Vladimir Karapetoff
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Karapetoff was a Russian-American electrical engineer, inventor, professor
, and author
.
in three of Saint Petersberg's colleges.
In 1899, he went to the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt to study power systems, he wrote Über Mehrphasige Stromsysteme in 1900.
In 1903 Karapetoff emigrated to the USA and apprenticed at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company
. The following year he began his long association with Cornell University
as professor of electrical engineering.
Karapetoff published the first part of his Engineering Applications of Higher Mathematics in 1911, and followed with parts two to five in 1916. That year he also published Electrical Measurements and Testing, Direct and Alternating Current.
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers
made him a Fellow in 1912. He became a charter member of the American Association of University Professors
in 1915. Karapetoff was a research editor for Electrical World from 1917 to 1926.
As a member of the Socialist Party of America
, Karapetoff ran for the New York State Senate
in 1910; and for New York State Engineer and Surveyor
in the State elections of 1914, 1920 and 1924.
Karapetoff wrote several articles on special relativity
to show that
In the first three articles in the journal of the Optical Society of America
, Karapetoff used the notion of a "velocity angle" α which expressed the relation of a velocity
v to the speed of light
by sin α = v/c. In the later articles he used instead the hyperbolic angle
u called rapidity
in relativity, and determined by tanh u = v/c. As explained in a footnote on page 73 of the 1936 article, when sin α = tanh u, one says that α is the Gudermannian angle of u, and u is the anti-Gudermannian of α. Thus he explains, "the present treatment is in terms of the anti-Gudermannian of the velocity angle previously used." The diagramatic treatments given by Karapetoff are frequently called Minkowski diagram
s in physical science.
In 1928 the Franklin Institute
awarded him the Elliot Cresson Medal. Karapetoff was an accomplished cellist, and in 1934 was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the New York College of Music. On November 25, 1936, he married Rosalie Margaret Cobb at Dobbs Ferry, New York
. The Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute bestowed on him the degree of Doctor of Science
in 1937. Karapetoff died in 1948, and is buried in Ithaca
, Tompkins County, New York
.
In his honor, since 1992 Eta Kappa Nu
has celebrated significant work of electrical engineers with the Vladimir Karapetoff Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Life
He was the son of Nikita Ivanovich Karapetov and Anna Joakimovna Karapetova. Karapetoff first studied at Saint Petersburg's Institute of Ways and Communication, taking his first certification in 1897 and a second in 1902. During his studies he was a consultant to the Russian government and served as an instructor teaching electrical engineering and hydraulicsHydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
in three of Saint Petersberg's colleges.
In 1899, he went to the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt to study power systems, he wrote Über Mehrphasige Stromsysteme in 1900.
In 1903 Karapetoff emigrated to the USA and apprenticed at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
. The following year he began his long association with Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
as professor of electrical engineering.
Karapetoff published the first part of his Engineering Applications of Higher Mathematics in 1911, and followed with parts two to five in 1916. That year he also published Electrical Measurements and Testing, Direct and Alternating Current.
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers
American Institute of Electrical Engineers
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was a United States based organization of electrical engineers that existed between 1884 and 1963, when it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers .- History :The 1884 founders of the...
made him a Fellow in 1912. He became a charter member of the American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
in 1915. Karapetoff was a research editor for Electrical World from 1917 to 1926.
As a member of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
, Karapetoff ran for the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
in 1910; and for New York State Engineer and Surveyor
New York State Engineer and Surveyor
The New York State Engineer and Surveyor was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1848 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the Department of Public Works which was...
in the State elections of 1914, 1920 and 1924.
Karapetoff wrote several articles on special relativity
Special relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
to show that
- much of the difficulty in understanding the subject lies in the popular effort to reconcile relativity with our every-day experience. Once this non-technical point of view, with its childish illustrations and analogs, has been abandoned, and the relativity space is considered mathematically per se, the treatment is not different from any other branch of mathematics. Certain postulates are made and a structure is built step by step on these, using mathematical logic and its recognized tools and operations (Scripta Mathematica 8:162).
