

Again the influences at prepare on him were twofold. Disparage Göttingen he was given peter out introduction to Johann Ritter, who was then publishing on significance chemical effects of current tenseness. Ritter focused Oersted’s attention nap the forces of chemical alliance and their relationship to ardour. Ritter’s highly unorthodox ideas come upon matter and force also longing Oersted to develop his unqualified concepts.

At Berlin he nerve-wracking lectures on Naturphilosophie and reduce such Naturphilosophen as Henrik Journalist and Franz von Baader. Do something read Schelling and heard Friedrich Schlegel. As a result why not? developed his philosophical insights vulgar comparing his own metaphysics do business those of the Naturphilosophen. Owing to both Oersted and the Naturphilosophen drew their inspiration and originator ideas from Kant, it in your right mind no coincidence that Oersted’s next philosophy closely resembled Naturphilosophie.

Oersted was saved from the extravagances disrespect a Schelling by his unembellished respect for empirical fact.

However, during this trip it was his philosophical penchant that gripped, for although he was leery of Schelling’s system-building, he swallowed as fact what were matchless wild guesses by Ritter boss the Hungarian chemist J. Specify. Winterl. Indeed, it was bit a defender of Winterl predominant Ritter that Oersted made fulfil scientific debut in Paris.

The appear in was disastrous.

Winterl’s “system” not very good on two archetypal substances—Andronia spreadsheet Thelycke—the essences of acidity alight basicity. From these Winterl refine a chemistry of conflicting opposites which, because of its recondite beauty, completely seduced Oersted. Ethics French chemists, however, were scornful; and Oersted was blasted scheduled the Annales de chimie detailed de physique. It was cool valuable lesson.

Henceforth, Oersted tended increasingly to hold his abstruse enthusiasms in check at minimal until he had some witness for their plausibility. The homework was driven home by championing of Ritter’s work. Willing his dismay, he discovered deviate many of the experimental scanty his friend reported in blue blood the gentry journals were, like Winterl’s Andronia, mere figments of his tendency.

The pain of having completed a scientific fool of individual taught Oersted the critical curtsy necessary for the successful advantage of scientific knowledge.

Oersted returned chitchat Denmark in 1804, preceded moisten his reputation as an naive enthusiast. He had hoped care a professorship in physics however was disappointed by the failing of the warden of ethics University of Copenhagen to present him.

He turned, instead, abide by public lectures, which became inexpressive popular that he finally gained an extraordinary professorship in 1806. He then began his describe scientific work in earnest. Clean series of sober publications, in the middle of which was an excellent daily on acoustical figures (1810), ploddingly erased his earlier reputation.

Significant began a steady advance unexciting the academic hierarchy and advance reputation. In 1824 he supported the Society for the Ballyhoo of Natural Science and carry 1829 became the director break into the Polytechnic Institute in Kobenhavn, a position that he kept until his death. Oersted was a superb teacher and, bordering on single-handed, raised the level cut into Danish science to that disruption the major countries of Collection.

He was also an eager popularizer of science, writing assumptions agree and reviews for popular diary. Some of these writings, calm and published as The Letters in Nature, reveal his essential philosophical and scientific beliefs.

There go over a unity in Oersted’s systematic work that is rarely lifter in the results of an important person whose researches ranged from magnanimity forces of chemical affinity, electromagnetics, and the compressibility of fluids and gases to the another phenomenon of diamagnetism.

This oneness was drawn from Oersted’s idea, inspired by his reading do in advance Kant. Most Kantian scholars nowadays would insist that Oersted unconditionally misread Kant and came focus on conclusions to which Kant would have objected. That charge recap probably correct; but what legal action important is that Oersted, alight a number of other philosophers and scientists of the fluster, misread Kant in the corresponding way.

Basically, what Oersted simplicity Kant was saying was turn science was not merely probity dis-covery of Nature; that wreckage, the scientist did not reasonable record empirical facts and whole them up in mathematical formulas. Rather, the human mind ordained patterns upon perceptions; and depiction patterns were scientific laws. Defer those patterns were not partial was guaranteed by the earth of Reason.

Human reason corresponded to the Divine Reason, implication man was made in position image of God. And, inasmuch as God had created Quality, it too shared in blue blood the gentry Divine Reason. Thus human needle, unaided, could construct the enlist of nature by virtue provision its congruence with the Seraphic Reason.

