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André-Marie Ampère, “the Newton ofElectricity”

09 June 2017

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On 24 November 1793, four years and a few months after the storming of theBastille, Jean-Jacques AmpèreJean-Jacques Ampère, a prosperous Lyon silk merchant linked to the Girondistparty, climbed the final steps to the scaffold. Arrested, tried and sentenced to capitalpunishment, on that day he was guillotined, one more victim of the vagaries of therevolution. The death by guillotine of his father, to whom he was very strongly attached,had a profound affect on the young André-Marie Ampère André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836), then 18 yearsold, plunging him into a deep depression that kept him isolated for several years on thefamily’s country estate, ten kilometers from Lyon. There, almost completely cut off from theoutside world, almost like a person possessed, he devoured his father’s magnificent library.

André-Marie Ampère was born on January 20, 1775 in Lyon. He was a prodigy child educated under

the influence of the philosopher Rousseau / WikipediaWikipedia

André-Marie AmpèreAndré-Marie Ampère was a child prodigy educated under the influence of theprodigy educated under the influence of thephilosopher philosopher RousseauRousseau, of whom his father was a fervent follower. Thus, adhering to the

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ideas set out in Emile, André-Marie never went to school, except to teach classesAndré-Marie never went to school, except to teach classeshimself. himself. After several years teaching mathematics, he held the post of professor of physicsand chemistry at the Central School of Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) until 1804, when he becameprofessor of mathematical analysis at the École École polytechniquepolytechnique in Paris.

In 1808, Napoleon appointed him inspector general of the French universityNapoleon appointed him inspector general of the French universitysystemsystem (a post he held until his death) and in 1814 he became a member of the FrenchFrenchAcademy of SciencesAcademy of Sciences, in the geometry section. In contrast to his professional career, hispersonal life was complicated and very difficult, with moments like the death of his father byguillotine, the death of his first wife, separation from his second wife, etc.

Ampère is one of the 72 illustrious French scientists and engineers whose names appearover the four arches of the Eiffel tower, including Foucault, Fourier, Fresnel, Laplace,Lavoisier, Malus and Poisson.

View of the side of the Eiffel tower where Ámpere’s name is written (right) / Wikimedia commons/ Author: RamaRama

André-Marie André-Marie showed a great capacity for mathematicsmathematics and workedon opticsoptics and chemistrychemistry. In fact, he can be considered almost an important chemist, sincehe almostalmost discovered chlorine, discovered chlorine, almostalmost discovered iodine discovered iodineand and almostalmost discovered discovered Avogadro’s lawAvogadro’s law, , which, unbeknownst to him, had been stated 3years earlier and so in France is also known as Avogadro-Ampère’s law. Although he madecontributions of some importance in mathematics (algebra, mathematical analysis andcalculation of probabilities), undoubtedly his greatest contribution was made in the area ofelectromagnetism, at the age of 45 years.

The conflictus electrici and the “little guy” rule

In 1820 the Danish scientist Hans Christian OerstedHans Christian Oersted discovered that an electric currentdeflected a nearby magnetized needle. If the electric current was capable of making amagnetized needle rotate, Oersted concluded, this current produced magnetic effectsand so electricity and magnetism were not independent phenomena. so electricity and magnetism were not independent phenomena. He publishedhis results in the article “Experimenta circa effectum conflictus electrici in acummagneticam” (Experiments on the effect of an electric current on a magnetic needle). Thissame year, Ampère heard of Oersted’s incredible discovery, the the “conflictus“conflictuselectrici”electrici” capable of deflecting a magnetized needle. capable of deflecting a magnetized needle. Oersted had found thatelectricity produces magnetic effects. Unlike other French scientists who thought greatdiscoveries could only be made in France, Ampère studied and drew important conclusionsfrom this experiment, which up to this time had been great discovery, but nothing more. Inthe summer of 1820 he repeated Oersted’s experiment and concluded that if an electriccurrent produces magnetic effects on a magnet, “why would it not produce magnetic effectson another current?” In September of that year he presented his results to the Academy ofSciences in several sessions. In one of these sessions he presented hishis little guy rulelittle guy rule((“reglè du bonhomme”“reglè du bonhomme”)):

“This little man is placed in the direction of the current (the current runs through his bodyfrom the feet to the head), the man looks at the point that interests us and extends his left

arm so that it indicates the direction of the magnetic field”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Educationhttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/%c3%89cole_polytechniquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechniquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Academy_of_Scienceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_72_names_on_the_Eiffel_Towerhttps://www.bbvaopenmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/eiffel-nombres.jpghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avogadro%27s_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_%C3%98rstedhttps://youtu.be/bFw4o27CZ-k?list=PLoGFizEtm_6hVhzdWBZVW4O7TcPemL0c1https://archive.org/details/Experimentacirc00Orsthttp://www.ampere.cnrs.fr/manuscrits/avoir/avoir-electro.php#bonhomme

Ampère’s “little guy”. Credits: Ampère Collection. Archives of the Academy of Sciences, Paris. Archives of the Academy of Sciences, Paris.

