Has anybody looked at Google's logo today? Am I seeing things

[Raven]

or is that a time bomb? What is up with that?????

[tekisui]

1. Looks like a battery.

Wonder if there is an anniversary of some kind.

[Captain Hilts]

2. It's the birthday of a guy who helped discover electricity. It does look like a bomb. nt

[FSogol]

3. It is an electromagent deflecting a compas needle.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/aug/14/hans-christian-orsted-google

[Buzz Clik]

9. Yep. Used to make those all the time as a kid.

[tekisui]

4. Hans Christian Ørsted gets Google Doodled

Probably not even the physics geeks remember much about Hans Christian Ørsted, although Google's Doodle logo illustrates his key discovery. That is, if you run a current through a wire – in this case, from the battery at the front – then the electricity creates a magnetic field, which will deflect a compass needle.

Thus the study of electromagentism was born, and it's the basis of a lot of modern life: it led to the development of electricity generators and transformers. Remember that next time you flick a light switch.

As with many great discoveries, it happened by accident. In 1820, Ørsted, a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, was preparing an evening lecture when he noticed that a compass needle moved away from magnetic north and pointed to the wire whenever current flowed from the battery.

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/aug/14/hans-christian-orsted-google

[Old and In the Way]

5. looks like an electromagnet nt

[billyoc]

If you click on the logo, it tells you what it's about.

Or DOES it...

[Historic NY]

6. Its a google doodle for Hans Christian Orsted b-day...

on the other hand I keep getting a message that require a code word everytime I use google.

[Tanuki]

7. I thought the compass was a watch and that it was an explosive device,

which was a bit shocking! I'm glad you asked about it, and thank you to the other posters who explained what it is really all about!

[RagAss]

8. Wow..takes me back to High School Science class !

[patrice]

10. I miss that stuff because I have iGoogle and I have The Blue Stone up now.

Love my iGoogle.

[blogslut]

18. I go back and forth

I started using iGoogle recently but have found myself switching to Classic Google because it loads faster. I like iGoogle for when I first open my browser but for the rest of my surfing session I change to Google Classic so I can do the old highlight-copy/paste-search thang in a speedy manner.

[rocktivity]

11. It's a classic grade school science experiment

how to make an electromagnet complete with magnetic poles.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. And, how to spell out 'Google' with copper wire, compass and nail. nt

[NYC_SKP]

12. Close. Today is the birthday of the guy who invented the Time Bomb.

:freak:

:nuke:

:P

[bbernardini]

14. Oh, that's the guy who always wore a black coat with white shoes, right?

Black hat, too. Drove a Cadillac, I believe.

:hide:

[NYC_SKP]

25. I'll bet these guys had a Cadillac...

[Canuckistanian]

13. The Oersted (Oe) is a unit of magnetic field strength

The stored energy in a magnet, called magnet performance, or "magnetic energy product", is typically measured in units of megagauss-oersteds (MGOe). Units of MGOe are equivalent to megajoules per cubic meter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oersted

[SidDithers]

15. If you mouse-over the logo, you get a reason for the logo....

if you click on the logo, you get a google search on the subject of the logo.

Or you could come to DU and expect others to spoon-feed you the answer.

Sid

[patricia92243]

16. Some of us, like me, for instance did not know that you could place the cursor over the logo and it

would say what it is. Us spoon-feeders love DU.

[Control-Z]

20. I had no idea

that the logo was a button/link, and I teach web development/web design. Sloppy design, imo.

[redqueen]

26. Hovering over things is pretty standard.

So the next time you're wondering what some button does or some such thing, try it.

[HopeHoops]

17. Electromagnet. Not sure what the reference is.

Any clues?

[redqueen]

19. If you hover over the graphic it shows the inventor's name

it's Hans Christian Ørsted's birthday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_%C3%98rsted

[Vidar]

22. I enjoy it when Google decorates.

[slackmaster]

23. Battery, wires, magnetic compass, crude electromagnet made from a nail

Is it the anniversary of an auspicious date in science history?

[Raven]

24. I was in the "slow" science group in school...and the "slow" math

group...thanks for the education! I too love the google logo each day!