retroelectro
In France…
chronic depression. While a genius, he could only ‘work at 100 MPH’ or not at all. When Ampère learned of Ørsted’s discovery, he immediately set out to investigate in hopes of mathematically explaining this new connection between electricity and magnetism. Remember, that the connection was suspected by many, but nobody had reproducible evidence of such a connection until now. Within a week, Ampère conducted a series of experiments and presented his initial report to the French Academy of Sciences just days after Arago published the discovery.
Ampère discovered that two parallel wires carrying electric currents either attract or repel each other, depending on the direction of the current. This critical finding demonstrated that electricity creates magnetic effects not only on compass needles but also directly between wires. Ampère introduced the first detailed mathematical proof of electromagnetism, now known as Ampère’s Law. It states that ‘the magnetic field created by an electric current is proportional to the size of that electric current with a constant of proportionality equal to the permeability of free space (air).’ For the first time that story and more in the Retro Electro article ‘Genius and Tragedy.’ (Link: https:// emedia.digikey.com/ view/687420822/38/) Retro Electro Sad Fact: Did you know that French revolutionaries beheaded Ampère’s father while Ampère was a teenager? Read
A French physicist named Francois Arago found a copy of Ørsted’s paper while visiting Geneva and brought it back to Paris to be published in the French scientific journal Annales de Chimie et de Physique . In September 1820, he demonstrated the experiments to an audience in Paris, including the mathematician and chemist André-Marie Ampère.
François Arago
Excited by the challenge of explaining the movement of the needle, Ampère dedicated his energy to solving it. Already a highly distinguished mathematician, chemist, and philosopher, he pursued problems that captivated him. He struggled with severe and
André-Marie Ampère’
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