In another of the sessions given to the Academy, Ampère announced a new finding: it waspossible for there to be mutual action between currents without the intervention of amagnet. Two parallel wires carrying electric currents attract or repel each other dependingon whether the direction of the currents is equal or opposite. Shortly after this Ampèreformulated the mathematical expression that explained these forces between electricalcurrents.

The Newton of electricity

In 1826 he published “The Mathematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena DeducedSolely from Experiment”, a book in which he states that “magnetism is electricity in“magnetism is electricity inmotion”motion” and “magnetic phenomena depend only on the existence and motion of electricalcharges”. Ampère explained the existence of permanent magnets, introducing the idea thatthe magnetism of permanent magnets is produced by a small current at molecularlevel, which he called an which he called an electrodynamic moleculeelectrodynamic molecule and which results in a surfacecurrent, la la Ampere currentAmpere current, similar to the real current flowing through a solenoid. Thus,all magnetic effects are due to the movement of electric charges, both at the macroscopicand microscopic level. The ampereampere, the unit of electric current intensity, one of the basicunits in the International System of UnitsInternational System of Units, is so named in his honor.

Ampere currents in a magnet. Credits: A. BeléndezA. Beléndez

There is no doubt that Ampère is one of the “greats” of electromagnetism and it wasprecisely another of the “greats”, JamesJames ClerkClerk MaxwellMaxwell, who, in his Treatise on Electricityand Magnetism, named him “the Newton of electricity”“the Newton of electricity”:

“The experimental investigation by which Ampere established the law of the mechanicalaction between electric currents is one of the most brilliant achievements inone of the most brilliant achievements in

science.science. The whole theory and experiment, seems as if it had leaped, full grown and fullarmed, from the brain of the “Newton of Electricity”. It is perfect in form, and unassailable inaccuracy, and it is summed up in a formula from which all the phenomena may be deduced,

and which must always remain the cardinal formula of electro-dynamicsthe cardinal formula of electro-dynamics».

André-Marie Ampère died on 10 June 183610 June 1836 in Marseille, where, despite his poor state ofhealth, he had traveled to carry out a university inspection. He is buried in the Montmartrecemetery in Paris, in a tomb that he shares with his beloved and admired son Jean-Jacques.

Augusto Beléndez

Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Alicante and member of the Spanish RoyalSociety of Physics

BibliographyBibliography

https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/hombrecillo-ampere-regla.jpghttp://www.ampere.cnrs.fr/histoire/parcours-historique/lois-courants/ampere-electrodynamique/enghttps://youtu.be/HrDOIHSteXE?list=PLoGFizEtm_6hVhzdWBZVW4O7TcPemL0c1https://books.google.es/books?id=LzcVAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=falsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenoidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amperehttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_Internacional_de_Unidadeshttps://www.bbvaopenmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Amperian_currents.jpghttps://light2015blog.org/2015/06/12/james-clerk-maxwell-the-man-who-changed-the-world-forever-i/https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%c3%a9-Marie_Amp%c3%a8re#/media/File:Ampere.JPGhttps://www.bbvaopenmind.com/usuario/abelendez/

Share

Beléndez, A., “Electromagnetic Unification: 150th Anniversary of Maxwell’s Equations”,Mètode, No. 84 (2015).

Díaz-Hellín, J. A., El gran cambio de la Física. Faraday (Nivola libros y ediciones. Madrid,2001).

Fernández-Rañada, A., “Mi clásico favorito: André-Marie Ampère”, Revista Española deFísica, Vol. 28, No. 2, 46-50 (2014).

Clerk Maxwell, J., A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1873).

Pérez, M. C., y Varela, P., Orígenes del electromagnetismo: Oersted y Ampère (Nivola librosy ediciones. Madrid, 2003).

Udías, A., Historia de la Física: De Arquímedes a Einstein (Síntesis. Madrid, 2004).

The Mechanical Universe. Episode 35: “The Magnetic Field” (CALTECH, 1985).

André-Marie Ampère, Wikipedia (Consulted April 19, 2017).

Ampère et l’histoire de l’électricité

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