Kristian Birkeland - Legacy

Legacy

Birkeland's theory of the aurora was eventually confirmed, a classic example of a fringe theory, ridiculed by scientists supporting the then mainstream, that has come to be accepted as a mainstream theory.

An example of one of his experiments is depicted on the left front of the Norwegian 200 kroner note; it shows a magnetized terrella, simulating the Earth, suspended in an evacuated chamber. Birkeland's face appears a second time in a watermark in the blank space above the drawing of the Terrella, and his rudimentary magnetosphere appears on the back, but is only visible under ultraviolet light. The ring encircling the magnetic pole depicted on the back of the bank note is similar to the patterns predicted by Birkeland and shown more recently by satellites. His drawing of what became known as Birkeland currents from his book, The Norwegian Aurora Polaris Expedition 1902-1903, is shown on the back of the banknote at the right.