Charles Proteus Steinmetz: A Fun Scientific Biography (Part 1: 1865-1894)

How and why Charles Proteus Steinmetz came to America, created his theory of hysteresis, the first 3-phase system in the US, and phasors, all before he became the "Wizard of Schenectady."
Links:
My mailing list:
kathylovesphysics.ck.page/wel...
My Patreon Page:
www.patreon.com/user?u=15291200
Union College "Phasors" Movie:
• Phasors Steinmetz and ...
List of Steinmetz's photos (New York Heritage Steinmetz Digital Collection):
nyheritage.org/organizations/...
As usual, a big thank you to the fabulous Kim Nalley for singing "electricity" and some background music. www.kimnalley.com

[@anorlunda]

A delightful story. Steinmetz changed the culture at GE such that analysis led design instead of visa versa. I started at GE in 1966 in the department that was the legacy of Steinmetz's team. The claim in 66 was that 50% of the world's patents 1900-1965 had at least one Schenectady co-inventor, and that was due to Steinmetz. Steinmetz was also beloved of the city of Schenectady, quite independent of his GE work. I have a $5 check he wrote to Nicholaus German Restaurant in Schenectady, that they framed and kept. Many merchants never cashed his checks, opting to keep them as mementos instead. Steinmetz did many humanitarian projects in Schenectady.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

That is why I am really excited to do the next chapter of the Steinmetz and Biography. I just had too much information to fit it in one video

[@robertakerman3570]

@@Kathy_Loves_Physics & then More?

[@Randrew]

His friend's assertion to Immigration that he would "some day benefit all of America" turned out to be an understatement. There's no doubt that his inventions and influence in power engineering had great effect here, but was also of profound effect in Europe and elsewhere.

[@tomwaldenofficial]

"Mills, thanks for sharing your story." -Tom

[@microwizard7934]

The saddest sound “well that’s next time”

[@jeromemckenna7102]

When I was a child the name Steinmetz was still well known, but I had no idea what he actually did. Why Tesla has such a big reputation today and Steinmetz does not is hard to understand. The creation of simple mathematical tools to replace complex equations was a great achievement not entirely different from what Richard Feynman did with his diagrams.

[@shawnmulberry774]

Reminds me of how everyone knows Albert Einstein and relatively few seem to know Neils Bohr

[@MultiPetercool]

I have an undergrad science degree in physics. My electricity and magnetism professor did a lecture on him back in 1982.

[@MultiPetercool]

@@toddmarshall7573 Please don’t be so heavy-handed about Edison. Never forget that his greatest contribution to mankind was inventing the idea of an “invention factory”. Bell Laboratories, the MIT media Lab, CERN and many other institutions owe their existence to Edison’s simple yet brilliant idea.

[@MultiPetercool]

Your comparison to Feynman‘s diagrams is brilliant! The most fascinating thing to me about physics is how often theoretical/mathematical models that bear little resemblance to the physical model turn out to be useful.

[@shawnmulberry774]

@@MultiPetercool Its not that Edison wasn't a great contributor. He certainly was, but it seems we lionize certain contributors and others are relatively unknown.

[@brucemccreary769]

What a great story. I attended Union College in Schenectady and didn't know the Steinmetz story even though the main engineering building was known as Stenmetz hall. Thanks, Kathy. I look forward to part 2!

[@greglott4977]

@Science Revolution And what do YOU think causes tides? Shokras? The flat-earth tilting on the turtles back? Can't wait to hear this one... and for those watching, yes, I'm feeding the troll. I just can't help myself.

[@vzr314]

It's coz she made it up

[@robertjones6324]

I attended Union College too! Electrical Engineering major. Calculus courses were my easiest!! I don't know how I did it. I graduated 40 years ago!

[@hagerty1952]

Thank you so much for this! It seems that Tesla has been essentially deified over the past couple of decades, despite not doing well in industry. Whenever I hear someone start to gush about Tesla "inventing AC" I always counter with "that was actually Charles Steinmetz" for which I usually get a deer-in-the-headlights response. Your video has given me a place to send these folks for illumination.