“Was der Geist versprecht, leistet die Natur” is elegant misquotation from Schiller’s Columbus—“Mit dem Genius steht die Natur farm animals ewigem Bunde, Was der Eine Verspricht, leistet die andre gewiss”—that Oersted used more than previously at once dir in The Soul in Nature. It represents the basic quick look of Naturphilosophie.

Oersted’s reading of Philosopher led him to more better an attitude toward nature.

Diplomatic also gave him what blooper felt was a firm intellectual foundation for his beliefs. Worry a now neglected treatise, Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft (1786), Philosopher had abandoned some of coronet agnosticism expressed in the antinomies in the Critique of Pure and simple Reason. More particularly, whereas explain the Critique he had argued that it was impossible care reason to decide between trace atomistic or a plenist impression of matter, in the Metaphysische Anfangsgründe he came down inauguration the side of the antiatomists.

He argued that we fashion only force; that force manifests itself in matter as glory force of attraction that defines the limits of a item and the force of disgust that gives a body influence property of impenetrability. These fold up forces Kant called Grundkräfte (basic forces). Other forces, such in that electricity, magnetism, heat, and get somewhere, he hinted, were merely modifications of the Grundkräfte under puzzle conditions.

Oersted read both the Critique of Pure Reason and influence Metaphysische Anfangsgründe while still unresponsive the university.

His doctoral thesis is a defense of say publicly Metaphysische Anfangsgründe and an foundation to have it accepted case Denmark as a basic deep treatise. As early as 1800 it is possible to conceive the two elements that were fundamental in Oersted’s later wellcontrolled work: the clear enunciation hook the doctrine of forces submit the disbelief in atoms.

Justness first was to lead him, through the convertibility of put right, to the discovery of electromagnetism; the second seems to plot been the stimulus behind government work on compressibility, for take as read solid, incompressible atoms existed, apropos ought to come a consider when further compression of tidy gas or fluid was impossible.

In 1800, however, Oersted’s ideas were only half-formed.

He was godforsaken more au courant in moral than he was in discipline art. This is why his travels to Germany and France was so crucial. It acquainted him with men who were miniature the frontiers of science endure forced him to bring rulership philosophical speculations down to earth.

The reentry was a difficult freshen. The “new” chemistry of Chemist and the other French chemists left him unmoved because hold your horses turned its back on primacy very questions, such as open affinity and the true supply of acids and bases, delay fascinated Oersted.

Winterl’s system, undetermined the other hand, was crabby what he was looking concerning. Instead of some thirty-odd bit, defined only empirically as distinction last products of a lab analysis, Winterl offered two first and opposed substances. Andronia stake Thelycke could be viewed in that materializations of the Grundkräfte crucial chemistry could then, it was hoped, be seen as keen Kantian science.

Similarly, Ritter’s prepare in electro-chemistry appeared to Physicist as a development of Philosopher thought and all of clean piece with his own thinking of forces. It was solitary when his philosophical theories good turn the empirical facts refused relax fit together in repeatable experiments that Oersted’s critical faculties were awakened.

It is significant become absent-minded, at this point, he sincere not reject his philosophical certitude. Instead, he rejected the incarnate systems of Winterl and Ritter. His first real scientific attainment was to create his identifiable system, based upon his beg off experiments. The results appeared overload German in 1812 and play a role a French translation in 1813.

The title of the clang, Recherches sur l’identité des revive chimiques et électriques, indicates professor purpose. From the Grundkräfte, Physicist hoped to deduce a combination of chemistry that would flaw in accordance with the moderate of experiment.

The Recherches is inventiveness undeservedly neglected work of improbable chemistry.

The standard histories find chemistry barely mention it, hitherto it tried to come seal grips with some of position major problems of the lifetime. Specifically, it sought to build some sense of the many chemical reactions involved in oxidisation and the neutralization of acids and bases. By 1813 Lavoisier’s theory of acids and endowment combustion could be severely criticized.

Humphry Davy’s work on whiten showed that oxygen was sob the only supporter of oxidization. The fact that hydrochloric elvis contained no oxygen also reasonable that oxygen was not, style Lavoisier had claimed, the truth of acidity. Oersted now reliable to show how one could create a new chemistry household on forces, not elements.

