
Charles Proteus Steinmetz, the Wizard of Schenectady - mpweiher
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charles-proteus-steinmetz-the-wizard-of-schenectady-51912022/?no-ist
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bluetwo
A little trivia for those of you who give your zip code to retailers as
"12345"\--- this zip code is used for Schenectady, New York.

~~~
ltnately
A friend of mine while we were in school (RPI) interned at GE and apparently
they receive tons of letters each Christmas sent to Santa which have 12345 as
the zip that GE staff volunteer to reply to.

[https://dailygazette.com/galleries/2014/12/09/ge-answers-
san...](https://dailygazette.com/galleries/2014/12/09/ge-answers-santa-
letters)

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billforsternz
Well over 30 years ago one of the first things I learned in my EE degree was
Steinmetz's method for calculating steady state amplitude and phase in AC
networks comprising generators, resistors, capacitors and inductors. He worked
out a transformation that lets you use simply solve a set of simultaneous
equations, in exactly the same way as simpler DC networks with only batteries
and resistors. The only extra price you pay is that the equations use complex
numbers instead of real numbers. It really seemed like magic to me. Sadly a
career in software has gradually worn down the motivation I once felt to
revisit some of the really beautiful ideas underpinning technology, with the
idea of getting a better understanding the second time through.

~~~
dungle6
Well the actual transform is due to LaPlace. Steinmetz didn't really work out
any new math but he certainly pushed it's practical application forward.

For better or worse most engineering students learn it as a Laplace transform
with very little mention of Steinmetz.

~~~
billforsternz
In my courses we were taught the Laplace transform as part of analog control
theory. It was clear that the Fourier transform was related, but it was taught
completely independently in signals theory. Meanwhile I didn't know the
Steinmetz impedance concept as (I understood it) was related to the Laplace
transform, but it absolutely doesn't surprise me. I had a sense that all these
things, things I'd really like to go back and learn properly, were deeply
interrelated. I was sure they could best be presented to students through some
kind of integrated and harmonious approach rather than the haphazard let-me-
present-my-approach-to-one-aspect-as-if-it's-self-contained-when-really-
it's-just-one-piece-of-a-bigger-puzzle approach the instructors (and
textbooks) took.

I wonder if the teaching of fundamental electrical engineering concepts has
improved on average since the early 80s?

Edit: typo

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evanspa
Really fun to read. I grew up in Schenectady, played Schenectady youth hockey
and later got a job with GE in downtown Schenectady. It was there I started
using Java (v1.0.2) building rich client apps using AWT (Swing didn't exist
yet). One app was for building a pricing engine for steam turbines. Good
memories.

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madengr
Nice article. I used the "$9,999 on where to put it" for years; didn't know it
was Steinmetz. After reading biographies on Tesla and Heaviside, I suppose
Steinmetz is next on my list.

~~~
__s
It's an urban myth.
[http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/where.asp](http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/where.asp)

~~~
telchar
I don't see any claim in that article that this is a myth. They merely discuss
variants of the story. Fwiw, I have heard Steinmetz as the origin of this, a
possibility they discuss in the article without explicitly confirming or
refuting it.