[@pcnj50a]

I would LOVE to see you do a history of Oliver Heaviside, a deeply weird and wonderful person who transformed (literally!) the way we approach E&M.

[@HoraceMash]

Kathy, you have such a talent. I really admire how brilliantly you absorb reams of historical and technological information and then craft an engaging synopsis THEN present it with such vivacity and genuine enthusiasm. This episode is (another) treat. Thank you thank you thank you!

[@charlesdavis7087]

She really does... present this kind of historical info. with such... "vivacity and genuine enthusiasm." Wow. She's new discovery for me. I'll be keeping an eye on her.

[@jackd.ripper7613]

I knew if anyone could do justice to Steinmetz' story, it would be you. Absolutely fascinating and informative. I had read a biography about him years ago, but it was pretty dry and focused on his work. I knew you would showcase the man and his life. I'll say it again: Best channel on KZbin.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

Thanks “Jack”. 😊

[@sanityassassin8161]

Same here. I've been looking forwards to Kathy's unique approach.

[@chrissnyder2091]

I remember being introduced to Charles Steinmetz is a older child, I was inspired by the fact that that he had managed to overcome many physical disabilities to become a well-known and well-respected electrical researcher at general electric. He is indeed a largely unknown and underappreciated electrical researcher. Thank you for highlighting him.

[@paullinsay115]

The use of imaginary numbers comes from Fourier transforming the nasty equations. It was ingenious of Steinmetz to recognize that in order to simplify circuit analysis. I learned this in physics class. I’m not an EE. Do one on Heaviside, a contemporary, and very eccentric. He was a self taught mathematical genius who started out as a telegraph operator. Among other things he developed the vector calculus that makes Maxwell’s equations usable. His greatest practical invention was the coaxial cable, which is used everywhere to connect high frequency electronics such as the cable that connects your tv to your internet provider and all your computer cables. His work was considered so important that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize about 1910 by the top British physicists of the day.

[@alanparker3130]

I was just going to check if Kathy had already done Heaviside, so I fully support your suggestion.

[@normchristopherson5799]

I had the pleasure of meeting his grandson who is also an engineer. Steinmetz was an amazing mind and great contributor to science and engineering yet few know of him. Great videos Kathy! I occasionally play one or more of your videos in my technical school classes. The current and next generations need to know and appreciate the history of science and technology.

[@drcthru7672]

Steinmetz had no children because his deformity was inheritable.

[@normchristopherson5799]

@@drcthru7672 Wikipedia shows he did have a child.

[@drcthru7672]

@@normchristopherson5799 Steinmetz legally adopted Joseph Hayden as his son. Adopted

[@sanityassassin8161]

@@drcthru7672 Thank you, I was going to say that.

[@GoCoyote]

When I hearken back to my electrical apprenticeship days, I remember being taught all of the AC theory that you tell us came from Steinmetz. In the apprenticeship, Tesla was mentioned briefly, but did not take center stage. Now I know why, as much of what was important to AC systems had been explained mathematically by Steinmetz, and in ways that were able to provide any engineer or electrician with the tools to do such things as convert 3 phase to other phases.

[@charletonzimmerman4205]

Yes, any "Monkey", as said can wire a "HOUSE", but it takes, a "Schooled Tradesperson", to understand, "Phases Of AC" to ,connect Transformers. And Polyphase, Induction Motors.

[@GoCoyote]

@@charletonzimmerman4205 While my memory was never good enough to prevent me from from looking up the information, our instructor told us that it was more important to know what information we needed for any given job. And if we could not find it in a book or through other sources, keep asking until you get an answer.

[@alexw4937]

It's really interesting how similar the business/technology environment in upstate New York from 1870-1900 feels to Southern California from 1970-2000. New technology and science, vast business empires springing up, and fascinating human stories in amongst it all. Also, I'm shocked that I didn't hear steinmetz's name once in my electrical engeering undergrad seeing as probably 1/4th of my third year was dedicated to learning his theories!

