Hans Christian Ørsted

Abstract

Hans Christian Ørsted (1777–1851), the discoverer of electromagnetism, came to be of great importance as a scientist and philosopher far beyond the borders of Denmark and his own time. The centre of an international network of scholars, he was instrumental in establishing the world picture of modern physics. Ørsted was the physicist who brought Kant’s metaphysics to fruition. His discovery of electromagnetism in 1820, a phenomenon that could not possibly exist according to his adversaries, changed the course of research in physics; it inspired M. Faraday’s experiments and discovery of the adverse effect, magneto‐electric induction; the two physical phenomena were later described in mathematical equations by J.C. Maxwell. Together these discoveries constitute the prerequisites for the overwhelming development of modern technology. But Ørsted was also one of the cultural leaders and organizers of the Danish Golden Age (together with Grundtvig, Kierkegaard, and Hans Christian Andersen, his protégé) making significant contributions to aesthetics, philosophy, pedagogy, politics, and religion. Ørsted epitomizes the synthesis of two cultures, remarkably bridging the gap between science, the humanities, and the arts. The concordance between his philosophy of ‘the true, the good, and the beautiful’ and his personal conduct of life makes him a model scholar.

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