Following Gymnasium, Steinmetz studied at the University of Breslau to begin work on his undergraduate degree in 1883. Nearing completion of his doctorate in 1888, he was forced to flee to Zürich, Switzerland, as the German government was preparing to prosecute him for his socialist activities.[13]
As socialist meetings and press had been banned in Germany, Steinmetz fled to Zürich in 1889 to escape possible arrest. Cornell University Professor Ronald R. Kline, author of Steinmetz: Engineer and Socialist,[14] points to other factors which reinforced Steinmetz's decision to leave his homeland such as financial problems and the prospect of a more harmonious life with his socialist friends and supporters than the stressful domestic circumstances of his father's household.[14]: 16–17
Faced with an expiring visa, he emigrated to the United States in 1889. He changed his first name to "Charles" to sound more American, and chose the middle name "Proteus", a wise hunchbacked character from the Odyssey who knew many secrets, after a epithet bestowed upon him by his college fraternity brothers.[15]
Steinmetz was politically active in the US as a technocratic socialist for over thirty years. Following the Bolshevik introduction of a technocratic plan to electrify Russia, Steinmetz spoke of Lenin alongside Albert Einstein as the "two greatest minds of our time."[14]: 253
He believed in a corporatist industrial government also covering its human wellfare function.[14]: 230
A member of the original Technical Alliance, which also included Thorstein Veblen and Leland Olds, Steinmetz had great faith in the ability of machines to eliminate human toil and create abundance for all. He put it this way: "Some day we [will] make the good things of life for everybody."[citation needed]
Shortly after arriving in the United States, Steinmetz went to work for Rudolf Eickemeyer in Yonkers, New York, and published in the field of magnetic hysteresis, earning worldwide professional recognition.[17] Eickemeyer's firm developed transformers for use in the transmission of electrical power among many other mechanical and electrical devices. In 1893 Eickemeyer's company, along with all of its patents and designs, was bought by the newly formed General Electric Company, where Steinmetz quickly became known as the engineering wizard in GE's engineering community.[17]
Steinmetz's work revolutionized ACcircuit theory and analysis, which had been carried out using complicated, time-consuming calculus-based methods. In the groundbreaking paper, "Complex Quantities and Their Use in Electrical Engineering", presented at a July 1893 meeting published in the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE), Steinmetz simplified these complicated methods to "a simple problem of algebra". He systematized the use of complex numberphasor representation in electrical engineering education texts, whereby the lower-case letter "j" is used to designate the 90-degree rotation operator in AC system analysis.[2][18] His seminal books and many other AIEE papers "taught a whole generation of engineers how to deal with AC phenomena".[2][19]
Steinmetz also greatly advanced the understanding of lightning. His systematic experiments resulted in the first laboratory created "man-made lightning", earning him the nickname the "Forger of Thunderbolts".[4] These were conducted in a football field-sized laboratory at General Electric, using 120,000 volt generators. He also erected a lightning tower to attract natural lightning to study its patterns and effects, which resulted in several theories.[20]
First vice-president of the International Association of Municipal Electricians (IAME) {which later became the International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA)} from 1913 until his death in 1923.
He was granted an honorary degree from Harvard University in 1901[21] and a doctorate from Union College in 1903.[21]
Steinmetz wrote 13 books and 60 articles, not exclusively about engineering.[further explanation needed] He was a member and adviser to the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta at Union College, whose chapter house was one of the first electrified residences.[23]
While serving as president of the Schenectady Board of Education, Steinmetz introduced numerous progressive reforms, including extended school hours, school meals, school nurses, special classes for the children of immigrants, and the distribution of free textbooks.[15]
Steinmetz was affected by kyphosis, as were his father and grandfather. In spite of his love for children and family life, Steinmetz remained unmarried, to prevent his spinal deformity from being passed to any offspring.[15]
When Joseph LeRoy Hayden, a loyal and hardworking lab assistant, announced that he would marry and look for his own living quarters, Steinmetz made the unusual proposal of opening his large home, complete with research lab, greenhouse, and office to the Haydens and their prospective family. Hayden favored the idea, but his future wife was wary of the unorthodox arrangement. She agreed after Steinmetz's assurance that she could run the house as she saw fit.[15]
After an uneasy start, the arrangement worked well for all parties, especially after three Hayden children were born. Steinmetz legally adopted Joseph Hayden as his son, becoming grandfather to the youngsters, entertaining them with fantastic stories and spectacular scientific demonstrations. The unusual, harmonious living arrangement lasted for the rest of Steinmetz's life.[15]
Steinmetz founded America's first glider club, but none of its prototypes "could be dignified with the term 'flight'".[25][26][b]
Steinmetz earned wide recognition among the scientific community and numerous awards and honors both during his life and posthumously.