[@0neIntangible]

Good point made! From upstate New York to Sillycon Valley, same time frame, only 100 years apart. I also was expected to memorize formulas while in high school electrical shop classes, w/o realizing the thought processes underpinning the development of these theories.

[@dbmail545]

If you had been my physics teacher in High School I might have had a much different life. Steinmetz's simplification is how I was taught A/C

[@dranthonyv5475]

Lovely ! Thank you! Another great story is the time Henry Ford demanded GE send Steinmetz to fix one of GE’s giant machines in Ford’s plant. Henry Ford received a bill for $10,000 signed by Steinmetz and payable to General Electric. Ford asked for an itemized statement. Steinmetz replied as follows: Making chalk mark on generator $1. Knowing where to make mark $9,999.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

Ssshh that’s for the next video

[@linlyons1962]

It's been 6 months. Where's the next video? :)

[@allorenz6591]

Interesting that the split between Electrical Engineer and Electronics was taking place during my BSEE curriculum at Univ. of Cincinnati. '68 grad. I moved into the silicon side as I graduated. Left the copper/iron side behind. Interesting that all the recent innovations have been combined into electric vehicle development. Great video, thanks for all your hard work and research plus stimulating presentations !

[@rogerhale6895]

When I was a child in the 1960's we had a book at home that had short biographies of various people, one of which was Steinmetz. The story I remember was that he bought a car but was a terrible driver and crashed a couple of times through the front hedge of a nearby house. If I recollect correctly the house was at the bottom of a hill on a bend. The house owner would sit in his living room and could see the vehicles coming down the hill. So Steinmetz with his sense of humour had the car fitted with second steering wheel and controls in the back seat and would have an apprentice drive from the back while coming down the hill when he could see the house owner in the living room. The owner would get visibly agitated every time he saw that Steinmetz was coming down the hill apparently driving the car.

[@johnopalko5223]

I remember reading that story back when I was a kid in the 1960s. As I recall it was in a book that was a biography of Steinmetz but written for kids. I think it was published by Scholastic Book Services.

[@rogerhale6895]

Apparently the car still exists, electric but original batteries were replaced and was still running a few years ago. There is a youtube video .

[@ebrahimprice2154]

1970 I think. My parents bought a set of encyclopaedias that included a thick book containing short biographies of famous people. Steinmetz was one of them. It had the title or sub title ... "The Wizard of ....". Any title with the word WIZARD is always going to pique the interest of a child.

[@maxheadrom3088]

On Peter Bogdanovich's "Who The Hell's in It" book, Allan Dwan - the film director that made the first moving camera shot in American cinema - tells how Steinmetz suggested him to leave the specialist salesman job Dwan held on GE and go work in the film industry. Dwan - who was then trying to sell sodium lamps to the film studios - told Steinmetz he really liked the time he spent at the studios but was not happy with his current job. Steinmetz asked if he had any experience with cinema and Dwan told about his love for theater in High School. Steinmetz then told him that a man works better when he works on what he loves. Dwan then left GE and looked for work in Hollywood. If I'm not mistaken, he also did the first Zorro film.\ Steinmetz's humane principles inspire a lot of Electric Engineers around the world. More amazing than the time he would not kill the rats because the mom had just given birth and he would rather live in the cold than turn the stove on ... is the time Henry Ford went to ask him to help make more resilient lamps for his cars and Steinmetz told him to wait for while because he had to put his host and friend's kids to sleep - something he did every day. Well ... guess what: Ford was not used to that, got a bit annoyed but he waited!

