Hans Christian Orsted





Hans Christian ¯rsted (August 14, 1777 in Rudk¿bing - March 9, 1851 in
Copenhagen) was a Danish physicist and chemist, influenced by the thinking
of Immanuel Kant. In 1820 he discovered the relationship between electricity
and magnetism in a very simple experiment. He demonstrated that a wire
carrying a current was able to deflect a magnetised compass needle. ¯rsted
did not suggest any satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon, nor did he
try to represent the phenomenon in a mathematical framework.

In 1825 he made a significant contribution to chemistry by producing
aluminum for the first time.