Selected Scientific Works of Hans Christian Orsted

by Hans Christian Orsted; Karen Jelved; Andrew D. Wilson

• ISBN13: 9780691043340
• ISBN10: 0691043345
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-07-01
• Publisher: Princeton University Press

Summary

Hans Christian Orsted (1777-1851) was one of the leading scientists of the nineteenth century, having played a crucial role in founding electromagnetism. Unfortunately for the English-speaking world, almost all of his research was published in other languages, particularly his native Danish. This book will help to elevate Orsted to his rightful place in the history of science by finally making his most important scientific works available in English. The book includes, for example, Orsted's account of his revolutionary experiments in electromagnetism. In 1820, he discovered that a compass needle deflects from magnetic north when an electric current is switched on or off in a nearby wire. This showed that electricity and magnetism were related phenomena, a finding that laid the foundation for the theory of electromagnetism and for research that later created such technologies as radio, television, and fiber optics. The unit of magnetic field strength was named the Orsted in his honor. Selections here also show the extraordinary breadth of Orsted's interests, which range through a long and prolific career from the study of plant alkaloids and the compression of fluids to the nature of light and the "natural science" of beauty. The writings are taken from scientific papers, Orsted's correspondence, and reports of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. The book will not only draw long overdue attention to Orsted's own work but will also shed new light on the nature of scientific study in the nineteenth century.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix	(6)
Karen Jelved
Andrew D. Jackson
Introduction	xv
Andrew D. Wilson
1 Response to the Prize Question in Medicine Set by the University of Copenhagen in the Year 1797: On the Origin and Use of Amniotic Fluid (1798)	3	(23)
2 Letters on Chemistry. First Letter (1798)	26	(3)
3 Letters on Chemistry. Second Letter, on Heat (1798)	29	(6)
4 Letters on Chemistry. Third Letter (1799)	35	(6)
5 Letters on Chemistry. Fourth Letter (1799)	41	(5)
6 Fundamentals of the Metaphysics of Nature, Partly According to a New Plan (1799)	46	(33)
7 Dissertation on the Structure of the Elementary Metaphysics of External Nature (1799)	79	(22)
8 Experiments and Observations Concerning Galvanic Electricity (1801)	101	(3)
9 An Addendum by Dr. Orsted to His Remarks on Galvanism (1801)	104	(2)
10 Continued Experiments on Galvanism (1801)	106	(1)
11 A Review of the Latest Advances in Physics (1803)	107	(13)
12 Materials for a Chemistry of the Nineteenth Century (1803)	120	(46)
13 Correspondence (1804)	166	(2)
14 Galvano-Chemical Observations (1804)	168	(2)
15 Criticism of the So-Called Eudiometry with Regard to Medicine (1805)	170	(10)
16 A Letter from Dr. Orsted of Copenhagen to Mr. J.W. Ritter of Jena, Concerning Chladni's Acoustic Figures in an Electrical Context (1805)	180	(1)
17 A Letter from Mr. Orsted, Professor of Philosophy in Copenhagen, to Professor Pictet on Acoustic Vibrations (1805)	181	(4)
18 On the Harmony Between Electrical Figures and Organic Forms (1805)	185	(7)
19 New Investigations into the Question: What Is Chemistry? (1805)	192	(8)
20 An Attempt towards a New Theory of Spontaneous Combustion (1805)	200	(10)
21 On the Manner in Which Electricity Is Transmitted (A Fragment) (1806)	210	(5)
22 Correspondence (1806)	215	(3)
23 Experiments Prompted by Some Passages in Winterl's Writings (1806)	218	(9)
24 The Series of Acids and Bases (1806)	227	(16)
25 Reflections on the History of Chemistry, A Lecture (1807)	243	(18)
26 On Acoustic Figures (1807)	261	(2)
27 Orsted on Simon's (Volta's) New Law for Electrical Atmospheric Effects (1808)	263	(1)
28 Experiments on Acoustic Figures (1810)	264	(18)
29 First Introduction to General Physics (1811)	282	(28)
