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Schenectady County Historical Society (Grems-Doolittle Library), 2026-10-08

Finding aid: "Charles Steinmetz Papers Finding Aid", Chris Hunter, archivist, updated 16 Nov 2017, 15 cubic feet. [web: https://schenectadyhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Steinmetz-Papers-updated-11-16-17.pdf; copy in research/files/schenectady-historical-steinmetz-papers-finding-aid-2017.pdf]. Address on the finding aid: 32 Washington Ave., Schenectady, NY 12305. Found by Google search (query in sites.md).

Scope [web]

"correspondence, research notes, drawings, blueprints, and graphs from Charles Steinmetz's research at Eickemeyer's and General Electric. Typed manuscripts of Steinmetz's books and articles. Steinmetz's research notebooks." Letterbooks 1907-1916 (24 volumes, partly indexed in the 1980s). Patent binder (over 200 patents).

Items that bear on the claims (unexamined primary records) [web, finding aid]

  • Series 3 no. 7: "Transient Phenomenon, Record sheets and diagrams, Chapters I-IX" (manuscript material for the Transient book).
  • Series 3 no. 53: "The Nature of Transients in Electrical Engineering", paper for the International Electrical Congress at Turin (typed, with corrections and shorthand). [Turin congress 1911, memory medium]
  • Series 3 no. 74: "Transformer Investigations", September 1912, typed with figures, sketches and graphs (claim 4: cumulative oscillation in transformers was the stated reason for the 1914 chapter).
  • Series 3 no. 75: "Transient of Simple Circuit Containing A Resistance Varying with the Current (Condenser Discharge Through a Gas Circuit)", December 1921 (published 1922 J. AIEE).
  • Series 3 no. 81: "The Energy-function of the Magnetic Circuit", Science, 1892.
  • Box 5 no. 21 (1910-1912): card of 16 March 1909 on "time lag tests of disruptive discharge"; notebook "Lite Tests - Corona on Armature Coils", 1912 (claim 6).
  • Box 5 no. 22 (1912): list of things to do including "tests on titanium and carbind" [sic], lamp-test notebook, "Flamer tests". Possibly related to the titanium-carbon arc of Discharges Fig. 66 (claim 2). Unconfirmed.
  • Box 5 no. 23 (1913): E. E. F. Creighton report "The Multi-Recorder".
  • Box 5 no. 29 (1921): "Disruptive strength of air versus oil with permanent versus transient voltages"; "Lightning protection of distribution transformers" (4 April 1921); calculations of lightning arresters (19 March 1921).
  • Box 5 no. 30 (1922): breakdown across small gaps (molybdenum spheres, DC and AC, with data); "Nernst glower as oscillator - calculations"; "Frequency transformation by third class conductor, with calculations, tables, graphs, and shorthand, March 23, 1922"; "Theory of dielectric strength of air as ionic conduction", 2 Sept 1922; "Dielectric strength of air theoretical", 16 Sept 1922.
  • Box 5 no. 31 (1923): "Overdamped condenser oscillations, calculations, tables, graphs, May 1923"; "Nernst glower as oscillator on direct current, calculations, June 1923"; "Time lag, tables, graphs, 1923"; two graphs by Edith Clarke.

Bearing

The working calculations behind the 1923 negative-resistance paper (claim 2) and data on breakdown of air (claim 6) exist as unpublished primary records. They are the records that would show whether Steinmetz measured the arc's energy supply (loop or negative slope) himself. On-site visit or a reproduction request to SCHS would be needed (owner action).

Result: positive (finding aid only; records not seen).