International Electrical Congress

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The International Electrical Congress was a series of international meetings, from 1881 to 1904, in the then new field of applied electricity. The first meeting was initiated by the French government, including official national representatives, leading scientists, and others. Subsequent meetings also included official representatives, leading scientists, and others. Primary aims were to develop reliable standards, both in relation to electrical units and electrical apparatus.

Contents

Historical background

In 1881, both within and across countries, different electrical units were being used. There were at least 12 different units of electromotive force, 10 different units of electric current and 15 different units of resistance. [1]

A number of international Congresses were held, and sometimes referred to as International Electrical Congress, Electrical Conference, and similar variations. Secondary sources make different judgments about how to classify the Congresses. In this article, the Congresses with representatives from national governments are identified as International Electrical Congress. Other Congresses — often addressing the same issues — are identified here as Concurrent Related International Electrical Congresses. Some of these related conferences were devoted to preparing for an International Electrical Congress.

In 1906 the International Electrotechnical Commission was created. [2] Congresses were organised under its auspices were also sometimes referred to as International Electrical Congress. In this article, Congresses organized by the Commission are listed under International Electrotechnical Congresses, while other related Congresses are listed under Related International Electrotechnical Conferences.

International Electrical Congress

Source: [3]

1881 in Paris

Held from 15 September-5 October 1881, in connection with the International Exposition of Electricity. Adolphe Cochery, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs of the French Government, was the Chairman. [1] At the Congress, William Thomson (United Kingdom), Hermann von Helmholtz (Germany), and Gilbert Govi  [ it ] (Italy) were elected as foreign vice-presidents. [4] About 200-250 persons participated, [4] and a proceedings was published in 1882. [5] Notable participants included: Helmholtz, Clausius, Kirchhoff, Werner Siemens, Ernst Mach, Rayleigh, and Lenz, among others. [6]

Important events

The three main topics for the Congress were: electrical units, improvements in international telegraphy, and various applications of electricity. [4] The Congress resolved to endorse the 1873 British Association for the Advancement of Science proposal [7] for defining the ohm and the volt as practical units, [8] and also made resolutions to define ampere, coulomb and farad, [3] as units for current, quantity, and capacity respectively, to complete the practical system. [8] It also resolved that an international committee should conduct new tests to determine the length of the column of mercury for measuring the ohm.

1893 in Chicago

Held from 21 to 25 August, in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition, with almost 500 participants. [9] Elisha Gray was the Congress president. A proceedings was published. [10]

Refinements to the units of measurement, including the Clark cell, were discussed. [11] Laid down rules for the physical representation: ohm, ampere and volt. Ohm and ampere were defined in terms of the CGS electromagnetic system. [3] The units were named international to distinguish them from the 1881 proposal, hence International System of Electrical and Magnetic Units.[ citation needed ]

1900 in Paris

Held in 18–25 August in connection with the Paris Exposition Universelle. Éleuthère Mascart was the congress president. There were more than 900 participants, about half of which were from France, and about 120 technical papers presented. [12] A two-volume proceedings was published in 1901 [13]

Dealt mainly with magnetic units. [3] During this congress, names were proposed for four magnetic-circuit units in the C.G.S. System. Only two were accepted by vote: the C.G.S. unit for magnetic flux ( Φ) was named maxwell and C.G.S. unit of magnetising force (or magnetic field intensity) was named gauss (H). [14] Some delegates mistakenly believed and reported that the gauss was adopted as the C.G.S. unit of flux density (B). [14] This mistake has been reproduced in contemporary texts, [12] which have cited a mistaken report. [15] It is relevant to note that the Congress's official formulation for the gauss was in French, champ magnetique, [16] which would be translated into English as magnetic field, which has been used to refer both to (B) and (H), noted in magnetic field. In 1930 the International Electrotechnical Commission decided that the magnetic field strength (H) was different from the magnetic flux density (B), but now assigned the gauss to refer to magnetic flux density (B), in contrast to the decision from this Congress. [17]

1904 in St.Louis, Missouri

Held from 12 to 17 September 1904, in connection with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition [18] [19]

Recommended two permanent international commissions, one about electrical units and standards, the other about unification of nomenclature and characteristics of electrical machines and apparatus. [3] These recommendations are considered the seed that initiated the creation of the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1906. [20]

During the period that the Electrical Congresses were held, other conferences and international Congresses were held, sometimes in preparation to the official Electrical Congresses. These events are listed here.

