Carl Hering (

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 19 March 1860 – 10 May 1926) was an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

involved in studies on

electric batteries An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negati ...

and electric furnaces. He also made discoveries on

electromagnetic force In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of ...

Biography

He was one of the sons of

Constantine Hering Constantine J. Hering (January 1, 1800 – July 23, 1880) was a physician who was an early pioneer of homeopathy in the United States. Biography Hering was born in Oschatz, and studied medicine at the University of Leipzig where his interest ...

, pioneer of

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...

in the United States. He studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in Philadelphia, where he earned his

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1880 and then stayed on to teach mathematics and mechanical engineering. In 1883 he began his studies in electrical engineering as Erasmus Kittler's first assistant at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of TU Darmstadt,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where the first chair of electrical engineering had been created the year before. Upon his return to Philadelphia in 1886, he founded a consulting firm which he continued until his death, specializing in work on electric furnaces and

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...

electrochemical Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...

and electrophysical processes. In 1887 he obtained his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

also at the University of Philadelphia. In 1889 he participated in the World Exposition in Paris on behalf of the American government and around 1890 he studied the possibility of making electric batteries, obtaining several patents on the subject. In 1902, together with E. F. Roeber, C. J. Reed, and J. W. Richards, he founded the American Electrochemical Society of which he was president from 1906 to 1907. He was appointed officer of Public Education by the

French government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

in 1889 and decorated a Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1891. In 1908 Carl Hering developed an experiment on

electromagnetic induction Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force (emf) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1831, and James Clerk ...

to study its fundamental laws, an experiment similar to later Blondel's experiments.

Honors and awards

* 1891: Knight of the Order of the

Bibliography

* * * Hartmut Grabinski: ''Der Heringsche Versuch: Mythen und Fakten (1908).'' In: Electrical engineering 1997, Band 80, Nr. 5, S. 285–290,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hering, Carl 1860 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American engineers 20th-century American engineers American electrical engineers Scientists from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni American consultants Knights of the Legion of Honour

Biography

Honors and awards

Bibliography

See also

References