Christopher Hansteen to Faraday   30 December 1857

Observatory Christiania 30 Dec. 1857

Dear and honored Sir.

I thank you heartily for your letter of 16 Decbr.¹ at first while you have written yourself, as you could better declare the circumstances - and secondly while I thereby have received an autographic letter from a man, which I in many years have honoured as one of the chief notabilities “in rebus magneticis”². I preserve with delight and perhaps a little vanity letters from different English scientifical notabilites, as Sir Joseph Banks³, Sir David Brewster, Professor Airy, Prof. Forbes, General Sabine, Prof. Barlow⁴ and others; and to this treasure I now can add yours.

Professor Oersted⁵ was a man of genius, but he was a very unhappy experimentator; he could not manipulate instruments. He must always have an assistant or one of his auditors, who had easy hands to arrange the experiment; I have often in this way assisted him as his auditor. Already in the former century there was a general thought, that there was a great conformity and perhaps identity between the electrical and magnetical force; it was only the question how to demonstrate it by experiments. Oersted had tried to place the wire of his galvanic battery perpendicular (at right angles) over the magnetical needle, but remarked no sensible motion. Once, after the end of his lecture as he had used a strong galvanic battery to other experiments, he said, “let us now once, as the battery is in activity, try to place the wire parallel with the needle”. As this was made he was quite struck with perplexity by seeing the needle making a great oscillation (almost at right angles with the magnetic meridian). Then he said: “let us now invert the direction of the current”, and the needle deviated in the contrary direction. Thus the great detection was made; and it has been said, not without reason, that “he tumbled over it by accident”. He had not before any more idea than any other person, that the force should be transversal. But as Lagrange⁶ has said of Newton in a similar occasion: “Such accidents only meet persons, who deserve them.”

You completed the detection by inverting the experiment, by demonstrating, that an electrical current can be excited by a magnet; and this was no accident, but a consequence of a clear idea. I pretermit your many later important detections, which will conserve your name with golden letters in the history of magnetism.

Gauss⁷ was the first, who applied your detection to give telegraphic signals from the observatory in Göttingen to the physical hall in a distance of almost an English mile from the observatory.

I very well understand your situation. I can also not work in company with other persons, and I read not much, for not to be distracted from my own way of thinking. I allow that thereby many things escape me, but I fear to be distracted upon sideways. “Non omnia possumus omnes”⁸. Every one must follow his own nature.

I have translated an extract of your letter, and sent it to Göttingen to Mr. Arndtsen⁹.

In the summer 1819 I visited in long time almost every day the library in “Royal Institution” in order to extract magnetical observations (declination and inclination) from old works, which our University was not in possession of, for instance “Hackluyt”¹⁰ and “Purchas¹¹ his pillegrims” etc¹²; so I am acquainted with the place of your activity.

I have in this year received your portrait from Mr. Lenoir¹³ in Vienna, as also of Sir David Brewster. They shall decorate my study on the side of Oersted, Bessel¹⁴, Gauss and Struve¹⁵.

Believe me Sir sincerely your | very respectful | Chr. Hansteen