The exact origin of magnetism is still a great mystery. Legend has it that an ancient Greek sheepherder made the first observation of the magnetic properties of a stone, called lodestone. Legend has it that the shepherd had a staff with an iron tip, and each time he was touched to the stone, his staff was held by an inexplicable force.
The birth of electromagnetism took place in the 19th century, with the classic experience of the Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted (1771-1851). In 1820, he found that, when placing a compass under a wire where an electric current passed, there was a deviation in the compass needle. From this experience, Oerted established a relationship between electrical and magnetic properties, giving rise to electromagnetism.
Physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836) built the first electromagnet. This device was fundamental for the invention of the improvement of various devices, such as the telephone, the microphone, the loudspeaker, the telegraph, etc.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), English self-taught scientist, made his great contribution to electromagnetism with the discovery of electromagnetic induction, fundamental for the emergence of mechanical electric motors and transformers.
Other physicists should also be remembered for contributions made to electromagnetism, such as the American physicist Joseph Henry (1797-1878), who continued the Faraday's works on electromagnetic induction, Heinrich Lenz (1804-1865), Russian physicist who was also dedicated to studying this phenomenon, Nicolas Tesla who studied the field magnetic.
Finally, we can particularly mention James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), a noted Scottish physicist, whose participation was of fundamental theoretical importance. Maxwell, in his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (published in 1873), generalized the principles of electricity discovered by Coulomb, Ampère, Faraday, and others. Among other feats, Maxwell discovered through mathematical equations the speed of light with a very small percentage of error, in relation to the experimental data we have today. The later discovery of electromagnetic waves constituted the experimental verification of the correctness of Maxwell's Theory.
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By Kléber Cavalcante
Graduated in Physics
Brazil School Team
Electromagnetism - Physics - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
CAVALCANTE, Kleber G. "The History of Electromagnetism"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/a-historia-eletromagnetismo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
