Starting conditions of synchronous machines

IN view of the growing popularity and importance of the synchronous motor as one of the standard types of motor available for power distribution purposes, and its increasing use as a means of improving the power factor of a load, no apology seems necessary for a paper containing a detailed study of the behavior of such a motor during what has always been regarded as a somewhat critical period — viz., the period when the motor is being accelerated from rest to synchronous speed. The subject is by no means a new one, and has already been dealt with by several writers, not, however, in a manner sufficiently thorough and exhaustive to make further contributions to it superfluous, and one of the main objects of the present paper is to explain a number of hitherto somewhat obscure points, and to draw attention to others which have not previously been noticed.