During an evening lecture at the University of Copenhagen where Oersted served as professor, he accidentally discovered that a magnetic needle was deflected by an electrical current. This discovery established him as one of the outstanding physicists of his age. After experimenting, Oersted discovered that every conductor which carries an electrical current is surrounded by a magnetic field. This experiment, now known as the "Oersted Experiment," proved that electricity can produce magnetism. In 1934 the "Oersted" was adopted as the unit of
measurement of the strength of a magnetic field.
