Charles Proteus Steinmetz

Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, 1865–October 26, 1923) was an American Mathematician and Electrical Engineer. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers. He made ground-breaking discoveries in the understanding of hysteresis that enabled engineers to better design electric motors for use in industry. ^*

Biography

He was born as Carl August Rudolph Steinmetz to Karl Heinrich Steinmetz in Breslau, Prussia on April 9, 1865. Steimetz suffered from dwarfism, hunchback, and hip dysplasia. He was the third generation of males in his family to have these deformities. However, his deformities did not hold back his mind or spirit from impacting the world.

He attended Johannes Gymanasium and astonished his teachers with his proficiency in mathematics and physics. He went on to Wrocław University to begin work on his undergraduate degreein 1883. He was on the verge of finishing his Doctorate in 1888 when he came under investigation by the German police.

He drew attention from the authorities due to his activity in a Socialist University group and articles he had written for a local socialist newspaper (socialist meetings and press were outlawed by Bismarck). He fled to Zurich in 1888 to escape possible arrest and when the time remaining on his permit dwindled down, emigrated to the United States. It was 1889. Shortly after arriving, he went to work for Rudolf Eickemeyer in Yonkers, New York and published in the field of magnetic hysteresis. Eickemeyer's firm developed transformers for use in the transmission of electrical power. In 1893 Eickemeyer's company, along with all of his patents and designs, was bought by the newly formed General Electric Company. That same year he made one of his greatest contributions to the Electrical Engineering community, the use of imaginary numbers in calculating electrical phenomena. This allowed for electric motors to be constructed logically, as opposed to by trial and error as had previously been the practice. In 1894, General Electric moved to Schenectady, New York, and Steinmetz was promoted to head of the calculating department, where his colleagues would bring to him the mathematical problems that were stumbling blocks to their projects. When not freely helping his co-workers, he worked on his own experiments in electrical engineering. ^*

Later years

He served as president of the Board of Education of Schenectady, and as president of the Schenectady city council. He was also president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) from 1901 to 1902 and a part-time professor at Union College from 1902 to 1923, while still employed by General Electric. Steinmetz was an honorary member and advisor to the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta at Union (one of the first electrified houses ever was the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity house).

Steinmetz died in 1923 and was buried in Vale Cemetery, Schenectady.

Patents

At the time of his death, Steinmetz held over 200 patents: ^*

Steinmetz, , "System of distribution by alternating current." January 29, 1895.
Steinmetz, , "Inductor dynamo."
Steinmetz, , "Three phase induction meter."
Steinmetz, , "Inductor dynamo."
Steinmetz, , "Induction motor."
Steinmetz, , "System of electrical distribution."
Steinmetz, , "Induction motor."
Steinmetz, , "Means for producing light." May 7, 1912.
Steinmetz, , "Induction furnace."
Steinmetz, , "Protective device."
Steinmetz, , "Inductor dynamo."

Awards

Cedergren Medal (1914).

Works

Theory and calculation of alternating current phenomena", with the assistance of Ernst J. Berg, 1897. Information from this book has been reprinted in many subsequent engineering texts.
"The Natural Period of a Transmission Line and the Frequency of lightning Discharge Therefrom", The Electrical World, August 27, 1898. Pg. 203 - 205.
Theoretical elements of electrical engineering, McGraw, 1902.
Future of Electricity, Transcript of lecture to the New York Electrical Trade School, 1908.
General lectures on electrical engineering, edited by Joseph Le Roy Hayden, Robson & Adee, 1908.
Radiation, light and illumination : a series of engineering lectures deliverd at Union college, ed. by Joseph Le Roy Hayden, McGraw-Hill, 1909
Elementary lectures on electric discharges, waves and impulses, and other transients, 1911.
Theory and calculation of transient electric phenomena and oscillations, McGraw publishing company, 1911.
America and the new epoch, Harper, c. 1916.
Engineering mathematics; a series of lectures delivered at Union College, 1917.
Theory and calculation of electric apparatus, 1917.
Essay on Science and Religion at Project Gutenberg. Homer Heath Nugent, 1922.
Four lectures on relativity and space, McGraw-Hill book co. inc., 1923.

External links

Union College Magazine November, 1998.
Biographical Article compiled from various sources available on the Internet. April, 2003.
U.S. Supreme Court, "Steimetz v. Allen, 192 U.S. 543 (1904)". Steimetz v. Allen, Commissioner of Patents. No. 383. Argued January 12, 13, 1904. Decided February 23, 1904.

Charles P. Steinmetz | Charles Proteus Steinmetz | Charles Proteus Steinmetz