[@tomwaldenofficial]

"To be honest, I never knew of Steinmetz and his contributions. I learn a lot today. Again, I just want to thank you for researching and posting these educational videos on KZbin - much Appreciated!" -Tom

[@kmlammto]

As an undergrad in Ed, one of my favorite professors told the apocryphal story about Steinmetz inviting the entire Board of Directors over to his house on a lake. He made sure all were on the deck overlooking the lake. The entire group then saw him rowing a boat out onto the lake, stopping and staring at the house and then rowing back to the shore. When he reached the shore he was met by an executive who asked what he was doing. Steinmetz told him he had just had the deck built and he wanted to make sure the deck was strong enough to hold him.

[@dyson9422]

My Electrical Engineering professor told his classes three things that we would be tested on: Steinmetz’s and Tesla’s birthdays and the score of the Army-Navy game. He formerly taught at Annapolis Naval Academy.

[@MikeCasey311]

Thank you Kathy, I am completely hooked on your videos.

[@JoeBorrello]

Glad you’re back making vids, hope you are feeling better.

[@johnpaulcolthrust8207]

I first got into electrical engineering at 13 years old as an electronics hobbyist so when I graduated with my BSc. I naturally assumed that I would work in instrumentation, control or communication but in our sole mandatory power systems course I was enchanted by the “Steinmetz model” for the three-phase induction motors for its elegance and usefulness. As things went I ended up working in an electric utility company (and there I remain till today, 32 years later), so a visit to Schenectady several years later was to me a pilgrimage to Steinmetz’s stomping ground. I only became aware that he invented the phasor last year, preparing lecture material as part time lecture in Computer Aided Power System Analysis at my alma mater, The University of the West Indies. Maybe a future video could be on Fortescue and his contribution to analysis of (unbalanced) three phase systems - if it is not to arcane.

[@barryfleischer6553]

Fascinating. How come when I was in school in the 1960's and 70's this was never presented? I wish I'd had you for a teacher back then, it would have been my favorite class.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

I see some difficulties in that scenario.

[@barryfleischer6553]

@@Kathy_Loves_Physics After watching and learning from your channel, I believe most people take electricity and its development for granted. My father came from tiny village in Poland, he said they only dreamed of electricity. He said when a bus that used a motor came through one day, it was as if a space ship landed.

[@antoniosarmaou6177]

LOVELY!!!! This channel is becoming my favorite go to channel to listen to while at work.

[@Hossak]

Great job Kathy! I have never heard of this genius and his story so far really warms my heart. Can't wait for part II!

[@rexmyers991]

WOW!!! Oh, Kathy, your latest video is FANTASTIC. I learned so much. Can’t wait for the next installment.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

Thanks 😊

[@sanityassassin8161]

Thank you for this much anticipated documentary. I am very much looking towards to part 2.

[@brianambelis5869]

absolutely fascinating. i’ve had heard bits here and there about steinmetz but you put it all together beautifully. thank you!

[@Debraj1978]

I have worked with GE as application engineer for induction motor and still associated with motor as my job. I had also studied Steinmetz model for AC Induction motor, but not went further to know more about him. This video is delight to watch and has so much of information. I have shared with my colleagues as well.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

I’m so glad you liked it. Did you check out the second part of my Steinmetz biography about his life in Schenectady?

[@chazlabreck]

A great presentation Kathy, really was wonderfully engaging going down the historical rabbit hole with you.

[@tonytenbreock8546]

Watched this video and immediately searched for part two. Then I noted the date. obviously I'm looking forward to it. Thanks.

[@lawrencelederer5060]

I read his biography in the 1960's when I was in high school. I became an electrical engineer, and had a 50 year career, so he has always been special to me. I own a couple of his books. He truly deserves to be known as one of the founders of modern electrical engineering.

[@johnculjak1798]

What a wonderful summary! Great work Kathy!

[@dohjryt]

Great compilation! As a now retired electrical engineer I thoroughly enjoyed your historical story of how Steinmetz introduced many of the foundational electrical engineering concepts that still serve the US industry. I learned also of the amazing grit that he showed to prevail in the industry. Bravo!

[@supermikeb]

Kathy, I love your channel and all the stories. Thank you for all you do.

