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When Charles Proteus Steinmetz began his career with General Electric (GE) in 1892, the German-born mathematician and electrical engineer was assigned to the company's "Calculating Department", then located in Lynn, Massachusetts. There, Charles Steinmetz was given an even greater opportunity to conduct research and formulate his ideas. Eventually, he would become one of GE's first "Chief Engineers".
Beyond the War of the Currents
By the time that Steinmetz arrived in Lynn, it was clear to GE that alternating current (AC) power would triumph over Thomas Edison's original direct current (DC) concept. With the so-called "War of the Currents" nearly complete, Steinmetz was recruited to play a part in General Electric's efforts to compete in AC technology against rival Westinghouse Electric Company.
Patents and Power Generation
GE's Calculating Department, the company's in-house "brain trust", was staffed by college-educated engineers who served as consultants for other GE divisions. Steinmetz's work led to patents for reducing induction in power transmission lines. His efforts also helped him to develop the algebraic techniques that he used to tackle practical problems in transformer, circuit, and transmission-line design. Eventually, Steinmetz would formalize these techniques in a series of textbooks that had tremendous influence over the electrical-engineering curriculum across the United States.
In 1894, General Electric's Calculating Department moved to Schenectady, New York. By that time, Steinmetz had effectively become GE's "Chief Engineer", a term still heard within the walls of GE's engineering buildings in the Electric City. All of GE's design calculations were under Charles Steinmetz's control. As GE built electric power-generation facilities around the world (buildings dedicated to products for export to Japan are shown on the map below), the Steinmetz-led "brain trust" was responsible for the design of alternators, motors, transformers, and similar equipment - resulting in even more patents.
<-- Map of General Electric Company's "Schenectady Works". The Calculating Department was housed in a building on this campus. Zoom for a more detailed view within your browser.
GE Energy's Gas, Steam, Generator and Wind engineering divisions, along with other GE divisions, still actively use many of the same historic buildings shown on this map.
Below: Visit from Lord Kelvin, developer of the absolute temperature scale, to the Schenectady Works. Steinmetz is 4th from left.
The Electric Car and the Internal Combustion Engine
Later in his career, Steinmetz - like many modern-day engineers and entrepreneurs who are concerned about $4 per gallon gasoline – became a passionate advocate of the electric car. In both Europe and in the United States, Steinmetz was regarded as a leading thinker and writer about the technological and social issues of the day. For his engineering work, this translated to better ideas for practical concepts such as the automobile.
Editor's Note: This is the second in a multi-part series about Charles Proteus Steinmetz. Click here for Part 1. Part 3 will run later on CR4.
Resources:
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Proteus_Steinmetz
Union College - http://www.union.edu (various web sites at this domain)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) -
http://www.ieee.org/organizations/pes/public/2005/sep/peshistory.html
Institute of Chemisty, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/history/steinmetz.html
Schenectady History –
http://www.schenectadyhistory.org (various sites at this domain)
Encyclopedia.com -
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468300289.html
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