Converter

(1) Ve el in which the Be emer proce of making steel is conducted. It is a large vertical ve el of wrought iron, made in two parts, lined with infusible fire-brick, and capable of revolving about a horizontal axis. Its opening is at the top; in the bottom are a number of holes through which air is forced into the ma of molten iron within, the oxygen of the air effecting thus its decarbonization. When this stage has been reached, cast-iron, of the proper quantity and composition to convert the whole into steel of the required character, is run in and thoroughly mixed with the iron; the charge is then cast into ingots. See STEEL, BESSEMER. (2) Apparatus for the distribution and conversion of electric Converter. energy; also called secondary generator and transformer. It acts on the same principle as the induction coil; but while the latter is usually employed to transform electric energy from currents of low potential and great quantity into currents of high potential and small quantity, the function of the converter is the reverse. This is accomplished by making the fine wire of the instrument the primary coil and the thick one the secondary; the details of construction, however, may be varied. The advantage of the system depends upon the fact that high potential currents can be conveyed to a distance over comparatively small conductors, and there converted into currents of a potential and quantity convenient for use.