Steinmetz's equation, derived from his experiments, defines the approximate heat energy due to magnetic hysteresis released, per cycle per unit volume of magnetic material. A Steinmetz solid is the solid body generated by the intersection of two or three cylinders of equal radius at right angles. Steinmetz' equivalent circuit is still widely used for the design and testing of induction machines.[28]
Steinmetz's connection to Union is further celebrated with the annual Steinmetz Symposium,[35] a day-long event in which Union undergraduates give presentations on research they have done. Steinmetz Hall, which houses the Union College computer center, is named after him.
The Charles P. Steinmetz Scholarship is awarded annually by the college,[36] underwritten since its inception in 1923 by the General Electric Company.[33] An additional Charles P. Steinmetz Memorial Scholarship was later established at Union by Marjorie Hayden, daughter of Joseph and Corrine Hayden, and is awarded to students majoring in engineering or physics.[37]
A 1914 "Duplex Drive Brougham" Detroit Electric automobile that once belonged to Steinmetz was purchased by Union College in 1971, and restored for use in campus ceremonies. The Steinmetz car is permanent displayed in the first-floor corridor between the Wold Center and F.W. Olin building.[38][39]
A Chicago public high school, Steinmetz College Prep, is named for him,[40] as well as a Schenectady public school, the Steinmetz Career and Leadership Academy, formerly Steinmetz Middle-School.
A public park in north Schenectady, New York was named for him in 1931.[41]
In 1983, the US Post Office included Steinmetz in a series of postage stamps commemorating American inventors.[42]
In May 2015, a life-size bronze statue of Charles Steinmetz meeting Thomas Edison by sculptor and caster Dexter Benedict was unveiled on a plaza on the corner of Erie Boulevards and South Ferry Street in Schenectady.[43]
Charles Steinmetz's Mohawk River cabin is preserved and on display in the outdoor collection of historic structures in Greenfield Village, part of the Henry Ford Museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan.[44]
Steinmetz is featured in John Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy in one of the biographies.[45][46] He also serves as a major character in Starling Lawrence's The Lightning Keeper.[47]
Steinmetz is a major character in the novel Electric CitybyElizabeth Rosner.
A famous anecdote about Steinmetz concerns a troubleshooting consultation at Henry Ford's River Rouge Plant. A humorous aspect of the story is the "itemized bill" he submitted for the work performed.[15]
Steinmetz (1894). "Complex Quantities and Their Use in Electrical Engineering". Proceedings of the International Electrical Congress Held in the City of Chicago, August 21st to 25th, 1893. American Institute of Electrical Engineers. pp. 33–74.
Steinmetz; Berg (1897). Theory and Calculation of Alternating Current Phenomena (1st ed.). New York: Electrical World and Engineer. OL7218906M. This book's first edition was expanded and updated in many subsequent editions.
Steinmetz (1897). "The Alternating Current Induction Motor". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XIV (1): 183–217. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1897.5570186. S2CID51652760.
Steinmetz (1907). "Lightning Phenomena in Electric Circuits". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXVI (1): 401–423. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1907.6742407. S2CID51661312.
Steinmetz (1908a). "Electrical Engineering Education". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXVII (1): 79–85. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1908.4768047. S2CID51639619.
Steinmetz (1908b). "Future of Electricity". New York: Lecture delivered to the students of the New York Electrical Trade School: 75–89. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1908.4768047. S2CID51639619. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Steinmetz (1908c). "Primary Standard of Light". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXVII (2): 1319–1324. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1908.6741999. S2CID51661636.
Steinmetz (1908d). "The General Equations of the Electric Circuit". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXVII (2): 1231–1305. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1908.6742132. S2CID51630604.
Hayden; Steinmetz (1910). "Disruptive Strength with Transient Voltages". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXIX (5): 1125–1158. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1910.6659996. S2CID51658987.
