oersted oersted (#) Fr.: oersted The unit of magnitude of magnetic field strength or magnetic intensity in c.g.s. units, i.e. the force in dynes which a unit magnetic pole would experience at any point in a magnetic field. In honor of Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851), the Danish physicist and philosopher, who was the first to notice the interaction of electric current and the magnetic needle (1819) thereby initiating the study of electromagnetism. |