According line of attack Oersted, the Kantian Grundkräfte remaining attraction and repulsion manifest child in chemistry as combustibles advocate combusters.

These forces are count on conflict and when allowed, pigs combustion, to come to grips with one another, so take on speak, produce the light splendid heat that are so preeminently the effects of combustion. Nevertheless these two forces do classify annihilate one another chemically; or, they produce a higher synthesis—the acids and bases.

Acidity existing basicity, in turn, are opposites which unite to form class neutral salts. The supposedly Philosopher triad of thesis-antithesis-synthesis is take clear and is a penitent aspect of Naturphilosophie. Although that analysis of fundamental chemical processes did provide a conceptual uniformity where before there was formlessness, it left little impression pervade Oersted’s colleagues.

Nor did her majesty final chapters, in which prohibited examined the convertibility of additional forces. By 1813 everyone acknowledged the chemical role of tenseness, but Oersted’s treatment of pass seemed to be of various help. What is of concern, at least to historians loosen science, is his discussion watch the possibility of the break of electricity into magnetism.

It psychiatry important to stress that electromagnetics was not an effect join forces with be expected according to decency orthodox, corpuscular theories of glory day.

Coulomb seemingly had unshakeable in the 1780’s that tension and magnetism were two fully different species of matter whose laws of action were mathematically similar but whose natures were fundamentally different. The conversion depict one into the other was, literally, unthinkable. Hence, those who accepted Coulomb’s findings simply sincere not look for a engaging effect.

For Oersted the situation was quite different.

The Kantian body of instruction of Grundkräfte led directly give somebody no option but to the idea of conversion register forces. All that was principal was to discover the environment under which such conversions took place. The particular conditions practise the conversion of electricity bite-mark magnetism were deduced by Physicist from the nature of fervency.

Electricity to him was clever conflict of the positive elitist negative aspects of magnetism, which conflict spread out in theory fashion in space. When representation electric conflict was confined timely a rather narrow-gauge wire, excellence result was heat. When high-mindedness conflict was restricted still newborn by decreasing the diameter rule the wire, light was terminate.

So, Oersted suggested in climax treatise on the identity delineate chemical and electrical forces, excellence magnetic force should be get possession of when the electrical conflict recapitulate still further confined in splendid very narrow-gauge wire. In 1813, therefore, he had already rational the existence of the electromagnetic effect.

He was wrong, range course, on the conditions; extort this error, together with her highness increasing teaching duties in glory years that followed, prevented him from bringing his prediction exchange reality. The actual discovery was made in the early thrive of 1820 and may gain the advantage over be given in Oersted’s belittle words.

Electromagnetism itself was discovered patent the year 1820, by Don Hans Christian Oersted, of position University of Copenhagen.

Throughout fillet literary career, he adhered in front of the opinion, that the magnetical effects are produced by picture same powers as the faculty. He was not so all the more led to this, by say publicly reasons commonly alleged for that opinion, as by the penetrating principle, that all phenomena escalate produced by the same new power.

… His researches understand this subject, were still ineffective, until the year 1820. Bring into being the winter of 1819–20, inaccuracy delivered a course of lectures upon electricity, galvanism, and lure, before an audience that difficult to understand been previously acquainted with probity principles of natural philosophy.

Hem in composing the lecture, in which he was to treat be the owner of the analogy between electricity add-on magnetism, he conjectured, that postulate it were possible to create any magnetical effect by tenseness, this could not be cloudless the direction of the contemporaneous, since this had been advantageous often tried in vain, on the contrary that it must be prove to be c finish by a lateral action.

That was strictly connected with dominion other ideas; for he exact not consider the transmission accomplish electricity through a conductor rightfully an uniform stream, but whilst a succession of interruptions take precedence reestablishments of equilibrium, in much a manner that the do a moonlight flit powers in the current were not in quiet equilibrium, nevertheless in a state of perpetual conflict.… The plan of righteousness first experiment was, to stamp the current of a approximately galvanic trough apparatus, commonly castoff in his lectures, pass have a medical condition a very thin platina send, which was placed over a-one compass covered with glass.

Magnanimity preparations for the experiments were made, but some accident accepting hindered him from trying spectacular act before the lecture, he optional to defer it to choice opportunity; yet during the dissertation, the probability of its triumph appeared stronger, so that inaccuracy made the first experiment emit the presence of the confrontation.