1882 in Paris

Conférence international pour la détermination des unités électriques (International Conference for Determination of Electrical Units)

Held 16–26 October. Was motivated by a resolution from the 1881 International Electrical Congress. A verbal transcript of the conference was published. [21]

1884 in Paris

International Conference for Determination of Electrical Units

1889 in Paris

International Congress of Electricians Held 24–31 August, in connection with Exposition universelle de 1889. About 530 participants from at least 11 countries.

Adopted several units, including practical units of power (watt) and work (joule), [22] [23] where 1 watt = 107 erg/second, and 1 joule = 107 erg. [24] Considered practical magnetic units, but did not make any resolutions or recommendations. [14]

1891 in Frankfurt

Held 7–12 September, [25] in connection with the International Electrotechnical Exhibition [23] (Die Internationale Elektrotechnische Ausstellung 1891), organized by Elektrotechnische Gesellschaft. [4] Galileo Ferraris was a vice-president at the conference. [26] There were 715 participants (473 from Germany and 243 from other countries, including Austria, United Kingdom, USA, and France). [27] An official report of the conference was published. [28]

Papers and discussions were organised in five main areas: Theory and Measuring Science; Strong Current Technology; Signalling, Telegraphy, and Telephony; Electrochemistry and Electric Current Applications; and Legislation to Mediate Conflicts between Cities around different currents used for electric lights, telephones, and telegraphs. [27] [29]

1892 in Edinburgh

Held in connection with the British Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting [23] [30]

1896 in Geneva

Held 4–9 August, in connection with the Swiss National Exposition  [ de ]. Insufficient and late communication about the organization of the Congress hampered widespread participation, so that the conference had about 200 participants, mostly from Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Belgium. [31]

Topics for discussion were magnetic units, photometric units, the long-distance transmission of power, the protection of high-tension lines against atmospheric discharge, and the problems and challenges of electric railway operation. [31]

International Electrotechnical Congress

1908 in London

International Conference on Electric Units and Standards. Held in October. Organized by the Commission on Electric Units and Standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission [20]

Formal adoption of the "international units" (e.g., international ohm, international ampere), which were proposed originally in the 1893 meeting of the International Electrical Congress in Chicago. [32]

1911 in Turin

Held 10–17 September, organized by Associazione elettrotecnica italiana  [ it ] and the Italian Electrotechnical Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission [33]

1915 in San Francisco

Was to be held 13–18 September, and organized by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, [34] but was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I. [35]

1905 in Berlin

Internationale Konferenz über Elektrische Masseinheiten (International Conference on Electrical Units)

Held 23–25 October at Physikalisch-Technischen Reichsanstalt at Charlottenburg. The 1904 Congress recommended holding an international conference to address discrepancies in the electrical units and their interpretation. Emil Warburg, president of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt in Germany, invited representatives from corresponding national laboratories in the United States (National Bureau of Standards), the United Kingdom (National Physical Laboratory), and the official standards commissions in Austria and Belgium to an informal conference on electrical standards and units. [36] Additionally Mascart (France), Rayleigh (United Kingdom) and Carhart (USA) were invited because of their expertise and influence. [36] Thirteen of the fifteen invited persons participated in the conference, six from the Reichsanstalt, two from the Belgian Commission on Electrical Units, two from the Austrian Commission on Standardization, Richard Glazebrook from the National Physical Laboratory, Mascart, and Carhart. The non-attendees were Samuel Wesley Stratton, director of the National Bureau of Standard, who sent three papers outlining the positions and proposals of the Bureau, and Rayleigh. [37] A proceedings was published. [38]

