30
14
In 1820, Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted proved just
how much electricity and magnetism have in common. But it
was by accident.
Oersted connected the ends of a wire to a battery. That
meant electricity was flowing round and round a
circuit
.
Out of the corner of his eye, Oersted noticed something
surprising. The magnetic needle on a nearby compass was
moving. But why?
Oersted had an idea. He reconnected the wire to change
the direction of the electric current. Guess what happened—
the compass needle changed direction too. The electric
current was creating a magnetic field around the wire. And
themagnetic fieldwasaffectingthecompassneedle. Electricity
could produce magnetism!
An Amazing
Accident!
