John Hopkinson
Encyclopedia
John Hopkinson, FRS, was a British
physicist
, electrical engineer
, Fellow of the Royal Society and President of the IEE (now the IET)
twice in 1890 and 1896. He invented the three-wire (three-phase
) system for the distribution of electrical power, for which he was granted a patent
in 1882. He also worked in many areas of electromagnetism
and electrostatics
, and in 1890 was appointed professor of electrical engineering
at King's College London
, where he was also director of the Siemens Laboratory.
Hopkinson's law, the magnetic counterpart to Ohm's law
, is named after him.
, the eldest of 13 children. His father, also called John, was a mechanical engineer. He was educated at Queenwood School in Hampshire and Owens College in Manchester. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1867 and graduated in 1871 as Senior Wrangler, having placed first in the demanding Cambridge Mathematical Tripos
examination. During this time he also studied for and passed the examination for a BSc
from the University of London
. Hopkinson could have followed a purely academic career but instead chose engineering as his vocation.
After working first in his father's engineering works, Hopkinson took a position in 1872 as an engineering manager in the lighthouse
engineering department of Chance Brothers and Company
in Smethwick
. In 1877 Hopkinson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his application of Maxwell
's theory of electromagnetism
to problems of electrostatic capacity and residual charge. In 1878 he moved to London
to work as a consulting engineer, focusing particularly on developing his ideas about how to improve the design and efficiency of dynamo
s. Hopkinson's most important contribution was his three-wire distribution system, patented in 1882. In 1883 Hopkinson showed mathematically that it was possible to connect two alternating current dynamos in parallel-—a problem that had long bedevilled electrical engineers.
Hopkinson twice held the office of President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. During his second term, Hopkinson proposed that the Institution should make available the technical knowledge of electrical engineers for the defence of the country. In 1897 the Volunteer Corps of Electrical Engineers was formed and Hopkinson became major in command of the corps.
, in the Pennine Alps
, Switzerland
.
As a memorial to John Hopkinson and his son, the 1899 extension to the Engineering Laboratory in the New Museums Site
of University of Cambridge
was named after him. A plaque commemorating this is fixed to the wall in Free School Lane
. The Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professorship of Applied Thermodynamics
is named in his honour.
At the Victoria University of Manchester
the Electro-technical Laboratory (1912) in Coupland Street was named after him.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, electrical engineer
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, Fellow of the Royal Society and President of the IEE (now the IET)
Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institution of Electrical Engineers was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. The I.E.E...
twice in 1890 and 1896. He invented the three-wire (three-phase
Three-phase
In electrical engineering, three-phase electric power systems have at least three conductors carrying voltage waveforms that are radians offset in time...
) system for the distribution of electrical power, for which he was granted a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
in 1882. He also worked in many areas of electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
and electrostatics
Electrostatics
Electrostatics is the branch of physics that deals with the phenomena and properties of stationary or slow-moving electric charges....
, and in 1890 was appointed professor of electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, where he was also director of the Siemens Laboratory.
Hopkinson's law, the magnetic counterpart to Ohm's law
Ohm's law
Ohm's law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the potential difference across the two points...
, is named after him.
Life and career
John Hopkinson was born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, the eldest of 13 children. His father, also called John, was a mechanical engineer. He was educated at Queenwood School in Hampshire and Owens College in Manchester. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1867 and graduated in 1871 as Senior Wrangler, having placed first in the demanding Cambridge Mathematical Tripos
Cambridge Mathematical Tripos
The Mathematical Tripos is the taught mathematics course at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos that is examined in Cambridge.-Origin:...
examination. During this time he also studied for and passed the examination for a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Hopkinson could have followed a purely academic career but instead chose engineering as his vocation.
