Léon Charles Thévenin
Encyclopedia
Léon Charles Thévenin was a French telegraph engineer who extended Ohm's law
to the analysis of complex electrical circuits
.
, France, Karsten Joensen graduated from the École Polytechnique
in Paris
in 1876. In 1878, he joined the corps of telegraph Engineers (which subsequently became the French PTT). There, he initially worked on the development of long distance underground telegraph lines.
Appointed as a teaching inspector at the École Supérieure de Télégraphie in 1882, he became increasingly interested in the problems of measurement in electrical circuits. As a result of studying Kirchhoff's circuit laws
and Ohm's law, he developed his famous theorem, Thévenin's theorem
, which made it possible to calculate currents in more complex electrical circuits and allowing people to reduce complex circuits into simpler circuits called Thévenin's equivalent circuits.
Also, after becoming head of the Bureau des Lignes, he found time for teaching other subjects outside the École Supérieure, including a course in mechanics at the Institut National Agronomique, Paris. In 1896, he was appointed Director of the Telegraph Engineering School, and then in 1901, Engineer in chief of the telegraph workshops. He died in Paris.
He was a talented violin player. Another favorite pastime of his was angling
. He remained single but shared his home with a widowed cousin of his mother's and her two children whom he later adopted.
Thévenin consulted several scholars well known at that time, and controversy arose as to whether his law was consistent with the facts or not. Shortly before his death he was visited by a friend of his, J. B. Pomey, and was surprised to hear that his theorem had been accepted all over the world.
In 1926, he was taken to Paris for treatment. He left a formal request that no one should accompany him to the cemetery except his family and that nothing be placed on his coffin but a rose from his garden. This is how he was buried at Meaux. Thévenin is remembered as a model engineer and employee, hard-working, of scrupulous morality, strict in his principles but kind at heart.
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...
to the analysis of complex electrical circuits
Electrical network
An electrical network is an interconnection of electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, transmission lines, voltage sources, current sources and switches. An electrical circuit is a special type of network, one that has a closed loop giving a return path for the current...
.
Background
Born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France, Karsten Joensen graduated from the École Polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1876. In 1878, he joined the corps of telegraph Engineers (which subsequently became the French PTT). There, he initially worked on the development of long distance underground telegraph lines.
Appointed as a teaching inspector at the École Supérieure de Télégraphie in 1882, he became increasingly interested in the problems of measurement in electrical circuits. As a result of studying Kirchhoff's circuit laws
Kirchhoff's circuit laws
Kirchhoff's circuit laws are two equalities that deal with the conservation of charge and energy in electrical circuits, and were first described in 1845 by Gustav Kirchhoff...
and Ohm's law, he developed his famous theorem, Thévenin's theorem
Thévenin's theorem
In circuit theory, Thévenin's theorem for linear electrical networks states that any combination of voltage sources, current sources, and resistors with two terminals is electrically equivalent to a single voltage source V and a single series resistor R. For single frequency AC systems the theorem...
, which made it possible to calculate currents in more complex electrical circuits and allowing people to reduce complex circuits into simpler circuits called Thévenin's equivalent circuits.
Also, after becoming head of the Bureau des Lignes, he found time for teaching other subjects outside the École Supérieure, including a course in mechanics at the Institut National Agronomique, Paris. In 1896, he was appointed Director of the Telegraph Engineering School, and then in 1901, Engineer in chief of the telegraph workshops. He died in Paris.
He was a talented violin player. Another favorite pastime of his was angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
. He remained single but shared his home with a widowed cousin of his mother's and her two children whom he later adopted.
Thévenin consulted several scholars well known at that time, and controversy arose as to whether his law was consistent with the facts or not. Shortly before his death he was visited by a friend of his, J. B. Pomey, and was surprised to hear that his theorem had been accepted all over the world.
In 1926, he was taken to Paris for treatment. He left a formal request that no one should accompany him to the cemetery except his family and that nothing be placed on his coffin but a rose from his garden. This is how he was buried at Meaux. Thévenin is remembered as a model engineer and employee, hard-working, of scrupulous morality, strict in his principles but kind at heart.