Who among the following played a crucial role in understanding electromagnetism when he accidentally discovered that a compass needle got deflected when an electric current passed through a metallic wire placed nearby?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Hans Christian Oersted
In 1820 the Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted noticed, during a lecture, that a compass needle placed near a wire was deflected whenever a current flowed through the wire. It showed for the first time that an electric current produces a magnetic field around it, the link between electricity and magnetism on which electromagnetism is built. The CGS unit of magnetic field strength, the oersted, is named after him.