Hans Christian Ørsted

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Hans Christian Ørsted in 1842
A statue of Hans Christian Ørsted in a park in Copenhagen

Hans Christian Oersted (14 August 1777 – 9 March 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist. He is best known for discovering a relationship between electricity and magnetism, a field now known as electromagnetism.[1]Oersted discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricity and magnetism. Oersted's law and the oersted (Oe) are named after him.[2] He also discovered that aluminium was an element.

Oersted was also a writer and poet. His poetry series Luftskibet ("Airship") was inspired by the balloon flights of his physicist friend, Étienne-Gaspard Robert.

References[change | change source]

  1. Christensen D.C. 2013. Hans Christian Ørsted. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-966926-4
  2. His name is spelled "Oersted" in the standard English character set (labelling of keyboard).