A start-up genius | Werner Von Siemens
Had he been born in the 21st century, Werner von Siemens, the father of electrical engineering, would have been considered a start-up genius. His inventions and his entrepreneurial spirit changed the world. The discovery of the dynamo-electric principle made possible the first steps into the "electric age". The electrical industry became an important economic factor and mechanical engineering boomed: The second industrial revolution had become a reality.
To Werner von Siemens invention was not a merely a matter of using one's head, but rather a matter of looking at things with one’s eyes open. Werner Siemens was ennobled by the Prussian King in 1888 in recognition for his scientific achievements and became Werner von Siemens. In his view of the world the desire to achieve was a powerful magic force.
These two principles would strongly influence his life. Siemens is not just an inventor. The practical implementation of his inventions is very important to him. He is a doer and a visionary and has a goal: He wants to build up a worldwide business - from scratch.
The first dynamo built by Siemens
In 1866, he succeeds with one of his most important inventions, the discovery of the dynamo-electric principle and the construction of the first dynamo (generator) in 1867. With this feat, Werner von Siemens creates the basis for the economical use of electrical power.
And what is a dynamo?
The most important parts of generators are a coil (wire windings) and a magnet. If the magnet or coil is put into motion, electrical current can be extracted from the coil. The stronger the magnet, the more windings on the coil, and the faster both are moving, the stronger the current.
The first generators built by Michael Faraday or Charles Wheatstone use permanent magnets made of iron or steel. However, the magnetic fields are not very strong. Solutions with cranks to rotate the magnets or batteries do not result in any real progress.
Von Siemens achieves the breakthrough. He notices that the residual magnetism in the iron of the magneto is sufficient to induce a weak current. As a result he routes part of the electricity produced by the generator back into the magneto producing higher amounts of electricity until the magneto reaches its maximum field strength. This phenomenon of self-excitation by the generated electricity is the dynamo-electric principle.
A global company
Today Siemens AG is an integrated, stock listed technology corporation with headquarters in Munich and Berlin. The company is active in 190 countries and is one of the world's largest electro-technical and electronics companies. In the Forbes Global 2000 of the world's largest companies, Siemens ranks 51st (status 2017). Siemens is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (DAX) and has a stock market value of about 100 billion Euros.
In 1894, Siemens was active for the first time in Switzerland with its own employees: The beginning of construction of the Wynau hydropower plant in the Canton of Berne marked the start activities here. Today the company is present in Switzerland with over 20 locations. In financial year 2017, Siemens generated a turnover of approx. CHF 2.2 billion. Siemens employs about 5400 people in Switzerland.
( Resoure: https://www.axpo.com/rs/en/about-us/magazine.detail.html/magazine/energy-market/a-start-up-genius.html )
