Hans Christian Ørsted

Hans Christian Ørsted (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. Ørsted 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 Ørsted was also one of the cultural leaders and organizers of the Danish Golden Age (together with Grundtvig, Kierkegaard, and Hans-Christian Andersen, his protegé), and made significant contributions to aesthetics, philosophy, pedagogy, politics, and religion. Ørsted remarkably bridged the gap between science, the humanities, and the arts.

Autorentext

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.

Inhalt

I. THE STUDENT; 1 Prologue: Hans Christian Orsted and Dualism in the Golden Age; 2 A Childhood without Playing; 3 A University without Science; 4 Two Philosophical Minds; 5 Hans Christian's Gold Medals; 6 Anders's Gold Medal; 7 Editors for Kant; 8 Doctoral Thesis on the Dynamical System; 9 Pharmacy-Manager and Fiance; 10 Galvanism; II. THE COSMOPOLITAN; 11 First Grand Tour. Tourist far away from Sophie; 12 Ritter and Winterl; 13 Jena Romanticism, Salons and Societies; 14 Post-revolutionary Paris; 15 Ritter and the Napoleon Prize; 16 The Double Game; III. THE RESEARCHER AND TEACHER; 17 Alone and Abandoned in Copenhagen with a Collection of Instruments; 18 Rivalry and Love; 19 Textbook Writer and Professor; 20 Napoleon's Imperialism and Fichte's Idealism; 21 Sonorous Figures; 22 The Art of Music; 23 The Royal Danish Society of Sciences and Letters; 24 Family and Friends; 25 Dialogue on Mysticism. Ritter's Death; IV. THE SPOUSE; 26 Career and Brothers Working Together; 27 Second Journey Abroad. Berlin and Paris; 28 The Major Work; 29 The Controversy on Pantheism; 30 Love and Marriage; 31 The Prime Mover of Science. Gitte's First-born Child; 32 Dynamical Research. A.S. Orsted's Dissent; 33 Funerals. Expedition to Bornholm; V. THE TRIUMPHATOR; 34 The Happiest Year; 35 A Discovery by Chance?; 36 Domestic and Foreign Reactions; 37 The Triumphal Progress. Germany; 38 The Triumphal Progress. Paris; 39 The Triumphal Progress. Britain; VI. THE ORGANIZER; 40 The Society for the Dissemination of Science in Denmark; 41 The Orsted Brothers in the Howitz-Controversy; 42 Aluminium - Priority and Nationalism; 43 The Downfall of A.S. Orsted, the Millennium of Christianity, and the Tercentenary of the Reformation; 44 Family Life and Conferences Abroad; 45 The Polytechnic Institute; 46 The Literary Critic; 47 The Awakening of Political Life; VII. FAME & TRIBULATIONS; 48 Technology and Industry; 49 The Natural Laws of General Education; 50 Scandinavian Science Conferences; 51 Politics and Nationalism; 52 The Centenary of the Royal Danish Society, Magnetischer Verein, Henrik Steffens. The Concept and Conservation of Fundamental Forces; 53 Homage in Berlin; 54 Aesthetics of Nature; 55 Polytechnic Criticism; 56 Polytechnic Criticism; 57 Civil War and Free Constitution; 58 The Soul in Nature; 59 Big and Little Hans Christian's Modern Turning Point; 60 Jubilee and Death; 61 Epilogue: Hans Christian Orsted and the Golden Age in a Wider Perspective