Carl Hering (

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

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 nega ...

and electric furnaces. He also made discoveries on

electromagnetic force In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interac ...

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 i ...

, a 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 or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

in the United States. He studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in Philadelphia, where he earned his

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

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 Tu or TU may refer to: Language * Tu language * Tu (cuneiform), a cuneiform sign * ''tu'' or ''tú'' the 2nd-person singular subject pronoun in many languages; see personal pronoun * T–V distinction (from the Latin pronouns ''tu'' and ''vos'') ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 that he continued until his death, specializing in work on electric furnaces and

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

electrochemical Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve electrons moving via an electronically conducting phase (typi ...

and electrophysical processes. In 1887, he obtained his

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, of which he was president from 1906 to 1907. He was appointed officer of Public Education by the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

in 1889 and decorated a Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in 1891. In 1908, Carl Hering developed an experiment on

electromagnetic induction Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force, electromotive force (emf) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1 ...

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