René Thury
René Thury ( born April 7, 1860 in Plain Palais in Geneva, † April 23, 1938 in Geneva) was a Swiss pioneer of electrical engineering. He was regarded in the professional world as "King of the direct current ."
His father Jean Marc ( or Marc -Antoine ) Thury was a teacher of natural history. In 1874, René did an apprenticeship with Emil guarantor at the Société pour la construction d' instruments de physique (SIP), the founding members was one of his father. As a guarantor about 1876 left the company, he became his successor. He was also a mechanic laboratory of Prof. Jacques -Louis Soret at the University of Geneva. At Bürgin Dynamo displeased him that the agitation was supplied from a battery, and invented the shunt excitation.
From 1877 he built with Nussberg a steam-powered tricycle, the Thury- Nussberg steam car. It must have been one of the first built in Switzerland cars.
In order to clarify whether it would be worthwhile to contribute financially to the inventions of Edison, he was sent in 1880 in the United States. While the other experts denied that Thury remained as Edison staff there. He received many suggestions there, but also came to believe that Edison's dynamos could be substantially improved. Re- calculated in Geneva and he built for SIP under license from Edison and Zénobe Gramme dynamo. He then worked briefly for guarantor & Alioth, and then moved as technical director for A. de Meuron & H. Cuénod, where he was able to develop. While the first dynamos were all built bipolar, he built from 1882 six-pole versions, for at the Turin Exhibition in 1884 he received the gold medal.
After he had in 1885 set up by the Taubenlochschlucht after Bözingen the first Swiss DC transmission with 500 volts, he made a number of developments for electric railways. His system for energy transfer with high-voltage direct current works with series-connected generators and motors with variable voltage, but constant current. He built the DC transfers:
He solved the problems of commutation and built the first machines with voltages up to 25,000 volts, the collectors attracted no spark.
The coal-mining railway Chemin de Fer de La Mure La Mure to Saint -Georges -de- Commiers in Grenoble put 1903 electric locomotive E1 " Le Drac " one whose four engines were in combination 367 kilowatts. Developed by Thury special power system consisted of a three-wire system having a positive 1200V phase - phase negative 1200 volts, and a " neutral " between the two voltages. The supply was provided by a two-pole overhead line with two pantographs pairs and the running rails as " neutral ". The voltage of the traction motors in portable high performance limits were transmitted at the same time, however, be kept. Four similar machines were delivered between 1905 and 1909 and knew it to 1933 its service.
He also developed the Thury regulator ( régulateur à déclic ).
After his discharge in 1910, he worked as a consultant. He built most recently in France a high-frequency generator for wireless telegraphy station with 40 kilohertz and for powers up to 1000 kW.