[@lenl2514]

Great episode! Loved it and learned so much. (The lighting of our Kathy was excellent as well)

[@martinhaub2602]

Thanks for making this video - Steinmetz is one of my heroes. Amazing story, incredible intellect and so few people have ever heard of him or his importance to our modern world. I latched onto a copy of his biography and treasure it.

[@friendlyoctopus9391]

I'm a physicist, grew up in Schenectady with Steinmetz as one of my heroes, and now live in Germany -- and you still surpassed my expectations with your first video about him! Well done, and I'm looking forward to the next episode! The story of phasors as a way of thinking about complex problems reminded me of Feynman diagrams :)

[@walterbordett2023]

CP Steinmetz was immensely tall from the eyebrows up. Our lives are very much enriched by his life's work. We can see over the dung hill only because we stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before us.

[@johnlewis6880]

This is a wonderful video. Thanks My grandfather ran the shop at American Locomotive, in Schenectady, that made the connecting rods for steam locomotives. He lived up the street from Steinmetz and told me a few stories about Steinmetz who he admired a great deal. The only story that I remember best is about Steinmetz building himself a remote control garage door opener. Grandpa said the neighbors would come out in the street when they saw Steinmetz coming so they could see his garage door opener in action.

[@Funkylogic]

Kathy, just a wonderful post, i was just talking to a young engineering student at work today about how Steinmetz's work is not properly recognized and recalled I read a book about him, (20 hmm, maybe 30 years ago) and opined I wished there was film made about his life. I did actually mention there was a Lady on the Tube named Kathy that does some pretty good deep dives on physics and things of this specific particular nature. Thanks for making my night, you're a legend. Don't know how i missed this one previously. Very Best Regards, Tom.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

Thanks Tom, it took me a while to get around to him but I’m so glad I did. By the way, I have a second video about Steinmetz and if you haven’t seen part two I highly advise it. I actually think it’s even better. Cheers Lady on the tube.

[@WaltBankes]

Thanks so much for that interesting background on him. I, too, worked for a few years for GE in Schenectady. I REALLY look forward to your installment about his years there. Before your video, all I knew about him was written by John Dos Passos in his USA trilogy. I think I can almost quote that he said: STEINMETZ WAS THE MOST VALUABLE MACHINE GE OWNED.......UNTIL HE WORE OUT AND DIED.

[@thetransformatorium7980]

I really wish I could like this video more than once! I just discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago, and I was instantly hooked. Thanks Kathy.

[@xyz.ijk.]

I love your outtakes (as well as the videos).

[@brucewilliams6292]

You do such a great job on your videos. Thank you for all the great details.

[@kthwkr]

I'm kinda amazed they didn't see the almost undeniable requirement for 3 phase. For two phase the torque of a motor is a sinusoid. This means it vibrates. Transformers would vibrate too. For 3 phase the torque is a constant. Everything driven by the motor lasts longer because it doesn't have that vibration. The math was simple. Add the square of three sinusoids 120 out of phase from each other. And the result is a constant. To me it seems that anyone that does that math would see that three phases had to be used.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

You have to remember that even single phase AC was so new almost no one knew how to install it and very few places mass produced it. And 2 phase was far easier to install (and similar to single phase) than 3 phase.

[@david203]

Three-phase user circuits mirror the operation of giant hydroelectric dynamos exactly. So electrically they are simpler. And they are converted to single-phase just by grounding one of the wires and using the other two wires for independent circuits with respect to ground.

[@thomasgreene5750]

Steinmetz taught mathematics to engineers at Union College in Schenectady. He wrote a book on the subject, Engineering Mathematics, in the 1910s based on his notes for the course. I was able to find a used copy of the third edition, as well as copies of his books on Alternating Current Phenomena and Electrical Engineering. They are still useful, even though they are more than 100 years old, and they sit close-to-hand along with my more modern books on electrical engineering. The mathematics book is a true gem.

[@OmegaZZ111]

There is not much on Steinmetz on KZbin, thanks for making such a great documentary about him. I really enjoyed watching this!

