In 1819, the researcher known as Hans Christian Oersted observed how a magnetic needle could be deflected by the effect of an electric current. The magnetic needle was a combination of a needle-shaped magnet. This experiment became known as Oersted experiment and revealed the existence of a connection between electricity and magnetism. Until this time they were two different elements as well as gravitation and electricity.
In this article we are going to tell you what the Oersted experiment consists of and what its characteristics and reflections are.
Origin of the Oersted experiment
It must be borne in mind that, at that time, current technology did not exist to be able to carry out research and statements in the scientific method. Oersted's experiment He stated that there was a connection between electricity and magnetism. The laws that mathematically describe magnetic interactions with electricity were developed by André Marie Ampère who was in charge of studying the forces that existed between the cables through which electric currents circulated.
Everything originated thanks to the analogy that exists between magnetism and electricity. It is this analogy that caused a search to be made in the relationship that exists between them and that can explain the characteristics in common. The first attempts to investigate a possible relationship between the electric charges of magnets did not give many results. What they did show is that by putting objects that were electrically charged near magnets, a single force was exerted between them. This force is of global attraction like the one that exists between any object charged with electricity and a neutral object. In this case, the object is the magnet.
The magnet and the electrically charged object attract but cannot be oriented. This indicates that no magnetic interaction takes place between them. If so, if they would guide. Oersted first conducted the experiment that showed the assistance of the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Already in the year 1813 had predicted that there may be a relationship between the two but it was in 1820 when he verified it.
It happened while he was preparing his physics class at the University of Copenhagen. In this class, he discovered that if he moved a compass near a wire carrying an electric current, the compass needle tended to orient itself perpendicular to the wire.
Key features
The fundamental difference between Oersted's experiment and other previous attempts that had given negative results is that in the coil and current experiment, the charges that interact with the magnet are in motion. Keeping this fact in mind, it was possible to know the result of Oersted's experiment since it was proposed that all electric current was capable of forming a magnetic field. Ampere was a scientist who used the concept of the relationship between electricity and magnetism to anticipate an explanation for all of this. Thanks to his solution, he was able to establish an explanation that provided a solution to the behavior of natural magnetism and formalize all the developments in mathematical terms.
Contributions of the Oersted experiment
The discovery that every electric current is capable of producing a magnetic field opened up many avenues of research into magnetism and its relationship to electricity. Among all these paths opened, quite fruitful developments arose, which we developed into the following points:
- The quantitative determination of the magnetic field that is produced through different types of electric currents. This point was answered because of the need to produce magnetic fields of an intensity and an arrangement of their lines that were controllable. In this way, it has been possible to handle the benefits of natural magnets and it has been possible to create other artificial magnets with a more efficient operation.
- The use of the forces that exist between electric currents and magnets. Thanks to the knowledge of this phenomenon it has been possible to use for the construction of electric motors, various instruments that are used to measure the intensity of current and other applications. For example, the electronic balance is used in many areas today. The electronic balance has been built thanks to the use of the forces that exist between electric currents and magnets.
- The explanation of natural magnetism. Thanks to the use of the Oersted experiment, it has been possible to base the knowledge accumulated over this time on the internal structure of matter. The fact that any current is capable of generating a magnetic field in its vicinity has also been highlighted. From here all the behaviors are known to be able to take advantage of it.
- The reciprocal effect that could be shown in Oersted's experiment has served for the industrial obtaining of electric current and its use by the majority of the population. This use is based on obtaining electric current from a magnetic field.
Final Thoughts
We are going to do a little reflection on the Oersted experiment and what are its contributions in the world of science. We know that the wire is made up of positive and negative charges. Both tasks are balanced with each other so that The total charge is zero; we visualize the cable formed by two long parallel rowsIf we move the wire as a whole, and both rows advance, nothing happens. However, if an electric current is passed through, the row advances, and a field is generated that deflects the magnetic needle.
From this, we can conclude that what produces the field is not the movement of the charges, but the relative movement of the charges of one sign relative to the other. The explanation for why the needle moves is that the current in the wire produces a magnetic field whose lines enter at one end and exit at the other. This is how the needle moves following the magnetic field.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Oersted experiment and its contributions in the world of science.