Concentrated on the redefinition of the ohm, ampere, and volt, as resolved in the 1904 Congress. The aim was to attain true international uniformity in definitions of these concepts. [39] The main question was whether ohm, ampere, and volt should be independent of each other, or only two should be defined, and which two. [40] The conference concluded that only two electrical units should be taken as fundamental: the international ohm and the international ampere. [40] It also adopted the Western Cadmium Cell as the standard cell, [40] and added rules about the preparation and use of the mercury tube, whose geometry was specified at the 1893 Congress. [41] The conference resolved that another international conference in the course of a year should be held to establish an agreement about the electric standards in use, because different countries had different laws about electrical units. [40]

1908 in Marseille

Held 14–19 September, in connection with the L'exposition internationale des applications de l'électricité. [33] A three-volume proceedings was published. [42]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ampere</span> SI base unit of electric current

The ampere, often shortened to amp, is the unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI). One ampere is equal to 1 coulomb (C) moving past a point per second. It is named after French mathematician and physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), considered the father of electromagnetism along with Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted.

The centimetre–gram–second system of units is a variant of the metric system based on the centimetre as the unit of length, the gram as the unit of mass, and the second as the unit of time. All CGS mechanical units are unambiguously derived from these three base units, but there are several different ways in which the CGS system was extended to cover electromagnetism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Electrotechnical Commission</span> International standards organization

The International Electrotechnical Commission is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology". IEC standards cover a vast range of technologies from power generation, transmission and distribution to home appliances and office equipment, semiconductors, fibre optics, batteries, solar energy, nanotechnology and marine energy as well as many others. The IEC also manages four global conformity assessment systems that certify whether equipment, system or components conform to its international standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joule</span> SI unit of energy

The joule is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of one newton displaces a mass through a distance of one metre in the direction of that force. It is also the energy dissipated as heat when an electric current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second. It is named after the English physicist James Prescott Joule (1818–1889).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volt</span> SI derived unit of voltage

The volt is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metric system</span> Metre-based systems of measurement

The metric system is a decimal-based system of measurement. The current international standard for the metric system is the International System of Units, in which all units can be expressed in terms of seven base units: the metre (m), kilogram (kg), second (s), ampere (A), kelvin (K), mole (mol), and candela (cd). These can be made into larger or smaller units with the use of metric prefixes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coulomb</span> SI derived unit of electric charge

The coulomb (symbol: C) is the unit of electric charge in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the electric charge delivered by a 1 ampere current in 1 second and is defined in terms of the elementary charge e, at about 6.241509×1018 e.

The oersted is the coherent derived unit of the auxiliary magnetic field H in the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). It is equivalent to 1 dyne per maxwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farad</span> SI unit of electric capacitance

The farad (symbol: F) is the unit of electrical capacitance, the ability of a body to store an electrical charge, in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to 1 coulomb per volt (C/V). It is named after the English physicist Michael Faraday (1791–1867). In SI base units 1 F = 1 kg−1⋅m−2⋅s4⋅A2.

The maxwell is the CGS (centimetre–gram–second) unit of magnetic flux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetomotive force</span> Concept in physics

In physics, the magnetomotive force is a quantity appearing in the equation for the magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit, Hopkinson's law. It is the property of certain substances or phenomena that give rise to magnetic fields: where Φ is the magnetic flux and is the reluctance of the circuit. It can be seen that the magnetomotive force plays a role in this equation analogous to the voltage V in Ohm's law, V = IR, since it is the cause of magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit:

  1. where N is the number of turns in a coil and I is the electric current through the coil.
  2. where Φ is the magnetic flux and is the magnetic reluctance
  3. where H is the magnetizing force and L is the mean length of a solenoid or the circumference of a toroid.

In physics, the weber is the unit of magnetic flux in the International System of Units (SI). The unit is derived from the relationship 1 Wb = 1 V⋅s (volt-second). A magnetic flux density of 1 Wb/m2 is one tesla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Giorgi</span> Italian physicist and engineer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohm</span> SI derived unit of electrical resistance

The ohm is the unit of electrical resistance in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after German physicist Georg Ohm. Various empirically derived standard units for electrical resistance were developed in connection with early telegraphy practice, and the British Association for the Advancement of Science proposed a unit derived from existing units of mass, length and time, and of a convenient scale for practical work as early as 1861.

