Oersted slid into vibratory pseudoscience after seeing Chladni’s patterns.

Evidence

The compelling experiments had an impact on Hans Oersted, the discoverer of electromagnetism. After being exposed to Chladni’s seemingly magical patterns, Oersted began a slide into pseudoscience and superstition by attributing mystical and otherworldly qualities to the sand patterns and their associated sounds. Oersted’s royal portrait has him holding, of all things, a Chladni plate, something he played no role in developing. He believed in a deep connection between electro-magnetism and the vibrations of metal plates. Indeed, there is: both involve waves, but then everything does at one level or another. After delving into Schelling and Hegel’s Naturphilosophie, Oersted later pulled himself from the brink and returned to doing science in a rigorous manner. But this excursion was a harbinger of things to come. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1383

Categorization

• CANDY: The discoverer of electromagnetism dabbling in vibrating-plate mysticism and holding a Chladni plate in his royal portrait is a genuinely fun bar conversation fact.
• DEFINE: Introduces Naturphilosophie as a Romantic-era philosophical current that lured scientists into mysticism.