New Lexington purchase transformer from Worcester Polytechnic

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE.—The high potential transformer built by the electrical engineering department of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1898 under the direction of Professor Harold E. Smith, the head of the department, has recently been sold to Mr. C. S. Knowles, of Boston, and has been sent by him to New Lexington, Ohio, for installation at that place. It will be used in connection with the high voltage porcelain works in which Mr. Knowles is interested. The transformer has already been installed and is now ready for testing work. The installation was performed by Messrs. J. A. Sandford and W. T. Goddard, assistance to Professor Smith in the electrical engineering department of the Institute. This transformer has, since it was built, been an object of considerable interest in electrical engineering circles, and inquiries have been received by Professor Smith respecting the details of its construction from all parts of the United States, and also from abroad. Its capacity is 150,000 volts, with a frequency of 60, and, as is well known, this is the first transformer ever built in which so high voltage was attained which could be successfully used for commercial purposes. The transformer was from the first entirely successful, and amply fulfilled the expectations entertained by Professor Smith when he first designed it. In searching for apparatus with which the necessary testing could be done, Mr. Knowles experienced great difficulty in obtaining satisfactory estimates from the different electrical companies; hence negotiations were opened with Professor Smith which finally resulted in the purchase of the transformer belonging to the Worcester Institute. It will be replaced immediately at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute by the construction of a new transformer which will contain a number of improvements. These have been devised during the experience of the electrical engineering department in high potential work during the last five years. Mr. Sandford will remain at New Lexington where he will be engaged for some time conducting a series of experiments involving the use of high potentials.