[@rickrys2729]

Fascinating history. Modern synchrophasors are a key understanding the state of the electric grid and used by energy management systems and real time contingency analysis (RTCA) systems that allows operators of modern electric grids to figure out the best response to faults. Great to see where this came from.

[@WJV9]

Great story Kathy, I love your videos with details of history that others often miss. I am an Electrical Engineer and I had thought that Tesla and Westinghouse invented 3 phase electrical systems, thanks for clearing up the history of 3 phase motor & transmission design. I knew that Steinmetz had developed phasor mathematics to simplify design of 3 phase circuits and was a genius in math and electrical design. I look forward to more videos in the future.

[@seanbryant2848]

Dear Kathy, I was born and raised in Schenectady, and lived there most of my life. Edison, and Steinmetz were my childhood heroes, and GE was a way of life for our family, as a great many in my family worked for GE all their lives. Also too, when you get around ti seeing this, if you would like, I have photographs of Charles Proteus Steinmetz's final resting place; he was buried in Schenectady's historic Vale Cemetery, next to his sister Clara M. Steinmetz. I used to walk through Vale Cemetery all the time when I lived in Schenectady. Thank you so much for this video! I look forward to the next installment, and also am looking forward to your book!

[@colleenforrest7936]

I just discovered this guy myself a few months ago. Where Einstein and Tesla came up with the theory, Steinmetz developed many of the things that made modern electronics practical.

[@erikziak1249]

Very good video. Looking forward to part 2.

[@sapper82]

Many years ago the Readers' Digest published an abridged biography of CP Steinmetz. It was VERY interesting.

[@jansugalski4856]

Hi Kathy. A brilliant video. I would like to tell you three "stories" about Steinmetz told to me by my Polish grandfather who lived on Eastern ave. in Schenectady. I grew up in the Schenectady area as a child. And was friends with the son of a chemistry professor at Union College. My grandfather used to sit out on his porch every day on Eastern Ave. and Steinmetz would stop by on his walk to work at GE and they would talk. Steinmetz knew Polish but I don't think my grandfather knew German. I know that they both had trouble learning English and this was one thing they often talked about. At this time my uncle Adam was a small boy and was a "runner" for the Schenectady Gazette . Runners had the job of delivering messages between employees at GE. One day the gazette decided to take a picture of all the GE engineers featuring Steinmetz , but as you might not know, Steinmetz was very self-conscious about his appearance. So just as the picture was about to be taken, my uncle ran in front of the group to deliver a message and Steinmetz pulled him in front to block himself and the picture was taken. This picture should exist in the archives of the Schenectady Gazette and for he past 60 yrears I have been thinking I should l locate it. Maybe you can find it. Here is a story not widely known but I heard it as a child from my father who was an engineer at GE from 1939 on. As you must know Steinmetz liked to smoke cigars at GE and work in his canoe floating on the Mohawk river. One day the management of GE decided there would be no more smoking in the GE buildings and posted signs everywhere. After this they began to notice that Steinmetz was not showing for work. Eventually an employee was sent to find Steinmetz and found him on the river. Steinmetz sent the employee back to GE with a note reading "No smoking, no Steinmetz". The smoking ban was immediately cancelled. You may also not know that the other engineers were very envious of Steinmetz's abilities. There is a story that they were working on a particularly difficult problem and were getting nowhere. They showed the problem to Steinmetz who did the mathematics in his head and solved the problem. My grandfather maintained that some of the engineers tried to take credit for Steinmetz's work. There is no doubt that Steinmetz made the greatest contributions in understanding the mathematics of alternating current, but is little known by the general population. FINALLY I would like to suggest you investigate another scientist/engineer at GE named Irving Langmuir. Keep up the good work!

[@jackrippah]

As usual, an outstanding presentation! Thank you

[@brucerosner3547]

It might not be obvious, but the AC calculation simplification comes from using the great mathematicians Euler's equation: e^i theta = cos theta + i sin theta. That conversion makes trigonometric calculations reduce to just addition and subtraction of exponents. In any case, a fascinating lecture about a great scientist/engineer. His bio and achievements should be taught in every STEM program.

