Danish chemist and physicist. In 1825 he reduced aluminum chloride with potassium amalgam and produced small, impure lumps of metallic aluminum, the first reported isolation of the element, though he considered the result of limited significance at the time. He is far better known for discovering, in 1820, that an electric current produces a magnetic field, the founding observation of electromagnetism; the SI-adjacent CGS unit of magnetic field strength, the oersted, is named for him. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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Aluminum, Materials Orsted reduced aluminum chloride with potassium amalgam in 1825, producing small impure lumps of metallic aluminum, the first reported isolation of the metal; Friedrich Wohler produced a purer, better-documented sample two years later, and priority for the first true isolation is disputed between the two (see the Aluminum entity origin-year dissent).
Source Hans Christian Orsted (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Associated With
Discovered electromagnetism, the physical basis of electrical engineering.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Denmark, nationality there.
Sources
1. Hans Christian Orsted (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationAluminium production sectionQuote, Aluminium production section
Reacting aluminium chloride with potassium amalgam (an alloy of potassium and mercury) and then boiling away the mercury left small chunks of metal described as appearing similar to tin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Hans Christian Orsted remembered, and how is he linked to aluminum?
He discovered in 1820 that an electric current produces a magnetic field, and in 1825 first reported isolating aluminum.
Orsted is far better known for discovering, in 1820, that an electric current produces a magnetic field, the founding observation of electromagnetism. The CGS unit of magnetic field strength, the oersted, is named for him. In 1825 he also reduced aluminum chloride with potassium amalgam and produced small, impure lumps of metallic aluminum, the first reported isolation of the element, though he considered the result of limited significance at the time.
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