After working first in his father's engineering works, Hopkinson took a position in 1872 as an engineering manager in the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
engineering department of Chance Brothers and Company
Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands , in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology....
in Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
. In 1877 Hopkinson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his application of Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
's theory of electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
to problems of electrostatic capacity and residual charge. In 1878 he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to work as a consulting engineer, focusing particularly on developing his ideas about how to improve the design and efficiency of dynamo
Dynamo
- Engineering :* Dynamo, a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator* Dynamo theory, a theory relating to magnetic fields of celestial bodies* Solar dynamo, the physical process that generates the Sun's magnetic field- Software :...
s. Hopkinson's most important contribution was his three-wire distribution system, patented in 1882. In 1883 Hopkinson showed mathematically that it was possible to connect two alternating current dynamos in parallel-—a problem that had long bedevilled electrical engineers.
Hopkinson twice held the office of President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. During his second term, Hopkinson proposed that the Institution should make available the technical knowledge of electrical engineers for the defence of the country. In 1897 the Volunteer Corps of Electrical Engineers was formed and Hopkinson became major in command of the corps.
Personal life and legacy
Hopkinson and three of his children, John Gustave, Alice and Lina Evelyn, were killed in 1898 in a mountaineering accident on the Petite Dent de Veisivi, Val d'HerensVal d'Hérens
Val d'Hérens is an alpine valley in the Valais canton of Switzerland. It was formed by the Hérens glacier, which retreated at the end of the last ice age....
, in the Pennine Alps
Pennine Alps
The Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
As a memorial to John Hopkinson and his son, the 1899 extension to the Engineering Laboratory in the New Museums Site
New Museums Site
The New Museums Site is a major site of the University of Cambridge, located in the centre of the city, on Pembroke Street and Free School Lane, sandwiched between Corpus Christi College, Pembroke College and the Lion Yard. Its postcode is CB2 3QH...
of University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
was named after him. A plaque commemorating this is fixed to the wall in Free School Lane
Free School Lane
Free School Lane is in the centre of the City of Cambridge, England. It is the location of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science the University's faculty of Social and Political Sciences, and is the original site of the Cavendish...
. The Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professorship of Applied Thermodynamics
Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professor of Applied Thermodynamics
The Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professorship of Applied Thermodynamics at the University of Cambridge was established on 10 February 1950, largely from the endowment fund of the proposed Hopkinson Professorship in Thermodynamics and a gift from ICI Limited of £50,000, less tax,...
is named in his honour.
At the Victoria University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
the Electro-technical Laboratory (1912) in Coupland Street was named after him.
See also
- Electric motorElectric motorAn electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
- Three-phase electric powerThree-phase electric powerThree-phase electric power is a common method of alternating-current electric power generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system and is the most common method used by grids worldwide to transfer power. It is also used to power large motors and other heavy loads...
- Polyphase systemPolyphase systemA polyphase system is a means of distributing alternating current electrical power. Polyphase systems have three or more energized electrical conductors carrying alternating currents with a definite time offset between the voltage waves in each conductor. Polyphase systems are particularly useful...
- Bertram HopkinsonBertram HopkinsonBertram Hopkinson, CMG, FRS, was a patent lawyer and Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge University. In this position he researched flames, explosions and metallurgy and became a pioneer designer of the internal combustion engine.Hopkinson was born in Birmingham, in 1874, the...
, his son - Alfred HopkinsonAlfred HopkinsonSir Alfred Hopkinson was an English lawyer, academic and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for two three-year periods, separated by nearly thirty years....
and Edward HopkinsonEdward HopkinsonEdward Hopkinson was a British electrical engineer and Conservative politician.He was the fourth son of John Hopkinson, an engineer who was mayor of Manchester in 1882/83. Hopkinson was educated at Owen's College, Manchester and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He graduated from Emmanuel in 1881 and...
, his younger brothers - Austin HopkinsonAustin HopkinsonAustin Hopkinson JP was a British industrialist and Member of Parliament for constituencies in present-day Greater Manchester who was notable for rejecting membership of political parties and sitting as an Independent member. He represented Mossley from 1918 to 1929 and 1931 to 1945...
, his nephew
Further reading
- Hopkinson, Mary & Ewing, Irene, Lady (eds.) (1948) John and Alice Hopkinson 1824-1910. London: Farmer & Sons, printers
External links
- Works by John Hopkinson at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
. Scanned, illustrated original editions. - John Hopkinson
- John Hopkinson Biography