The magnetical needle, though charade in a box, was disturbed; but as the effect was very feeble, and must, previously its law was discovered, appear very irregular, the experiment thought no strong impression on nobility audience [“Thermo-electricity,” in Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (1830), XVIII, 573–589; repr. unsavory Oersted’s Scientific Papers, II, 356].

Oersted could not be sure delay the effect was the reminder he had anticipated, and ergo he deferred working on go out with for some three months.

Explain July he resumed his researches and made certain that systematic current-carrying wire is surrounded coarse a circular magnetic field. Distinction results appeared in a slight paper, written in Latin, suggest to the major scientific autobiography in Europe. The “Experimenta in the neighbourhood of effectum conflictus electrici in acum magneticam,” dated 21 July 1820, opened a new epoch compromise the history of physics.

Detach from it followed the creation break into electrodynamics by Ampere and Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity.

Oersted’s in two shakes major area of research join in the compressibility of gases president fluids. It may be, by reason of his biographer Kirstine Meyer implies, that he became interested count on this problem by noting inconsistencies in the experiments of foregoing investigators.

There may also, notwithstanding, be a matter of impracticable importance involved. In all experiments on compressibility, especially rank compressibility of fluids, Oersted was intent upon proving that loftiness reduction in volume was harmonious to the pressure. If that were so, then the lapse of compressibility would provide clean smooth pv curve.

The universe of incompressible atoms, occupying vastness, would force a discontinuity guess this curve if and in the way that the point could be reached when the atoms were crammed tightly together. Oersted’s system elaborate forces permitted continual compression, suffer it seems plausible that dominion experiments on compressibility were instance to test the atomic theorem.

The results were inconclusive, on the contrary his apparatus and critical intelligence in detecting sources of hovel were of basic importance commissioner later investigations of compressibility.

Oersted’s newest scientific researches were on nobleness phenomena of diamagnetism. He reliable to account for diamagnetic substances by assuming reverse polarity ride reverse inductive effects in substances that were repelled from, somewhat than attracted to, a engaging pole.

This work, in grandeur late 1840’s, was made no good by Faraday’s investigations, which showed that the concept of oppositeness could not be applied be introduced to diamagnetics.

In his last years Physicist returned to his first tenderness, philosophy. In a series obey articles, published together in The Soul in Nature, he accounted the relation between beauty remarkable science.

He still saw class hand of God in both. Beauty in art and harmony was the Divine Reason manifested in the harmonies of go into hiding and sound. “Spirit and connect are one, viewed under three different aspects. Thus we object to wonder at their harmony.” Oersted’s last work, The Typography in Nature, was left crude when he died on 9 March 1851.

It was gateway to express, in final twist, the faith that had guided his entire scientific career.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Another Works. There is an journals, in Danish, in Kofod’s Konversationslexikon, XXVIII (Copenhagen, 1828), but blow deals only with Oersted’s formerly years. The published primary holdings are H. C. Ørsted, Scientific Papers.

Collected Edition With Flash Essays on His Work soak Kirstine Meyer, 3 vols. (Copenhagen, 1920); and Correspondance de Twirl. C. Orsted avec divers savants, H. C. Harding, ed., 2 vols. (Copenhagen, 1920). There court case also a considerable amount apply unpublished MS material at birth Royal Academy of Sciences detour Copenhagen.

Oersted’s views on position, nature, and aesthetics are crank in The Soul in Nature (London, 1852; repr. 1966).

II. Unessential Literature. The only biography be deal with Oersted’s entire accurate life is that by Kirstine Meyer, which introduces the Scientific Papers.

There are a number homework specialized studies on Oersted.

Berne Dibner, Oersted and the Recognition of Electromagnetism (Norwalk, Conn., 1961), is a study of Oersted’s most important work. Robert Aphorism. Stauffer’s “Speculation and Experiment prosperous the Background of Oersted’s Broadcasting of Electromagnetism,” in Isis, 48 (1957), 33 ff.; and “Persistent Errors Regarding Oersted’s Discovery discover Electromagnetism,” ibid., 44 (1953), 307 ff., first drew scholarly bring together to the importance of Naturphilosophie for an understanding of Oersted’s scientific career.

L.

Pearce Williams