Steinmetz, Charles Proteus (stīn`mĕts), 1865–1923, American electrical engineer, b. Breslau, Germany, studied at the Univ. of Breslau. Forced to flee Germany because of his socialist activities, he came to the United States in 1889. Rudolf Eickemeyer, who had just begun to build electrical apparatus in his factory in Yonkers, N.Y., gave him his start in electrical engineering research. When the General Electric Company bought out Eickemeyer in 1892, Steinmetz joined the new owners. He discovered the law of hysteresis, which made it possible to reduce the loss of efficiency in electrical apparatus resulting from alternating magnetism; developed a practical method of making calculations of alternating current, thus revolutionizing electrical engineering; and did valuable research on transient electrical phenomena (lightning). He built a generator that produced artificial lightning. Professor (1902–23) at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., Steinmetz wrote many scientific papers and a number of standard texts. He remained a socialist and was president of the Schenectady board of education (1912–23) and of the common council (1916–23).

Bibliography

See biographies by J. W. Hammond (1924) and J. N. Leonard (1929).

Steinmetz, Charles Proteus

orig. Karl August Rudolf Steinmetz

Charles Steinmetz.

(credit: Courtesy of Union College, Schenectady, New York)

(born April 9, 1865, Breslau, Prussia—died Oct. 26, 1923, Schenectady, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. electrical engineer. Forced to leave Germany because of his socialist activities, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1889 and began working for General Electric Co. in 1893. He taught at Union College from 1902. His experiments led to the law of hysteresis, which deals with power loss in electrical machinery when magnetic action is converted to unusable heat; the constant he calculated (by age 27) has remained a part of electrical engineering vocabulary. In 1893 he developed a simplified symbolic method of calculating alternating-current phenomena. He also studied electrical transients (changes of very short duration in electrical circuits; e.g., lightning); his theory of traveling waves led to development of devices to protect high-power transmission lines from lightning bolts and to the design of a powerful generator. He patented over 200 inventions.

Steinmetz, (b. Karl August Rudolf) Charles Proteus (1865–1923) electrical engineer, inventor; born in Breslau, Germany. Deformed from birth, he devoted his energy to school and diverse intellectual interests. After graduating from Zurich Polytechnic, he emigrated to the U.S.A. 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. In that year he started work at General Electric (GE), becoming chief consulting engineer in 1910. GE gave Steinmetz unrestricted latitude in his experiments and an open-ended salary. Steinmetz 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, 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, N.Y.), many inventions, several books, and numerous honors made him one of the best-known scientists in America in his day.