EXHIBIT 5.1

                                   June 23, 2000

Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20549

Re:  COMMON STOCK OF GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY TO BE ISSUED TO SHAREHOLDERS OF
     LUNAR CORPORATION

Ladies and Gentlemen:

    I am Corporate Counsel to General Electric Company, a New York corporation
(the "Company"), and, in such capacity, I am familiar with the proceedings to
date in connection with the preparation and filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"), of the Company's registration statement on Form S-4 (as the
same may be subsequently amended, including any amendments on Form S-8, the
"Registration Statement") relating to the registration of shares of Common
Stock, $.06 par value per share, of the Company (the "New Shares") pursuant to
the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of June 2, 2000 (the
"Merger Agreement") among the Company, Topaz Merger Corp., a Wisconsin
corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company ("Sub"), and Lunar
Corporation, a Wisconsin corporation ("Lunar"), which provides for the merger
(the "Merger") of Sub with and into Lunar, with Lunar surviving as a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Company.

    Based on the foregoing, I am of the opinion that:

    1.  The Company is duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of
       the State of New York.

    2.  The New Shares will be legally issued, fully paid and non-assessable
       when (i) the Registration Statement, as finally amended, shall have
       become effective under the Securities Act and (ii) the Merger shall have
       become effective under the General Corporation Law of the State of
       Wisconsin.

    The foregoing opinions are limited to the federal laws of the United States
of America and the Business Corporation Law of the State of New York. I express
no opinion as to the application of the securities or blue sky laws of the
various states to the sale of the New Shares.

    I consent to the appearance of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement and to the reference to it under the heading "Legal
Matters" therein.

                                        Very truly yours,
                                        /s/ Robert Healing