We think things go fast today. But they weren\u2019t slow in the 19th century, at the time of scientist H. C. \u00d8rsted. This can be seen in the just released \u2018The Travel Letters of H. C. \u00d8rsted\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u00bb\u00d8rsted published his discovery of electromagnetism in June 1820, and the article was in Latin. Then, in less than three months, scientists in France and Switzerland confirmed the experiments and the laws of electromagnetism were formulated. And all without using the Internet!\u00ab says University of Copenhagen physicist Andrew Jackson. He translated and edited the letters with his wife Karen Jelved.<\/p>\n
The Travel Letters of H. C. \u00d8rsted are from eight grand tours, educational-research trips, that \u00d8rsted made between 1801 and 1846. These journeys gave the eclectic scientist the chance to work with great scientists of his time like Faraday, Fourier and Gauss. <\/p>\n
The letters, addressed mostly to family and friends at home, are written in a colloquial style that allows us to know \u00d8rsted not only as a scientist, but also as a man.<\/p>\n
\u00d8rsted was interested in art, literature, philosophy and politics. During his journeys he met Victor Hugo, Goethe and other writers and novelists. <\/p>\n
\u00bbOn July 4th it was finally possible for me to see Walter Scott. I have often called on him in vain because he constantly moved between his country house, which he was having built, and his house in town. The servant suggested that I come very early in the morning, and then I met him,\u00ab he writes in 1823.<\/p>\n
Before Jackson and Jelved started to translate the letters, they were only available in the version edited by \u00d8rsted\u2019s daughter Mathilde. <\/p>\n
\u00bbIn that version, all the good stuff was taken away. For example, when he started his first trip \u00d8rsted was engaged to a woman in Copenhagen and then they broke up. Well, the letters shed light on this little known incident,\u00ab explains Professor Jackson.<\/p>\n
\u00d8rsted was a busy man: He taught up to 15 hours a week, wrote official reports \u2013 one he wrote on the advisability of allowing bakers to add copper sulphate to bread flour \u2013 and yet still found the time to do his research work. He knew that having multiple interests is essential to finding the inspiration for remarkable discoveries, Andrew Jackson explains.<\/p>\n
\u00bbHe did science because he liked it, and he didn\u2019t think about the possible applications of what he was working on. He knew how to have good ideas!\u00ab says Jackson.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, according to Jackson, most researchers prefer incremental improvements on previously tested ideas rather than developing brand new ones. If they are interested in career advancement, it is safer. Research has become more result-oriented, he says with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u00bbWith the current grant system, \u00d8rsted would probably have invented a better candle rather than discovering the laws of electricity\u00ab.<\/p>\n
uni-avis@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n