The vacuum magnetic permeability is the magnetic permeability in a classical vacuum. It is a physical constant, conventionally written as μ0. It quantifies the strength of the magnetic field induced by an electric current. Expressed in terms of SI base units, it has the unit kg⋅m⋅s−2·A−2. It can be also expressed in terms of SI derived units, N·A−2.

The abohm is the derived unit of electrical resistance in the emu-cgs (centimeter-gram-second) system of units. One abohm corresponds to 10−9 ohms in the SI system of units, which is a nanoohm.

The metre, kilogram, second system of units, also known more briefly as MKS units or the MKS system, is a physical system of measurement based on the metre, kilogram, and second (MKS) as base units. Distances are described in terms of metres, mass in terms of kilograms and time in seconds. Derived units are defined using the appropriate combinations, such as velocity in metres per second. Some units have their own names, such as the newton unit of force which is the combination kilogram metre per second squared.

The International System of Electrical and Magnetic Units is an obsolete system of units used for measuring electrical and magnetic quantities. It was proposed as a system of practical international units by unanimous recommendation at the International Electrical Congress, discussed at other Congresses, and finally adopted at the International Conference on Electric Units and Standards in London in 1908. It was rendered obsolete by the inclusion of electromagnetic units in the International System of Units (SI) at the 9th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Exposition of Electricity</span> Worlds fair held in Paris, France, in 1881

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the metric system</span>

The history of the metric system began during the Age of Enlightenment with measures of length and weight derived from nature, along with their decimal multiples and fractions. The system became the standard of France and Europe within half a century. Other measures with unity ratios were added, and the system went on to be adopted across the world.

