Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The other Hans Christian

Most visitors to Denmark know of Hans Christian Andersen, the writer, but another one, Hans Christian Ørsted deserves more recognition. Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism. He is credited with shaping post-Kantian philosophy and advances in science throughout the late 19th century. The oersted (Oe), the cgs unit of magnetic H-field strength, is named after him. Ørstedsparken is a public park in central Copenhagen and named after this great Dane. -RS

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