In: Electrical Engineering
who discovered the relationship between magnetism and electricity that serves as the foundation for the theory of electromagnetism?
In 1820, Oersted was presenting a demonstration to some science students. Ironically, he was trying to show them that electricity and magnetism are not related. He placed a wire with electric current flowing through it next to a compass, which has a magnetic needle. As he expected, the needle of the compass didn’t move. It just kept pointing toward Earth’s north magnetic pole.
After the demonstration, a curious student held the wire near the compass again, but in a different direction. To Oersted’s surprise, the needle of the compass swung toward the wire so it was no longer pointing north. Oersted was intrigued. He turned off the current in the wire to see what would happen to the compass needle. The needle swung back to its original position, pointing north once again. Oersted had discovered that an electric current creates a magnetic field. The magnetic field created by the current was strong enough to attract the needle of the nearby compass.
the answer is hans christian oertead