PREFACE. 



THIS treatise on the elements of electrical engineering repre- 

 sents the combined experience of the authors in teaching the 

 subject for thirteen years. The aim has been to give a clear and 

 concise treatment of the elements of the subject illustrated by 

 numerous practical examples and problems. 



In almost every branch of engineering a simple working knowl- 

 edge of the electrical problems involved in the generation, distri- 

 bution, and utilization of power is becoming imperative. Students 

 pursuing a course in engineering, other than electrical, are limited 

 as to the time to be devoted to electrotechnology, while students 

 taking a course in electrical engineering are not so restricted. 



The problem which the authors undertook to solve in the 

 preparation of this treatise was to so select and arrange the sub- 

 ject matter that the book might be advantageously used as an 

 introductory course, not only for electrical engineering students, 

 but also for students specializing in other branches of engineering. 



This somewhat difficult problem has been solved by treating 

 the more essential parts of the subject consecutively in a series 

 of chapters, and by placing the more elaborate developments in 

 in a series of appendices. This arrangement makes it possible 

 for a student to easily cover the fundamental portions of the text 

 in one semester, by omitting the more highly specialized matter 

 that is given partly in fine print and partly in Appendices A, B 

 and C. 



An important feature of the book is an extended list of care- 

 fully chosen problems given as a final appendix. These prob- 

 lems are arranged in an order following closely the development 

 of the subject matter of the text. They have been designed not 

 merely to illustrate principles, but to supplement the information 

 given in the text. The answers to these problems have been 

 checked with extreme care. 