References

  1. 1 2 Petley, B.W. (1994–95). "A Brief History of the Electrical Units to 1964" . Metrologia. 31: 483.
  2. ↑ "Overview: Summary". IEC History. International Electrotechnical Commission. Archived from the original on 2018-04-24. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Historical background". International Electrotechnical Commission . Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley.p. 77
  5. ↑ Congrès International des électriciens, Paris 1881. Paris: G. Masson. 1882. (in French)
  6. ↑ Tunbridge, P. (1992). Lord Kelvin: His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. Peter Peregrinus: London. p. 34. ISBN   978-0-86341-237-0.
  7. ↑ First Report of the Committee for the Selection and Nomenclature of Dynamical and Electrical Units. Forty-third Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. London: John Murray. 1874. p. 223. Retrieved 8 April 2018. (Committee members: Professor Joseph David Everett (reporter), Sir W Thomson, Professor GC Foster, Professor JC Maxwell, Mr GJ Stoney, Professor Flemming Jenkin, Dr. CW Siemens, Mr FJ Bramwell)
  8. 1 2 Tunbridge, P. (1992). Lord Kelvin: His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. Peter Peregrinus: London. pp. 35–39. ISBN   978-0-86341-237-0.
  9. ↑ Martin, T.C. (1894). "History of the Congress". Proceedings of the International Electrical Congress held in the City of Chicago August 21st to 25th, 1893. New York: American Institute of Electrical Engineers. p. xxii.
  10. ↑ Proceedings of the International Electrical Congress. New York: American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 1894.
  11. ↑ Carhart, H.S. (18 Oct 1895). "Proceedings of the International Electrical Congress, Chicago, 1893 [review]". Science. 2 (42): 525–526. Bibcode:1895Sci.....2..525C. doi:10.1126/science.2.42.525.
  12. 1 2 Tunbridge, P. (1992). Lord Kelvin: His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. Peter Peregrinus: London. p. 46. ISBN   978-0-86341-237-0.
  13. ↑ Congrès International d'électricité (in French). Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1901.
  14. 1 2 3 Kennelly, Arthur E. (1933). "Conference of the Symbols, Units and Nomenclature (S. U. N.) Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (I. P. U.), at Paris, in July, 1932, and Its Results". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 19 (1): 144–149. Bibcode:1933PNAS...19..144K. doi: 10.1073/pnas.19.1.144 . JSTOR   85786. PMC   1085894 . PMID   16587728.
  15. ↑ Kennelly, Arthur E. (5 March 1904). "A historical sketch of International Electrical Congresses". Electrical World and Engineer. Vol. 43. p. 468. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Rapport de la Commission des Unités". Congrès International d'électricité (in French). Paris: Paris, Gauthier-Villars. 1901. p. 384.
  17. ↑ Kennelly, Arthur E. (1933). "Conference of the Symbols, Units and Nomenclature (S. U. N.) Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (I. P. U.), at Paris, in July, 1932, and Its Results". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 19 (1): 144–9. Bibcode:1933PNAS...19..144K. doi: 10.1073/pnas.19.1.144 . JSTOR   85786. PMC   1085894 . PMID   16587728.
  18. ↑ "The International Electrical Congress". Science. 20 (500): 156–157. 29 Jul 1904. Bibcode:1904Sci....20..156.. doi:10.1126/science.20.500.156. PMID   17740824.
  19. ↑ Transactions of the Transactions of the International Electrical Congress, St. Louis, 1904. Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon. 1905.
  20. 1 2 "Founding of the IEC". International Electrotechnical Commission . Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  21. ↑ Ministère des Affaires Étrangères (1882). Conférence international pour la détermination des unités électriques. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. Retrieved 17 April 2018. (in French).
  22. ↑ "Congress". Report of the United States Commissioners to the Universal Exposition of 1889 at Paris. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. 1891. pp. 18–20. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 Tunbridge, P. (1992). Lord Kelvin: His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. Peter Peregrinus: London. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-86341-237-0.
  24. ↑ Jayson, J.S. (2015). "The Daniell Cell, Ohm's Law and the Emergence of the International System of Units". American Journal of Physics. 82 (1): 63. arXiv: 1512.07306 . Bibcode:2014AmJPh..82...60J. doi:10.1119/1.4826445. S2CID   119278961.
  25. ↑ Hering, Carl (1891). "Report of the delegation to the Frankfort electrical Congress". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 8: 544–547. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1891.5570160. S2CID   51638823.
  26. ↑ Bracco, Christian (2014). "Einstein and Besso: From Zürich to Milano". p. 8. arXiv: 1412.6981 [physics.hist-ph].
  27. 1 2 Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley. p. 134
  28. ↑ International Elektrotechniker-Congress. Bericht uber die Verbandlungen der Hauptversammlungen. Frankfurt am Main: Johannes Alt, 1892.
  29. ↑ "Table of Contents of papers presented in the sections" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  30. ↑ "System of measurement units". Engineering and Technology History Wiki. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  31. 1 2 Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley. pp. 198–200.
  32. ↑ Fleming, John Ambrose (1911). "Units, Physical"  . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 738–745, see page 742. An Electrical Congress was held in Chicago, U.S.A. in August 1893, to consider....after deliberation for six days, was a unanimous agreement to recommend the following resolutions as the definition of practical international units...
  33. 1 2 "The International Electrotechnical Congress of Turin". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 30 (3): 2519–2533. 1911. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1911.4768387.
  34. ↑ "International Electrical Congress, San Francisco, 1915". Proceedings of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 33 (7): 216–217. 1914. doi: 10.1109/PAIEE.1914.6660692 .
  35. ↑ Tunbridge, P. (1992). Lord Kelvin: His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. Peter Peregrinus: London. p. 53. ISBN   978-0-86341-237-0.
  36. 1 2 Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley.pp. 243-244
  37. ↑ Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley.p. 245
  38. ↑ Internationale Konferenz über Elektrische Masseinheiten (1906). Verhandlungen der Internationalen konferenz über elektrische masseinheiten abgehalten in der Physikalischtechnischen reichsanstalt zu Charlottenburg vom 23. bis 25. oktober 1905. Reichsdruckerei. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  39. ↑ Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley.p. 351
  40. 1 2 3 4 Tunbridge, P. (1992). Lord Kelvin: His Influence on Electrical Measurements and Units. Peter Peregrinus: London. pp. 49–51. ISBN   978-0-86341-237-0.
  41. ↑ Lagerstrom, L.R. (1992). Constructing uniformity: The standardization of international electromagnetic measures, 1860-1912 (doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley.p. 247
  42. ↑ Congrès international des applications de l'électricité Marseille (3 vol.) (in French). Paris: Gauthier-Villars. 1909.
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