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Romanian professor
When the famous British magazine "The Graphic", in January 16, 1926, published an array of portraits of leading scientists and inventors of mankind, among the few faces, a place of honor, along M. Curie, A . Einstein, A. Edison, G. Marconi and others, there was also Romanian inventor Gogu (George) Constantinescu. He remained in the history of science and technology by creating sonic world, ie science that deals with energy transfer by elastic waves in liquids and energy utilization at the receiver.
Born in Craiova, the son of a professor and author of mathematics textbooks, young inventor G. Constantinescu proves his talents, creating, for his sister, a machine for learning-calculating and organizing at home a real mechanical workshop. High School in Craiova and then follows the National School of Bridges and Highways in Bucharest, graduated in 1904 as head of the class. Having multiple concerns, developed, among others, a mathematical theory of musical arrangements, communicated, in 1919, to Romanian Academy.
Its innovative spirit manifested even during college, when his diploma was a daring project for a reinforced concrete bridge. The work was hardly accepted by his great teacher, the engineer Anghel Saligny, as that time existed no prescription for calculating reinforced concrete bridges (young student developed, to substantiate its work, his own elementary method, for calculation of reinforced concrete).
No doubt that his main merit remains sonic creation. This new branch of mechanics consists of the possibility to transmit a controlled energy in the form of waves, which travels through the fluid in the pipes, being used at some distance from generator. By analogy with alternating current study, G. Constantinescu realized sonic generators and motors, mining machinery and oil or pneumatic hammers, which, at one time, had the most spectacular applications.
Thus, towards the end of World War, he designed a control system based on sonic application, which allowed a machine gun mounted on a plane to shoot through the rotating blades of a propeller, the first such weapon perfectly synchronized, which was England great service, the Antanta country with which Romania was allied.
Also G. Constantinescu has conceived a torque converter, in fact an automatic gearbox. This provides, in good condition, complete independence of the motor from the transmitter shaft, in terms of their relative speeds of rotation and thus enabled the former to automatically adjust the effort. On this basis, cars and locomotives were made sonic. A machine for integrating differential equations is also his creation, based on sonic, as well as a series of injection pumps and injectors for diesel engines.
Today, when the field of electricity and electronics have a remarkably progress, the scope of the sonic possible applications is certainly more restricted. But the torque converter remains in the history of technical sciences as one of the first achievements of modern automation in industry, as justly appreciate Professor Aurel A. Beleş.
Gogu Constantinescu had innovative ideas in the field of reinforced concrete and of the mathematical machinery. His technical work includes construction after its conception, of reinforced concrete bridges in Romania, including several large bridges over Siret. He used massively concrete for monumental buildings of the epoch in the Capital, such as the Palace Exchange, Chamber of Commerce, etc. He realized for the first time in the world, a canvas canopy building of thin reinforced concrete in a construction of Constanta
Gogu Constantinescu, author of the first theory of sonic, (published in English, in 1918 in London) and holder of over 120 patents, was a member of the Romanian Academy (1920) and honorary member of the Academy RSR (1965), Doctor Honoris Causa of the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute, honorary member of the Society of Engineers in England. He was part of "class inventors, discoverers, great creators in technique, they had to create a new science, to enable their inventions" (Remus Răduleţ). The President of Engineers Society in England, called, in 1959, work of G. Constantinescu "is downright fascinating."
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variant spelling:
Constantinescu, Gogu
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Curriculum vitae
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* 1881
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Craiova
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born
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1904
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Bucuresti
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1918
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London
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1920
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Bucuresti
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† 1965
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Bucuresti
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died
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1965
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Bucuresti
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