Oersteds first big experiment was the possibility of converting electricity into magnetism. In the 1780's, Colomb seemed to prove that these were two totally different things. However, Hans thought that it was strange that they were so similar mathematically with their laws of action. The experiment was that electricity was passed through a thin wire. This produced heat. When the same amount of electricity was put onto a wire with a smaller diameter, it produced light. He thought that if the electricity was restricted even more, it would produce an electromagnet. He was wrong about the conditions. The second thing that Oersted did a lot of reaserch in is the compressibility of fluids and gases. He wanted to prove that reducing the volume of a liquid is proportional to the pressure. The last major discovery that he had was isolating aluminum. Before, it was only aluminum ore, but he separated it. Woler gets much of the credit for this because three years after Oersted did it, he was able to make it pure.
Links:
Aluminum and Periodic Chart 1
Aluminum and Periodic Chart 2