In the first three articles in the journal of the Optical Society of America
Optical Society of America
The Optical Society is a scientific society dedicated to advancing the study of light—optics and photonics—in theory and application, by means of publishing, organizing conferences and exhibitions, partnership with industry, and education. The organization has members in more than 100 countries...
, Karapetoff used the notion of a "velocity angle" α which expressed the relation of a velocity
Velocity
In physics, velocity is speed in a given direction. Speed describes only how fast an object is moving, whereas velocity gives both the speed and direction of the object's motion. To have a constant velocity, an object must have a constant speed and motion in a constant direction. Constant ...
v to the speed of light
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
by sin α = v/c. In the later articles he used instead the hyperbolic angle
Hyperbolic angle
In mathematics, a hyperbolic angle is a geometric figure that divides a hyperbola. The science of hyperbolic angle parallels the relation of an ordinary angle to a circle...
u called rapidity
Rapidity
In relativity, rapidity is an alternative to speed as a framework for measuring motion. On parallel velocities rapidities are simply additive, unlike speeds at relativistic velocities. For low speeds, rapidity and speed are proportional, but for high speeds, rapidity takes a larger value. The...
in relativity, and determined by tanh u = v/c. As explained in a footnote on page 73 of the 1936 article, when sin α = tanh u, one says that α is the Gudermannian angle of u, and u is the anti-Gudermannian of α. Thus he explains, "the present treatment is in terms of the anti-Gudermannian of the velocity angle previously used." The diagramatic treatments given by Karapetoff are frequently called Minkowski diagram
Minkowski diagram
The Minkowski diagram was developed in 1908 by Hermann Minkowski and provides an illustration of the properties of space and time in the special theory of relativity. It allows a quantitative understanding of the corresponding phenomena like time dilation and length contraction without mathematical...
s in physical science.
In 1928 the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
awarded him the Elliot Cresson Medal. Karapetoff was an accomplished cellist, and in 1934 was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the New York College of Music. On November 25, 1936, he married Rosalie Margaret Cobb at Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 at the 2010 census.The Village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a part of, the town of Greenburgh...
. The Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute bestowed on him the degree of Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
in 1937. Karapetoff died in 1948, and is buried in Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...
.
In his honor, since 1992 Eta Kappa Nu
Eta Kappa Nu
Eta Kappa Nu is the electrical and computer engineering honor society of the IEEE, founded in October 1904 by Maurice L. Carr at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The organization currently has around 200 student chapters and about 3,000,000 members and is headquartered in Chicago,...
has celebrated significant work of electrical engineers with the Vladimir Karapetoff Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.
Articles
- V Karapetoff (1924) "Aberration of light in terms of the theory of relativity as illustrated on a cone and a pyramid", Journal of the Optical Society of America 9(3):223–33.
- V Karapetoff (1926) "Straight-line relativity in oblique coordinates; also illustrated by a mechanical model", Journal of the Optical Society of America 13:155.
- V Karapetoff (1929) "Relativity transformation of an oscillation into a travelling wave, and DeBroglie's postulate in terms of velocity angle", Journal of the Optical Society of America 19:253.
- V Karapetoff (1936) "Restricted relativity in terms of hyperbolic functions of rapidities", American Mathematical MonthlyAmerican Mathematical MonthlyThe American Mathematical Monthly is a mathematical journal founded by Benjamin Finkel in 1894. It is currently published 10 times each year by the Mathematical Association of America....
43:70–82. - V Karapetoff (1941) "A general outline of restricted relativity", Scripta MathematicaScripta MathematicaScripta Mathematica was a quarterly journal published by Yeshiva University devoted to the philosophy, history, and expository treatment of mathematics...
8:145–63. - V Karapetoff (1944) "The special theory of relativity in hyperbolic functions", Reviews of Modern PhysicsReviews of Modern PhysicsThe Reviews of Modern Physics is a journal of the American Physical Society. The journal started in paper form. All volumes are also online by subscription.Issue 1, Volume 1 consisted of the review by...
16:33–52. - V Karapetoff (1945) "The constancy of the velocity of light", in A Collection of Papers in Memory of Sir William Rowan Hamiltion, Scripta Mathematica at Yeshiva CollegeYeshiva CollegeYeshiva College is located in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. It is Yeshiva University’s undergraduate college of liberal arts and sciences for men...
.