Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a towering determine within the early a long time {of electrical} engineering, simply the mental equal of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla—males he thought-about his pals. One in every of Steinmetz’s most important achievements was to quantify and characterize the phenomenon of magnetic hysteresis—the habits of magnetism in supplies—after which devise a easy regulation that allowed for predictable transformer and motor design. He additionally established a revolutionary framework for analyzing AC circuits, which remains to be taught at the moment in energy engineering. And from 1893, he served as chief consulting engineer at Basic Electrical at a pivotal second for the younger firm and for the U.S. effort to develop its energy grid. For these and different accomplishments, he was well-known in his time, even when he’s not precisely a family identify at the moment.
Steinmetz was additionally an evangelist for electrical automobiles. In March 1920, he typed out his ideas, evaluating the professionals and cons of EVs to the gasoline-propelled different. Among the many benefits: low value of upkeep, reliability, simplicity of operation, and decrease value of operation. The disadvantages: dependence on charging stations, restricted vary on a single cost, and decrease speeds. Greater than a century later, his listing stays remarkably pertinent.
Steinmetz may usually be seen decked out in a swimsuit and high hat, smoking his trademark BlackStone panatela cigar whereas using round Schenectady, N.Y., in his 1914 Detroit Electrical sedan. In keeping with John Spinelli, emeritus professor {of electrical} and laptop engineering at Union College, in Schenectady, typically each Steinmetz and his chauffeur sat within the backseat—you could possibly management the automotive from each the entrance and the rear—in order that it will look like a driverless automotive. With a high velocity of 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour), the automotive ran on 14 six-volt batteries and will go about 48 km between prices.
Steinmetz’s 1914 Detroit Electrical automotive is now at Union School in Schenectady, N.Y., the place Steinmetz had based, chaired, and taught within the division {of electrical} engineering.Paul Buckowski/Union School
In 1971, the automotive was bought by Union School, the place Steinmetz had based, chaired, and taught within the division {of electrical} engineering. The automotive had been found rotting in a subject, so it wanted some work. Over the subsequent decade, school and engineering college students restored it to its former glory. Nonetheless in working situation, it’s now on everlasting show on the faculty.
Steinmetz’s Contributions to Electrical Engineering
Karl August Rudolf Steinmetz was born in 1865 in Breslau, Prussia (now often known as Wrocław, Poland). He studied arithmetic, physics, and the burgeoning subject of electrical energy on the College of Breslau. He additionally joined a scholar socialist membership and edited the celebration newspaper, The Folks’s Voice. He accomplished his doctoral research, however earlier than receiving his diploma, Steinmetz fled to Switzerland in 1888, after his socialist writings got here underneath the scrutiny of the Bismarck authorities.
Steinmetz immigrated to New York the next yr, anglicized his first identify, dropped his two center names, and added Proteus, a nickname he had picked up at college (after the shape-shifting sea god of Greek mythology). Finally, he turned a U.S. citizen.
Charles Proteus Steinmetz solved quite a few necessary issues that helped the facility grid develop.Bettmann/Getty Photos
In January 1892, Steinmetz burst onto the engineering scene when he learn his paper “On the Law of Hysteresis” earlier than the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, a forerunner of at the moment’s IEEE. I can’t fairly think about sitting via the supply of its 62 pages, however these assembled acknowledged its groundbreaking nature. The concepts Steinmetz outlined allowed engineers to calculate energy losses within the magnetic elements {of electrical} equipment through the design part. Previous to this, the design course of for transformers and electrical motors was largely trial and error, and energy losses may very well be measured solely after the machine was constructed, which vastly added to the price.
Steinmetz was not simply an equations and idea man, although. He cherished working within the lab and constructing issues. In 1893, Basic Electrical acquired the small manufacturing agency of Eickemeyer & Osterheld, in Yonkers, N.Y., the place Steinmetz had labored since shortly after his arrival in america. So Steinmetz started his new life as a company engineer, an attention-grabbing flip for the socialist. Throughout his first few years with GE, he principally designed turbines and transformers. However he additionally created an off-the-cuff place for himself as a marketing consultant, giving skilled opinions on varied issues throughout divisions. He finally formalized this position, turning into GE’s chief consulting engineer, and he maintained a relationship with the corporate for the remainder of his life, even after becoming a member of the school of Union School in 1902.
By the point Steinmetz died in 1923 on the age of 58, he had been granted greater than 200 patents and had made main contributions to numerous subfields in electrical engineering, together with phasors and complicated numbers (for steady-state AC evaluation); electrical transients, switching surges, and surge safety (based mostly on his analysis on lightning); industrial analysis (together with easy methods to run a company lab); and engineering strategies (by writing textbooks that standardized apply).
Why Steinmetz Believed in Electrical Automobiles
By 1914, Steinmetz was satisfied that the way forward for transportation was electrical. In June, he addressed the Nationwide Electrical Mild Affiliation conference in Philadelphia with a daring prediction: “I’ve little question that in 10 years, kind of—slightly lower than extra—we’ll see the sector of the pleasure and enterprise automobile lined by such an electrical automotive in giant numbers. And I imagine I underestimate after I say that 1,000,000 or extra shall be used.”
As we now know, Steinmetz was overly optimistic. On the time, there have been about 1.2 million gasoline-powered vehicles in use in america, and solely about 35,000 EVs. It could take till 2018 for the variety of EVs (together with plug-in hybrids) on U.S. roads to surpass 1,000,000. Worldwide, there are actually about 60 million electric vehicles in use.
