California Institute of Technology Cal Tech - Big T Yearbook (Pasadena, CA)

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A muniimotl, zee point to it liilli pride, Conceived by one departed from our side.

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ELECTRICAL ENGIXEERLXG DEPARTMENT Till- ' , popularity oi the electrical course is well shown liy the fact that one- third of the entire student hody is enrolled in electrical engineering. In times past both civil and mechanical engineering have had their days of ex- treme popularity. l)ut today with an ever increasing number of uses being found for electricity, electrical engineering is drawing the largest number of students. The new million volt laboratorj- is symbolical of this interest and growth in electricity, and it is hoped that the laboratory will be the means of still further impro ement and advance in the science of electricity. The million volt trans- former used in the High ' oltage Laboratory dilTers from standard transformers in that it is made uj) of four 250,000 volt units connected in series by means of a special connection known as the the cascade connection. This connection was originated by Professor R. Sorensen of the Institute and its invention made possible the first 1,000.000 volt system ever designed. Without this Cascade con- nection of Professor Sorensen ' s it is jjractically inniossible to get over a million ' olts, due to dilhculties of insulation and construction. ork in voltages of a million and o er is still in its infancy and there are a great many experiments being carried on in the High Tenson Laboratory by mem- bers of the graduate school, faculty, and some undergradutes of the Juice course. Among the most interesting of these exjieriments are the ones on insula- tors, high tension acuum switches, flash-o er, and the construction of a million volt voltmeter. Most of ll;e undergraduate wi)rk is carried on in the normal oltage labor- atory, to which it was found necessary to make an addition this last year, due to the increased number of men registering in the electrical course. The thesis work for the Senior Electricals consists of the design of various types of electrical machinery. The student is reciuired to make a comjilete design of a generator, motor, transformer or some other ec|ually comjilex piece of machinery, and the design must be correct not only in the theory ajjplied but also must be practical in its construction. Naturally, work of this type gi cs the man a great deal of valuable ex])eriencc that will stand him in good stead in his later professional career. tiveitty