Hans Christian Orsted: Reading Nature's Mind

ISBN-13: 9780199669264 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 768 str.

Dan CH Christensen

Opis

Hans Christian Orsted (1777-1851) is of great importance as a scientist and philosopher far beyond the borders of Denmark and his own time. At the centre of an international network of scholars, he was instrumental in founding the world picture of modern physics. Orsted was the physicist who brought Kant's metaphysics to fruition. In 1820 his discovery of electro-magnetism, a phenomenon that could not possibly exist according to his adversaries, changed the course of research in physics. It inspired Michael Faraday's experiments and discovery of the adverse effect, magneto-electric induction. The two physical phenomena were later described in mathematical equations by J.C. Maxwell. Together these discoveries constitute the prerequisites for the overwhelming development of modern technology. But Orsted was also one of the cultural leaders and organizers of the Danish Golden Age (together with Grundtvig, Kierkegaard, and Hans-Christian Andersen, his protege), and made significant contributions to aesthetics, philosophy, pedagogy, politics, and religion. Orsted remarkably bridged the gap between science, the humanities, and the arts.

Recenzje

Few people know more about Hans Christian Ørsted than his "accidental" discovery of electromagnetism in 1820. Dan Ch. Christensen's definitive biography of Ørsted, now available in English, will change this. Christensen documents the intellectual and philosophical preparations that led to Ørsted's 1820 discovery and his response to the acclaim that followed. While this book is a "must read" for historians of science, its vivid descriptions of intellectual life in the early 1800s will be equally fascinating to lay readers. Read it and enjoy it!

O autorze

Dan Charly Christensen worked as Lecturer and Reader within the Department of History at Roskilde University (1972-2010), Denmark. His two volume biography, Naturens Tankelæser. En Biografi om Hans Christian Ørsted (Museum Tusculanum, Copenhagen 2009), was nominated for Weekendavisen's annual literary prize, and awarded the H.O. Lange Literary Prize by the Royal Library and Gad's Foundation.