Born Today- Charles Steinmetz ( Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz)- wikipedia

Charles Proteus Steinmetz

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Charles Proteus Steinmetz
Charles Proteus Steinmetz in 1915 with a medal from the electrical engineering convention in Cincinnati
Born	Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz April 9, 1865 Breslau, Province of Silesia, Prussia
Died	October 26, 1923 (aged 58) Schenectady, New York, US
Occupation	Mathematician and electrical engineer
Known for	Alternating current Electric power industry Hysteresis Steinmetz equivalent circuit Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant Metal-halide lamp Network synthesis filters Passive analogue filter development Phasor measurement unit Steinmetz solid Transmission line Wireless power Engineering education
Parents	Karl Heinrich Steinmetz

Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, 1865 – October 26, 1923) was a 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 design better electromagnetic apparatus equipment including especially electric motors for use in industry.^[1][2][a]
Steinmetz was born as Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz into a Jewish^[3] family in Breslau, Province of Silesia. Steinmetz suffered from dwarfism, hunchback, and hip dysplasia, as did his father and grandfather. Steinmetz attended Johannes Gymnasium and astonished his teachers with his proficiency in mathematics and physics.

Contents

• 1 Early socialist
• 2 Engineering wizard
  • 2.1 AC steady state circuit theory
  • 2.2 AC transient theory
• 3 Professional and personal aspects
• 4 Legacy
• 5 Patents
• 6 In popular culture
• 7 Awards
• 8 Works
• 9 Notes
• 10 References
• 11 Further reading
• 12 External links

Early socialist

Steinmetz maintained a small cabin overlooking the Mohawk River near Schenectady, New York.

Following the Gymnasium, Steinmetz went on to the University of Breslau to begin work on his undergraduate degree in 1883. He was on the verge of finishing his doctorate in 1888 when he came under investigation by the German police for activities on behalf of a socialist university group and articles he had written for a local socialist newspaper.
As socialist meetings and press had been banned in Germany, Steinmetz fled to Zürich in 1888 to escape possible arrest. Faced with an expiring visa, he emigrated to the United States in 1889. He changed his first name to Charles in order to sound more American and chose the middle name Proteus after a childhood taunt given to him by classmates. Proteus was a wise hunchbacked character from the Odyssey who knew many secrets and he felt it suited him.
Cornell University Professor Ronald R. Kline, the author of Steinmetz: Engineer and Socialist, contended that other factors were more directly involved in Steinmetz's decision to leave his homeland, such as the fact that he was in arrears with his tuition at the University of Breslau and that life at home with his father, stepmother, and their daughters was full of tension.
Despite his earlier efforts and interest in socialism, by 1922 Steinmetz concluded that socialism would never work in the U.S. because the country lacked a "powerful, centralized government of competent men, remaining continuously in office" and because "only a small percentage of Americans accept this viewpoint today." ^[4]

Engineering wizard

Steinmetz circa 1915

Steinmetz is known for his contribution in three major fields of alternating current (AC) systems theory: hysteresis, steady-state analysis, and transients.

AC steady state circuit theory

Steinmetz's work revolutionized AC circuit theory and analysis, which had been carried out using complex, time-consuming calculus-based methods. By 1893, Steinmetz simplified these complicated methods to "a simple problem of algebra". He was the first to use complex number phasor representation, whereby the letter j is used to designate the 90 degree rotation operator in AC system analysis.^[2] In July 1898 he published the breaking article "Complex-Quantities-and-Their-Use-in-Electrical-Engineering" based on his findings in 1893. His seminal books and many American Institute of Electrical Engineers papers "taught a whole generation of engineers how to deal with AC phenomena.^[2][5]

AC transient theory

Steinmetz also made greater strides to the understanding of lightning phenomena. He undertook a systematic study of it, resulting in experiments of man-made lightning in the laboratory; this work was published. Steinmetz was called the "forger of thunderbolts", being the first to create artificial lightning in his football field-sized laboratory and high towers built at General Electric, using 120,000 volt generators. He erected a lightning tower to attract lightning and studied the patterns and effects of lightning resulting in several theories and ideas.

