Exploratory Experiments

Ampère, Faraday, and the Origins of Electrodynamics

Friedrich Steinle

• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
• Year: 2016
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9780822981374
• Subtopic: Science History
• Index: Biological Sciences

Translated by Alex Levine

The nineteenth century was a formative period for electromagnetism and electrodynamics. Hans Christian Orsted's groundbreaking discovery of the interaction between electricity and magnetism in 1820 inspired a wave of research, led to the science of electrodynamics, and resulted in the development of electromagnetic theory. Remarkably, in response, Andre-Marie Ampere and Michael Faraday developed two incompatible, competing theories. Although their approaches and conceptual frameworks were fundamentally different, together their work launched a technological revolution—laying the foundation for our modern scientific understanding of electricity—and one of the most important debates in physics, between electrodynamic action-at-a-distance and field theories.

In this foundational study, Friedrich Steinle compares the influential work of Ampere and Faraday to reveal the prominent role of exploratory experimentation in the development of science. While this exploratory phase was responsible for decisive conceptual innovations, it has yet to be examined in such great detail. Focusing on Ampere's and Faraday's research practices, reconstructed from previously unknown archival materials, including laboratory notes, diaries, letters, and interactions with instrument makers, this book considers both the historic and epistemological basis of exploratory experimentation and its importance to scientific development.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction. Research Practice, Experiment, and Concept Formation
• Chapter 1. Electricity and Galvanism in the Early Nineteenth Century
• Chapter 2. Electromagnetism
• Chapter 3. Ampère’s First Studies of Electromagnetism: Entering a New Field
• Chapter 4. Competing Pursuits in Paris, 1820–1821
• Chapter 5. Electromagnetism in London
• Chapter 6. Faraday’s First Studies: Electromagnetic Rotation
• Chapter 7. Experiment and Concept Formation
• Appendix A. Source Materials for the Early Phases of Ampère’s Research in Electrodynamics
• Appendix B. Reconstruction of the Manuscript of Ampère’s Lectures of September 18 and 25, 1820
• Notes
• References
• Index of Names