[@pheenix42]

I remember in my hometown library finding a book on Steinmetz thinking 'hmm, interesting', and being very glad to find this video on him just a few days ago. Fascinating stuff!

[@patrickf.4440]

We have a public high school named after Steinmetz in Chicago, whose most famous graduate was Hugh Hefner. Go figure. Another really good video, by the way. Thanks, as always. Pat, in Chicago

[@opera5714]

A picture of Steinmetz and Einstein together has been on the wall of my office for more than 50 years.

[@in2minutesorless64]

Wow Kathy, that was wonderful! What an interesting man. I am so looking forward to part two! On a side note, I am looking into how Hermann von Helmholtz refined the law of conservation of energy and the mechanical equivalent of heat, which Mayer and Joule had already introduced. Wikipedia and every source I can find just say he did so, but none say WHAT HE DID. It would be great if you could also consider a biography of his life for a future video. Thanks a million.

[@david203]

The really deep result was the statistical understanding of temperature due to Boltzmann.

[@Gmacrone]

Fun fact, I did one of my senior research papers on him and had the pleasure of talking to his granddaughter. I am so glad you are doing these YT videos on him.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

Wow! We forget that it wasn’t that long ago that all this happened.

[@jafinch78]

Awesome info and detail as always! Thanks for sharing!

[@danpszeniczny9664]

This is awesome and inspiring Kathy! Thanks for this story. I had heard of CPS about 6 years ago and learned that this man was largely anonymous regarding his contribution to our current modern world. Every high school science and physics student should know this story. Fascinating!

[@noelcastle3986]

Wow well done looking forward to part 2.

[@noelcastle3986]

The evolution of ac frequencies is another interesting subject . Starting relatively high by power transmission standards initially but morphing into more usable standards . Low frequencies around 25htz was used to allow rotary converters (used to feed existing DC distrubtion networks and traction systems from AC ) operated at much slower speeds assisting commutation on the DC side and machine longevity. Low frequency AC however caused annoying flickering on incandescent lighting and was deemed no good for general supply involving lighting.. 50 htz in England and Europe and 60 htz in America became the best overall compromise frequency . Would like to read his papers of introduction of 60htz and his reasoning if it's not too full of complex mathematics.

[@jeffparisse4202]

Wow that was fun and explained a lot about the genesis of commercial power…! Love the blooper reel!

[@lourias]

Thank you for changing things up a bit. It is much more calm.

[@Nathanawesomeness]

This is Awesome! We just started AC and phasors this semester. Fascinating history, and delightfully told!

[@robertakerman3570]

U lucky dog. 3rd Millenium is so cool

[@littleshopofelectrons4014]

Very informative and engrossing. I really appreciate the use of original source documents. It must take a lot of work to find this material. I'm looking forward to Part 2. As a retired electrical engineer the thing that oddly intrigued me was the use of "j" instead of "i" to signify the imaginary component of a phasor. In engineering school we were told that originally it was "i" but later changed to "j" because "i" looked too much like "1". As it turns out it appears that "j", as specified by Steinmetz in one of your original source documents, was the original usage all along. Perhaps Steinmetz saw the potential for confusion and changed it himself from "i" to "j".

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

I had the exact same question and the exact same thought. Using j for imaginary always seemed weird to me but now it makes sense. Thanks Steinmetz

[@bobkitchin8346]

Great Video. One thing that's a little confusing to me is where Heaviside' introduction of imaginary numbers in circuit theory ends and Steinmetz's use of them in phasor's begins

[@TCPUDPATM]

I love that you work to set the records straight. Thank you!

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Jack D. Ripper is one of the characters in Kubrick's masterpiece "Dr Strangelove or How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb".

[@Richard.Atkinson]

Your channel is amazing.

