From time to time I run across delightful anecdotes about the early pioneers.
Does anyone else share this interest and have any anecdotes to share.
Example.
Steinmetz. When Steinmetz emigrated from Europe he was stopped at immigration and was about to be turned back. A friend of his who had invited hom to America was there to meet him and got involved.
"Why are you sending him back?"
He's a mathematician. America has all the mathematicians we need."
"Didn't he tell you that he's also an electrician?"
"Why didn't he say so. We need electricians."
Steinmetz went to work for his friends engineering firm.
Up until then the design and manufacture of large electric motors was a hit and miss affair. Sme motors worked and if a design worked well it was put into production. However a working design could not nescessarily be scalled up. Many attempts overheated for an unknown reason.
Stienmetz presented a theoretical paper to an engineering confrence. He had been exploring hysteresis. He explaind hysteresis and presented calculations and mathematical models. I understand that there was a rush to obtain copies of his paper by design engineers who realized that he had just presented the reason for the overheating and the tools to predict it. Overnight the design of electric motors became a science instead of a guess.
Henry Ford wanted to instal batteries and starters in his cars, but charging the batteries was a challenge. The meeting was in the evening, and Henry was forced to wait until Mr. Steinmetz' spent his customary time with his friends children before they went to bed. Henry was on the verge of leaving in discust. When the children went to bed and Stienmetz turned his attention to Henry, he quickly sketched out the basic design of the three brush generator which went on to charge automotive batteries for decades.
yours
Does anyone else share this interest and have any anecdotes to share.
Example.
Steinmetz. When Steinmetz emigrated from Europe he was stopped at immigration and was about to be turned back. A friend of his who had invited hom to America was there to meet him and got involved.
"Why are you sending him back?"
He's a mathematician. America has all the mathematicians we need."
"Didn't he tell you that he's also an electrician?"
"Why didn't he say so. We need electricians."
Steinmetz went to work for his friends engineering firm.
Up until then the design and manufacture of large electric motors was a hit and miss affair. Sme motors worked and if a design worked well it was put into production. However a working design could not nescessarily be scalled up. Many attempts overheated for an unknown reason.
Stienmetz presented a theoretical paper to an engineering confrence. He had been exploring hysteresis. He explaind hysteresis and presented calculations and mathematical models. I understand that there was a rush to obtain copies of his paper by design engineers who realized that he had just presented the reason for the overheating and the tools to predict it. Overnight the design of electric motors became a science instead of a guess.
Henry Ford wanted to instal batteries and starters in his cars, but charging the batteries was a challenge. The meeting was in the evening, and Henry was forced to wait until Mr. Steinmetz' spent his customary time with his friends children before they went to bed. Henry was on the verge of leaving in discust. When the children went to bed and Stienmetz turned his attention to Henry, he quickly sketched out the basic design of the three brush generator which went on to charge automotive batteries for decades.
yours