30 View of the Chemical Laws of Nature Obtained Through Recent Discoveries (1812)	310	(83)
31 On the Law of Electrical Attraction (1814)	393	(1)
32 Proposal for New Danish Terms in Chemistry (1814) The Law for the Weakening of Electrical Effects with Distance (1815)	394	(3)
33 Theory of Light (1816)	397	(3)
34 On Galvanic Trough Apparatuses and Spark Discharge in Mercury Vapour (1816)	400	(2)
35 Observations Regarding Contact Electricity (1817)	402	(5)
36 On the Compression of Water (1817)	407	(1)
37 On the Way in Which a Textbook in Physics Ought to Be Written (1817); Investigations on the Compressibility of Water (1818)	408	(3)
38 On Piperine, a New Plant Alkaloid (1820)	411	(2)
39 Experiments on the Effect of the Electric Conflict on the Magnetic Needle (July 21, 1820)	413	(4)
39a Experiments on the Effect of a Current of Electricity on the Magnetic Needle (1820)	417	(4)
40 New Electro-Magnetic Experiments (1820)	421	(4)
41 Note on the Discovery of Electromagnetism (1821)	425	(5)
42 Observations on Electro-magnetism (1821)	430	(16)
43 Correspondence (1821)	446	(4)
44 An Experiment on Zamboni's Double Galvanic Circuit (1821)	450	(2)
45 A Method to Facilitate the Generation of Steam (1822)	452	(1)
46 The Orsted Experiment on the Compression of Water (1822)	453	(4)
47 On the Compressibility of Water (1823)	457	(5)
48 New Experiments by Dr. Seebeck on Electromagnetic Effects (1823)	462	(2)
49 An Electromagnetic Experiment (1823)	464	(2)
50 On M. Schweigger's Electromagnetic Multiplier, with an Account of Some Experiments made with it (1823)	466	(4)
51 On Some New Thermoelectric Experiments Performed by Baron Fourier and M. Orsted (1823)	470	(8)
52 On an Apparent Paradoxical Galvanic Experiment (1824)	478	(3)
53 Experiments Proving That Mariotte's Law Is Applicable to All Kinds of Gases; and at All Degrees of Pressure under Which the Gases Retain Their Aeriform State (1825)	481	(11)
54 Preliminary Note on the Production of Aluminium, Aluminium Chloride, and Silicon Chloride (1825)	492	(1)
55 Contribution to the Determination of the Law of the Compression of Bodies (1826)	493	(25)
56 [Improvements of the Compression Apparatus 1826. Measurement of the Compressibility of Mercury] (1827)	518	(8)
57 On the Relative Compressibilities of different Fluids at High Temperatures (1827)	526	(2)
58 An Electromagnetic Method for the Assay of Silver and Other Metals Invented by M. Orsted (1828)	528	(7)
59 Observations Concerning the Compressibility of Fluids (1828)	535	(2)
60 On the Compression of Water in Vessels of Varying Compressibility (1828)	537	(2)
61 A New Electromagnetic Experiment Disproving Ampere's Theory (1830); Remarks on the Relation Between Sound, Light, Heat, and Electricity (1830)	539	(3)
62 Thermo-Electricity (1830)	542	(39)
63 An Explanation of Faraday's Magneto-Electric Discovery (1832)	581	(2)
64 Results of New Experiments on the Compressibility of Water (1834)	583	(3)
65 On the Compressibility of Water (1834)	586	(7)
66 New Experiments on the Effect of the Electrical Circuit (1835)	593	(2)
67 On a New Electrometer (1841)	595	(2)
68 A New Device for the Measurement of Capillarity (1841)	597	(2)
69 An Investigation of Light with Regard to the Physics of Beauty (1842)	599	(2)
70 Continued Reflections on Light with Regard to the Physics of Beauty (1843)	601	(2)
71 Development of the Theory of Lustre (1843)	603	(4)
72 An Account of Experiments on the Heat Generated by the Compression of Water (1845)	607	(3)
73 Letter, on the Deviation of Falling Bodies from the Perpendicular, to Sir John Herschel, Bart. (1847)	610	(3)
74 On the Changes which Mercury sometimes suffers in Glass Vessels hermetically Sealed (1847)	613	(1)
75 On Faraday's Diamagnetic Experiments (1847)	614	(2)
76 Experiments on the Carrying Capacity of the Large Electromagnet of the Polytechnic School (1847)	616	(3)
77 Abstract of a Series of Experiments on Diamagnetism (1848)	619	(7)
78 Investigations on Diamagnetism (1848)	626	(6)
79 Further Investigations on Diamagnetism and Their Results (1849)	632	(7)
Subject Index	639	(4)
Name Index	643