[@michaelmounts1269]

l live your youtube channel…your enthusiasm seems genuine….and topics are always interesting

[@ergbudster3333]

My dad, who was an electronic expert, a lineman, and an electrician of top notch, told me about Steinmetz when I was about 12 or so and we were working on audio amplifiers based on his ideas during WW2 during the blitz in London. Thanks, Kathy, for this wonderful explication of the great electrician Steinmetz.

[@Mike80097]

Steinmetz lived here in Schenectady. My town is also famous for WGY and WRGB . thank you

[@fugguhber4699]

Proteus........ how fitting. Another great story, and a THUMBS UP

[@littleshopofelectrons4014]

Proteus ... my favorite middle name of all time.

[@TomKeithIreland]

Great work Kathy :)

[@davidjhyatt]

I really enjoy your channel!

[@JamesAllredWriter]

Once more a well researched and interesting telling of the hows and whys Of electric technology development. Well done,!

[@kelguy2002]

This Was ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL Thank You 👏👏👏 Kathy ☮️❤️🌍

[@michaelgibson1938]

Thank you for telling the interesting story of Steinmetz (I'm new to your vid pods). The history of science and how it evolves, the contribution to society -backed by a colorful personality, makes a great story. There are two other high level minds that most have never heard (early 20th century), Alfred Loomis and John Hammond. Both stories would be great for your content or a movie!

[@swamihuman9395]

- ANOTHER FANTASTIC VIDEO - as always :) - Having a formal education in electrical engineering, and being a self-taught math teacher (by nature/profession), and a lover of history, your subject matter, and presentation are richly appreciated. - Now, AS FOR QUATERNIONS, I've also been a 3D animator, where me initial exposure to quaternions arose (for rotations). And, I've heard that Maxwell's Equations were originally written in the form of quaternions - so, I was excited to get the details of exactly why/how... only to find I will have to wait for your next heroic effort! So, I await in giddy antici...pation :) ...

[@supermikeb]

You won't need to wait long. Quaternions were just revealed now for Patrions. They'll be out for the rest of us very soon.

[@Cotherman_Co]

epic work on this video.

[@juanesfp25]

Thank you so much for the amazing way you have found to tell this story about electricity. I think Steinmetz deserved more recognition for what he did in electrical engineering. Our professors did not tell so much about him, but now the technology with the internet possibilities and databases are together with your unique way to present all the very interesting facts.

[@rcytb]

Fascinating, elucidating and enjoyable! Thanks.

[@Taran72]

This video was awesome! I didn't know Steinmetz introduced phasors and about the different frequencies used. Other details were also very interesting, but these too gave me the "a-ha" moment :) Can't wait for the future videos!

[@williampowhida572]

Your hand motions are amazing.

[@X1Y0Z0]

Thanks for your understanding & presentations!❤️🙏🏽

[@lingarajpatnaik3870]

Kathy, Grateful!

[@NielMalan]

17:45 From the story I remember reading as a boy, GE wanted to headhunt Steinmetz, but he remained loyal to Eickemeyer and refused to resign. It was to get the genius of Steinmetz in their employ that they bought out Eickemeyer. This is probably an embroidery, but it's a nice story.

[@Kathy_Loves_Physics]

I read that too but it turned out to be a made up story because they really pursued Eickemeyer. But it became part of the GE myth around Steinmetz.

[@martinpollard8846]

always good to hear about the unsung, great part 1 presentation, thanks

[@Pike737]

Great content as usual!

[@Javaman92]

Wow, this was amazing! What a great channel!!! :-D

[@alastairchestnutt6416]

Another great presentation. Thanks. Now to watch it a second time.

[@prestonburton8504]

Awesome story! In my junior year in EE school i did a paper on him. No one had heard of him. He was almost rejected as an immigrant because of his physical handicap and inability to do physical labor, which at the time was more important than intellectual ability (if i remember correctly -its been a long, long time lol)

[@rscotthudson1959]

These lectures are outstanding!

[@TexRenner]

Thanks, Kathy!