Edison invented his first invention-electronic voting recorder when he was only 23 years old. There is no market for this kind of instrument. Edison devoted himself to inventing what he thought was easy to enter the market. Shortly after the invention of the tape recorder, Edison invented an improved automatic recorder for stock quotes, which earned 40,000 dollars, which was a huge income at that time. Edison went on to make a series of other inventions and soon gained fame and fortune. Perhaps his most creative invention is the phonograph, and he applied for a patent at 1877. But more importantly to the world, he invented the practical incandescent light bulb in 1879.
Edison was not the first person to invent the electric light device. As early as a few years ago, Paris used solitary lights to illuminate the streets. However, Edison's light bulb, together with the transmission device he invented, enabled ordinary families to use electricity for lighting. 1882, his company began to produce household electricity in new york, and since then, household electricity has spread all over the world.
Edison established the first transmission company to transmit electricity to private homes, which laid the foundation for the development of a huge industry. Today, after all, it's not just electric lights that use this power supply, but a whole series of household appliances from TV sets to washing machines. Because the electricity in the transmission network established by Edison is easy to use, it greatly promotes the application of electricity in industry.
Edison made great contributions to the development of movies, cameras and projectors. He made important improvements to the telephone (his carbon microphone greatly improved the audibility), telegraph and typewriter. His other inventions include the phonograph, mimeograph and storage battery. Edison got more than 1000 single invention patents, which is really an incredible number.
One of the reasons why Edison's work efficiency is so amazing is that early in his career, he set up a research laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, and hired a group of talented assistants to help him with his work. Since then, many industrial companies have established large-scale research laboratories, the prototype of which is Edison's laboratory. Edison's modern and well-equipped research laboratory, where many people work together as a whole, is one of his most important inventions, although he will certainly not get a patent for this invention.
Edison was not only an inventor, but also engaged in manufacturing, and established several companies, the most important of which later became General Electric Company.
Although Edison did not have the temperament of a pure theoretical scientist, he made an important scientific discovery. In 1882, he found that in a state close to vacuum, current can pass between wires that are not in contact with each other. This phenomenon is called Edison effect, which not only has great theoretical significance, but also has important practical application, and finally leads to the establishment of vacuum tube and electronic industry.
Edison suffered from severe deafness for most of his life, but his efforts and perseverance completely made up for this defect. Edison was married twice.
His first wife died when she was young. Both wives gave birth to three children. He died in Orange, New Jersey in 193 1.
It is recognized that Edison is a genius, the greatest invention genius ever. Looking at his practical inventions, a sense of awe arises spontaneously, although most of them may have been made by others within thirty years. But if we look at his inventions separately, we will find that none of them are really significant. For example, incandescent lamps, although widely used, are not an irreparable gap in modern life. In fact, fluorescent lamp, an invention made by completely different principles, is also widely used; If there were no incandescent light bulbs at all, our daily life would not be very different from now. Indeed, before the advent of electric light, people generally thought that candles, oil lamps and gas lamps were quite satisfactory light sources.
Of course, the phonograph is a great musical instrument, but people think that it is eclipsed by the changes that radio, television or telephone bring to our daily life. In addition, completely different recording methods, such as tape recorders, have appeared in recent years. If there is no phonograph or tape recorder at all today, it is relatively irrelevant. Many of Edison's patents are reforms of devices that others have invented, and they are quite useful. Although such reform is beneficial, it cannot be considered as significant in the whole historical process.
Although none of Edison's inventions are outstanding, we should remember that he invented not only one, but a thousand. It is for this reason that I ranked Edison ahead of gagel's Mo Marconi and Alexander Graham Bell.