biography
| name: |
Steinmetz, Charles P(roteus)
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| |
originally Karl August Rudolf Steinmetz
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pronunciation:
[stiynmets]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1865–1923)
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| biography:
| Electrical engineer and inventor, born in Wrocław, Poland (formerly Breslau, Prussia). Deformed from birth, he devoted his energy to school and diverse intellectual interests. After graduating from Zurich Polytechnic, he emigrated to the USA in 1889. His first major accomplishment was the publication in 1892 of data showing how magnets lose power in the process of generating alternating current. In 1893 he introduced a new formula for calculating alternating current, and in that year he started work at General Electric (GE), becoming chief consulting engineer (1910). GE allowed him unrestricted latitude in his experiments and an open-ended salary. He advanced research by substituting laboratory methods based on mathematical principles for the older practice of developing a theory and building a model to test it. For many years he studied transient electrical phenomena such as lightning, and unexpected electrical discharges that can damage circuits, and he became widely known for his demonstrations of man-made lightning. His classes at Union College (Schenectady, NY), many inventions, several books, and numerous honours made him one of the best-known scientists in America in his day. |
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