However Steinmetz had his causes. He firmly believed that electrical automobiles would flourish in city areas, the place most rides concerned quick distances at low velocity. He additionally thought EVs could be a boon for energy corporations, which had been wanting to drum up extra enterprise, particularly at night time. With 1 million electrical vehicles being charged about 5 kilowatt-hours on most nights, and at a price of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, Steinmetz predicted US $75 million (about $2.5 billion at the moment) of latest enterprise for central energy stations every year.
In 1971, Union School bought Steinmetz’s automotive, which had been discovered rotting in a subject, and school and college students restored it to working situation.Particular Collections & Archives/Schaffer Library/Union School
Steinmetz went to work to enhance the electrical automotive. He developed a double-rotor motor that was built-in into the rear axle, which did away with the necessity for a mechanical differential or drive shaft and drastically diminished the general weight, which improved the mileage. Dey Electrical Corp. included Steinmetz’s design into its electrical roadster and priced it underneath $1,000. Sadly, an inner combustion engine Ford Mannequin T value about half as a lot, and the Dey roadster flopped, ending manufacturing inside a yr.
Undeterred, Steinmetz fashioned the Steinmetz Electrical Motor Automotive Corp. in 1920 with the preliminary purpose of bringing to market an electrical truck for deliveries and light-weight industrial use. The primary truck debuted on a chilly February day in 1922 with a publicity stunt of climbing the steep Miller Avenue hill in Brooklyn, N.Y. In keeping with a report in The New York Instances, the automobile went up the 14.5 % grade between Jamaica Avenue and Highland Boulevard in 51 seconds. Throughout a second climb, it stopped quite a few occasions to indicate how simply it restarted. The truck had a variety of 84 km (52 miles).
The corporate deliberate to fabricate 1,000 vehicles per yr and 300 light-weight supply vehicles, plus a five-passenger coupe, however it made a complete of solely 48 automobiles. After Steinmetz died in 1923, the corporate quickly ceased operation.
Steinmetz wasn’t solely bullish on the electrical automotive, however on electrical energy on the whole. A New York Times article recorded his perception that by 2023, we’d work not more than 4 hours a day, 200 days a yr as a result of electrical energy would have eradicated the drudgery and unpleasantness of labor. He additionally predicted that electrical energy would result in an finish to city air pollution: “Each metropolis could be a spotless city.” With an growth of leisure time, individuals could be more healthy, partaking in gardening (particularly rising their very own meals) and pursuing academic pursuits to turn out to be “far more clever and self-expressive creature[s].”
Steinmetz’s Chosen Household
I made a decision to jot down about Steinmetz final yr, after IEEE Spectrum revealed an essay I wrote about why engineering needs the humanities. The article accommodates this line: “In 1909, none aside from Charles Proteus Steinmetz advocated for together with the classics in engineering training.” I had been impressed to study of Steinmetz’s recognition of the worth of a liberal arts training. However my copy editor didn’t know who Steinmetz was or why he merited the qualifier “none different.” Extra individuals ought to learn about this exceptional man, I made a decision. And so I went on the lookout for a museum object related to him, so I may embrace him in a Past Forward column.
Steinmetz [left] was simply the mental equal of Thomas Edison [right], whom he thought-about a pal.Corbis/Getty Photos
The electrical automotive is just one avenue into Steinmetz’s life. I may as a substitute have seemed into Steinmetz solids (the geometric shapes that type when two or three similar cylinders intersect at proper angles), Steinmetz curves (the sides of a Steinmetz stable), or the Steinmetz equal circuit (a mathematical mannequin that describes a transformer utilizing resistors and inductors). However none of these ideas may very well be simply captured in a picture-worthy object. His love of his electrical automotive, however, was a enjoyable and becoming entry level for this most uncommon engineer.
I additionally noticed a chance to focus on how Steinmetz turned a household man. Steinmetz had dwarfism—he stood simply 122 centimeters tall—in addition to kyphosis, a extreme curvature of the backbone, as did his father and grandfather. He didn’t want to cross alongside these traits, and so he by no means married or had youngsters of his personal. However that didn’t imply he didn’t desire a household.
In 1903, Steinmetz’s favourite lab assistant, Joseph LeRoy Hayden, instructed his boss that he was getting married. Steinmetz invited the couple to dinner, after which invited them to dwell in his giant residence. They agreed to this uncommon residing association, with Corinne Rost Hayden working the family and cooking for her husband and Steinmetz. She pressured the lads to put aside their work for normal household meals.
Finally, the Hayden household expanded, welcoming Joe, Midge, and Billy. Steinmetz legally adopted the elder Hayden, thereby gaining three grandchildren as properly. Steinmetz, whom The New York Instances had named a “fashionable Jove” who “hurls thunderbolts at will” (from a high-voltage lightning generator), delighted at entertaining the grandkids with wondrous methods of electrical energy and chemistry.
In writing concerning the historical past {of electrical} engineering, I typically fall into the lure of focusing an excessive amount of on the expertise. Nevertheless it’s simply as necessary to acknowledge the individuals behind the expertise—their personalities, their frailties, their emotions, their challenges. Steinmetz confronted adversity for his political views, for being an immigrant, and for his bodily stature, but none of that ever stopped him. In phrase and deed, he confirmed that he had a beneficiant coronary heart as mighty as his mind.
A part of a continuing series taking a look at historic artifacts that embrace the boundless potential of expertise.
An abridged model of this text seems within the March 2026 print concern as “Charles Proteus Steinmetz Beloved His Electrical Automotive.”
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