Professional and personal aspects

Steinmetz served as president of the Board of Education of Schenectady, and as president of the Schenectady City Council. He was president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) from 1901 to 1902,^[6] as well as the first vice-president of the International Association of Municipal Electricians (IAME)—which later became the International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA)—from 1913 until his death. Steinmetz wrote 13 books and 60 articles, not all about engineering. He was an honorary member and advisor to the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta at Union (whose chapter house there was one of the first electrified houses ever).
Steinmetz was an agnostic.^[7][b]
Steinmetz died on October 26, 1923 and was buried in Vale Cemetery, Schenectady.

Legacy

Marconi Wireless Station in Somerset, New Jersey in 1921. Steinmetz is at centre; he died two years later.

Based on Steinmetz experiments, Steinmetz's formula defines the approximate heat energy due to magnetic hysteresis released per cycle per unit area of magnetic material.^[c][8] Steinmetz equivalent circuit theory is still widely used for the design and testing of induction motors.^[9]
One of the highest technical awards given by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, for major contributions to standardization within the field of electrical and electronics engineering, is named in his honor as the IEEE Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award.
His connection to Union College is celebrated with the annual Steinmetz Symposium,^[10] a day-long event in which Union undergraduates give presentations on research they have done. Steinmetz Hall, which houses the Union College computer center, is named after him.
Steinmetz was portrayed in 1959 by the actor Rod Steiger in the CBS anthology series, The Joseph Cotten Show. The episode centered on his socialist activities in Germany.
A Chicago Public High School is named for him.
A public park in north Schenectady, New York was named for him in 1931.^[11]

Patents

At the time of his death, Steinmetz held over 200 patents:^[12]

• U.S. Patent 533,244, "System of distribution by alternating current" (January 29, 1895)
• U.S. Patent 559,419, "Inductor dynamo"
• U.S. Patent 583,950, "Three phase induction meter"
• U.S. Patent 594,145, "Inductor dynamo"
• U.S. Patent 714,412, "Induction motor"
• U.S. Patent 717,464, "System of electrical distribution"
• U.S. Patent 865,617, "Induction motor"
• U.S. Patent 1,025,932, "Means for producing light" (May 7, 1912)
• U.S. Patent 1,042,986, "Induction furnace"
• U.S. Patent 1,230,615, "Protective device"
• U.S. Patent RE11,576, "Inductor dynamo"

In popular culture

Steinmetz is featured in John Dos Passos's USA Trilogy in one of the biographies.^[13] He also serves as a major character in Starling Lawrence's The Lightning Keeper.^[14]
In the animated television show The Simpsons, his name was used as a kind of expletive by the industrialist character Mr. Burns ("Oh, quit cogitating, Steinmetz!") in reference to someone who was overthinking a decision.^[15]
Novelist John Ball grew up in Steinmetz's house. His parents were graduate students paid by GE to live with and take care of the man Ball called "Uncle Steinie". Ball used to tell Steinmetz stories to the Southern California Mystery Writers Association meetings.

Awards

• Certificate of Merit of The Franklin Institute (1908).
• Elliott Cresson Medal (1913).
• Cedergren Medal (1914).

