--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In that memorable year, 1822: Oersted, a…" description: "\"In that memorable year, 1822: Oersted, a Danish physicist, held in his hands a piece of copper wire, joined by its extremities to the two poles of a Vo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/louis-pasteur-3151_birth_in-that-memorable-year-1822-oersted-a-da_1252628.png" --- # In that memorable year, 1822: Oersted, a Danish physicist… ![“In that memorable year, 1822: Oersted, a Danish physicist, held in his hands a piece of copper wire, joined by its extremities to the two poles of a Volta pile. On his table was a magnetized needle on its pivot, and he suddenly saw (by chance you will say, but chance only favours the mind which is…” quote by Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/louis-pasteur-3151_birth_in-that-memorable-year-1822-oersted-a-da_1252628.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/louis-pasteur-3151_birth_in-that-memorable-year-1822-oersted-a-da_1252628.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/louis-pasteur-3151_birth_in-that-memorable-year-1822-oersted-a-da_1252628.png) > “In that memorable year, 1822: Oersted, a Danish physicist, held in his hands a piece of copper wire, joined by its extremities to the two poles of a Volta pile. On his table was a magnetized needle on its pivot, and he suddenly saw (by chance you will say, but chance only favours the mind which is prepared) the needle move and take up a position quite different from the one assigned to it by terrestrial magnetism. A wire carrying an electric current deviates a magnetized needle from its position. That, gentlemen, was the birth of the modern telegraph.” [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ørsted’s experiment showed that electric current creates a magnetic field, linking electricity and magnetism and enabling telegraphy. **In simple terms:** Electricity can move magnets, leading to telegraphy. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of interdisciplinary insight. Themes science discovery technology interdisciplinary innovation Mood curious inspired reflective Type historical scientific educational When to use this quote - physics labs - engineering design - communication technology development - education curricula Key Concepts electromagnetism cause and effect experimental serendipity Questions to Reflect On - How can you prepare your mind for unexpected connections? - What disciplines could you combine for breakthroughs? A Different Perspective The experiment depended on a prepared mind, not pure chance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Copper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copper/) [Currents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currents/) [Danish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danish/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Electric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric/) [Electric current](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric-current/) [Favour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favour/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Magnetism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnetism/) [Magnetism Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnetism-wire-3953804/) [Magnetized Needle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnetized-needle-3953803/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Telegraph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-telegraph-3953805/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Needles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needles/) [Physicist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicist/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) [Telegraph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telegraph/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wire/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [... by chance you will say, but chance only favors the mind which is prepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/by-chance-you-will-say-but-chance-only-favors-the-mind-which-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [All other great men are valued for their lives; He, above all, for His death, around which mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomson/all-other-great-men-are-valued-for-their-lives-he-above-all-for-his/) [Edward Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomson/) > [“For decades, new-energy researchers talked about the possibility of treating a magnet so that its magnetic field would continuously shake or vibrate. On rare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-manning/for-decades-new-energy-researchers-talked-about-the-possibility-of/) [Jeane Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-manning/) > [To speak, therefore, of an electric current in the nerves, is to use quite as symbolic an expression as if we compared the action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-speak-therefore-of-an-electric-current-in-the-nerves-is-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If the 'self-life' is supreme, Satan does not have to be invited in. The lines are already set for the 'electric' current to flow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-huegel/if-the-self-life-is-supreme-satan-does-not-have-to-be-invited-in-the/) [F. Huegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-huegel/) > [“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanced-to-meet-the-great-god-pan/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [If we think we are tired or ill, it is only because we have done something to unbalance the bodily conductivity of the universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/if-we-think-we-are-tired-or-ill-it-is-only-because-we-have-done/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [One of the chief peculiarities of this treatise is the doctrine that the true electric current, on which the electromagnetic phenomena depend, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/one-of-the-chief-peculiarities-of-this-treatise-is-the-doctrine-that/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [“enable the development of photonic computers using laser light to carry information instead of electric current.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/enable-the-development-of-photonic-computers-using-laser-light-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ If your blood is formed from eating the foods I teach \[fruits and green-leaf vegetables\] your soul will shout for joy and triumph over… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-ehret/if-your-blood-is-formed-from-eating-the-foods-i-teach-fruits-and/) [Arnold Ehret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-ehret/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through-2/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“I shook my head. His body felt so strong and alive next to me, an electric current bounced between us. "I don't need dozens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-laurens/i-shook-my-head-his-body-felt-so-strong-and-alive-next-to-me-an/) [Jennifer Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-laurens/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. 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I spent two years on the floor, in excruciating, debilitating and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/my-life-changed-irrevocably-four-and-a-half-years-ago-when-my-spine/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) ## More by Louis Pasteur > [There are no such things as applied sciences, only applications of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/there-are-no-such-things-as-applied-sciences-only-applications-of/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Nothing is lost and nothing is created in the operations of art as those of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/nothing-is-lost-and-nothing-is-created-in-the-operations-of-art-as/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great goal, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/whether-our-efforts-are-or-not-favored-by-life-let-us-be-able-to-say/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Could I but know all, I would have the faith of a Breton peasant woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/could-i-but-know-all-i-would-have-the-faith-of-a-breton-peasant-woman/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [God grant that by my persevering labours I may bring a little stone to the frail and ill-assured edifice of our knowledge of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/god-grant-that-by-my-persevering-labours-i-may-bring-a-little-stone/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Posterity will one day laugh at the sublime foolishness of the modern materialistic philosophy. The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/posterity-will-one-day-laugh-at-the-sublime-foolishness-of-the-modern/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Science belongs to no one country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/science-belongs-to-no-one-country/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Work usually follows will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/work-usually-follows-will/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [If science has no country, the scientist should have one, and ascribe to it the influence which his works may have in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/if-science-has-no-country-the-scientist-should-have-one-and-ascribe/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [The universe is asymmetric and I am persuaded that life, as it is known to us, is a direct result of the asymmetry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/the-universe-is-asymmetric-and-i-am-persuaded-that-life-as-it-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Did you ever observe to whom the accidents happen? Chance favors only the prepared mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/did-you-ever-observe-to-whom-the-accidents-happen-chance-favors-only/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Science proceeds by successive answers to questions more and more subtle, coming nearer and nearer to the very essence of phenomena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/science-proceeds-by-successive-answers-to-questions-more-and-more/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [In matters of observation chance favors only the prepared mind. (not literal translation) - Dan's les champs de observation le hasard ne favorise que…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/in-matters-of-observation-chance-favors-only-the-prepared-mind-not/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Time is the best appraiser of scientific work, and I am aware that an industrial discovery rarely produces all its fruit in the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/time-is-the-best-appraiser-of-scientific-work-and-i-am-aware-that-an/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/science-knows-no-country-because-knowledge-belongs-to-humanity-and-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) [Explore all 138 Louis Pasteur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. 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The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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On his table was a magnetized needle on its pivot, and he suddenly saw (by chance you will say, but chance only favours the mind which is prepared) the needle move and take up a position quite different from the one assigned to it by terrestrial magnetism. A wire carrying an electric current deviates a magnetized needle from its position. 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