Steinmetz (1910). "Mechanical Forces in Magnetic Fields". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXIX (12): 367–385. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1910.6660496. S2CID51674164.
Steinmetz (1912a). "Some Problems of High-Voltage Transmissions". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXI (1): 167–173. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1912.6659629. S2CID51646565.
Steinmetz (1914a). "Instability of Electric Circuits". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXIII (1): 2005–2021. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1914.6661036. S2CID51673393.
Steinmetz (1914b). "Recording Devices". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXIII (1): 283–292. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1914.4765133. S2CID51663159.
Steinmetz (1916a). "Outline of Theory of Impulse Currents". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXV (1): 1–31. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1916.6590573. S2CID51643938.
Steinmetz (1918a). "America's Energy Supply". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXVII (2): 985–1014. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1918.6594102.
Steinmetz (1918b). "The Oxide Film Lightning Arrester". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXVII (2): 871–880. doi:10.1109/PAIEE.1918.6594099. S2CID51654897.
Steinmetz (1919). "The General Equations of the Electric Circuit-III". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXVIII (1): 191–260. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1919.4765606. S2CID51640012.
Steinmetz (1920). "Power Control and Stability of Electric Generating Stations". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XXXIX (2): 1215–1287. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1920.4765322. S2CID51646533.
Steinmetz (1922). "Condenser Discharges Through a General Gas Circuit". Journal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XLI (8): 63–76. doi:10.1109/JoAIEE.1922.6591026. S2CID51668690.
Steinmetz (1923a). "Frequency Conversion by Third Class Conductor and Mechanism of the Arcing Ground and Other Cumulative Surges". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. XLII: 470–477. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1923.5060887. S2CID51630796.
Steinmetz (1923c). "Cable Charge and Discharge". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (XLII): 577–592. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1923.5060899. S2CID51649225.
^Quoting from Alger, "Steinmetz was truly the patron saint of the GE motor business."[2]
^He founded the Mohawk Aerial Navigation Company, Ltd.[25] Steinmetz also partnered with others to establish the Mohawk River Aerial Navigation, Transportation, and Exploration Company, Unlimited.[26]
^Quoting from Hammond, "This has placed him before the public as an atheist.* The title he did not deny. The writer put him down as a confirmed agnostic, for an atheist is a person who knows there is no God, and Steinmetz was not of that..."[27]
^Charles Proteus Steinmetz. Invent Now, Inc. Hall of Fame profile. Invent Now, Inc. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
^Bedell, Frederick (1942). "History of A-C Wave Form, Its Determination and Standardization". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 61 (12): 865. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1942.5058456. S2CID51658522.
^Steinmetz Park Association (2006). "Steinmetz Park Master Plan"(PDF). Schenectady, N.Y. p. 3. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 20, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
Alger, P.L.; Arnold, R.E. (1976). "The History of Induction Motors in America". Proceedings of the IEEE. 64 (9): 1380–1383. doi:10.1109/PROC.1976.10329. S2CID42191157.
Broderick, John Thomas (1924). Steinmetz and His Discoveries. Robson & Adee.
Caldecott, Ernest; Alger, Philip Langdon (1965). Steinmetz the Philosopher. Schenectady, NY: Mohawk Development Service.
Hart, Larry (1978). Steinmetz in Schenectady: A Picture History of Three Memorable Decades. Old Dorp Books.
Kline, Ronald R. (1992). Steinmetz: Engineer and Socialist. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kline, Ronald (2014). "Steinmetz, Charles". In Slotten, Hugh Richard (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0199766666.
Knowlton, A. E. (1949). Standard Electrical of Electrical Engineers. McGraw-Hill. ch. 2-Electric & Magnetic Circuits, ch. 4- Properties of Materials, ch. 7 - AC Generators & Motors
Leonard, Jonathan Norton (1929). Loki: The Life of Charles Proteus Steinmetz. New York: Doubleday.
Miller, Floyd (1962). The Electrical Genius of Liberty Hall: Charles Proteus Steinmetz. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Miller, John Anderson; Steinmetz, Charles Proteus (1958). Modern Jupiter: The Story of Charles Proteus Steinmetz. American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Remscheid, Emil J.; Charves, Virginia Remscheid (1977). Recollections of Steinmetz: A Visit to the Workshops of Dr. Charles Proteus Steinmetz. General Electric Company, Research and Development.