Works

• On the Law of Hysteresis, AIEE Trans., IX:3-64, 1892; Proc. of the IEEE, 72(2):197-221, doi: 10.1109/PROC.1984.12842
• Theory of the General Alternating Current Transformer, AIEE Trans., XII:245-256, Jan. 1895
• Theory and Calculation of Alternating Current Phenomena, with the assistance of Ernst J. Berg, 1897.^[16] Information from this book has been reprinted in many subsequent engineering texts.
• The Alternating Current Induction Motor. AIEE Trans., XIV (1): 183-217, 1897.
• The Natural Period of a Transmission Line and the Frequency of Lightning Discharge Therefrom, The Electrical World, p. 203-205, August 27, 1898.
• Speed Regulation of Prime Movers and Parallel Operation of Alternators, AIEE Trans., XVIII:741-744, Jan. 1901.
• Theoretical Elements of Electrical Engineering, McGraw, 1902.
• The Alternating-Current Railway Motor, AIEE Trans., XXIII:9-25, Jan. 1904.
• Lightning Phenomena in Electric Circuits, AIEE Trans., XXVI(1):401-423, Jan. 1907.
• Electrical Engineering Education, AIEE Trans., XXVII(1):79-85, Jan. 1908.
• Future of Electricity, Transcript of lecture to the New York Electrical Trade School, 1908.
• Primary Standard of Light, AIEE Trans., XXVII(2):1319-1324, Jun. 8, 1908.
• The General Equations of the Electric Circuit, AIEE, Trans., XXVII(2):1231-1305, Jun. 8, 1908.
• General Lectures on Electrical Engineering, edited by Joseph Le Roy Hayden, Robson & Adee, 1908.
• Prime Movers, AIEE Trans., XXVIII(1):63-84, Jan. 1909.
• The Value of the Classics in Engineering Education, AIEE, Trans. XXVIII(2):1103-1106, Jun. 9, 1909.
• Radiation, Light and Illumination : A Series of Engineering Lectures Delivered at Union College, ed. by Joseph Le Roy Hayden, McGraw, 1909
• Disruptive Strength with Transient Voltages, with Hayden, Joseph L. R. principal author, AIEE Trans., XXIX(2):1125-1158, May 10, 1910.
• Engineering Mathematics; A Series of Lectures Delivered at Union College, McGraw, 1911.
• Mechanical Forces in Magnetic Fields, AIEE Trans., XXX(1):367-385 , Jan. 1911.
• Elementary Lectures on Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses, and Other Transients, McGraw, 1911.
• Theory and Calculation of Transient Electric Phenomena and Oscillations, McGraw, 1911.
• Some Problems of High-Voltage Transmissions, AIEE Trans., XXXI(1):167-173, Jan. 1912.
• Instability of Electric Circuits, AIEE Trans., XXXII(2):2005-2021, May 13, 1913.
• Recording Devices, AIEE Trans., XXXIII(1):283-292, Jan. 1914.
• Outline of Theory of Impulse Currents, AIEE Trans., XXXV(1):1-31, Jan. 1916.
• America and the New Epoch, Harper, c. 1916.
• Theory and Calculation of Electric Apparatus, McGraw, 1917.
• America's Energy Supply, AIEE Trans., XXXVII(2):985-1014,Jul. 18, 1918.
• The Oxide Film Lightning Arrester, AIEE Trans., XXXVII(2):871-880, Jul. 18, 1918.
• The General Equations of the Electric Circuit-III, AIEE Trans., XXXVIII(1):191-260, Jan. 1919.
• Power Control and Stability of Electric Generating Stations, AIEE Trans., XXXIX(2):1215-1287, Jul. 20, 1920.
• Condenser Discharges Through a General Gas Circuit, AIEE Trans., XLI:63-76, Jan. 1922.
• Essay on Science and Religion at Project Gutenberg. Homer Heath Nugent, 1922.
• High-Voltage Insulation, with Hayden, J. L. R. principal author, AIEE Trans., XLII:1029-1042, Jan. 1923.
• Frequency Conversion by Third Class Conductor and Mechanism of the Arcing Ground and Other Cumulative Surges, AIEE Trans., XLII:470-477, Jan. 1923.
• Four Lectures on Relativity and Space, McGraw, 1923.
• Cable Charge and Discharge, AIEE Trans., XLII:577-592, Jan. 1923 .
• Overdamped Condenser Oscillations, AIEE Trans., XLIII:126-130, Jan. 1924.

Notes

Biography portal

1. Quoting from Alger, "Steinmetz was truly the patron saint of the GE motor business."^[2]
2. Quoting from Hammond, "This has placed him before the public as an atheist.* The title he did not deny. The writer, however, would put him down as a confirmed agnostic, for an atheist is a person who knows there is no God, and Steinmetz was not of that..."^[7]
3. , where η is hysteresis coefficient, β_max is maximum flux density and k is an empirical exponent.