People often only see the successful side of successful people, but do not know the failure behind them. So what are some inspirational stories about successful people? Below are the inspirational stories of successful people that I have compiled for you. Let’s take a look!
Part 1 of Inspirational Stories from Successful People
Edison began experiments to reform the arc lamp in 1877, proposing to divide the current and convert the arc lamp into a white light lamp. This test needs to be done satisfactorily. It is necessary to find a substance that can burn to white heat to make a filament. This filament must withstand burning at a temperature of 2,000 degrees for more than 1,000 hours. At the same time, it should be simple to use, able to withstand the bumps and bumps of daily use, and the price should be low. The turning on and off of one lamp should not affect the turning on and off of any other lamp, and the relative independence of each lamp should be maintained. In order to choose this kind of lamp. This was a very bold idea at the time and required great efforts to explore and test.
Edison first experimented with carbonized substances as filaments. After failure, he experimented with platinum and iridium high melting point alloys. He also experimented with high-quality ores and ore seedlings. Hundreds of different tests, all failed. But by this time, he and his assistants had made great progress and knew that the incandescent filament must be sealed in a highly vacuumed glass sphere to prevent it from melting. In this way, his experiments returned to carbon filaments. He worked day and night until the first half of 1880, but Edison's incandescent lamp experiment still had no results.
One day, he tore a piece of bamboo silk tied around a banana fan in the laboratory into thin filaments, and devoted all his energy to carbonization. There were more than 6,000 carbonization experiments on plants alone. . He has more than 200 experimental notebooks, totaling more than 40,000 pages, which took three years to complete. He works eighteen or nineteen hours a day. At three or four o'clock every morning, he would sleep under the experimental table with two or three books on his head. Sometimes he slept on the stool three or four times a day, for just half an hour each time. By the first half of 1880, Edison's incandescent lamp experiments were still inconclusive, and even his assistants were discouraged.
One day, he tore a piece of bamboo silk tied around a banana fan in the laboratory into thin filaments, and then carbonized it to make a filament. The result this time was better than all the previous experiments. Excellent, this is the first incandescent electric lamp invented by Edison-the bamboo filament electric lamp. This bamboo filament electric lamp continued for many years. It was not replaced until the invention of tungsten filament in 1908. The alkaline storage battery that Edison began to develop after this was very difficult, and his research spirit was even more amazing.
This kind of battery is used to supply motive power. He and a selected assistant worked painstakingly for nearly ten years and experienced many hardships and failures. One moment he thought he had reached his destination, but the next moment he knew he was wrong. But Edison never wavered and started over. After about 50,000 tests and more than 150 test notes, the goal was achieved.
Inspirational Stories of Successful People Part 2
For more than a century, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) enjoyed a high reputation all over the world. He is known as the "King of Inventions". However, with the passage of time and the decryption of information, the original ugly face of this "great man" was gradually restored to people - he sought fame and reputation and often monopolized the results of collective wisdom; he was opportunistic and quickly applied for patents after improving other people's inventions; and more The most terrifying thing is that for his own benefit, he frantically slandered and attacked the genius inventor Tesla of his generation, and used the help of others to delete Tesla's name from all American textbooks...
< p> Snobbish and tyrannical, suppressing talented peopleAlthough Edison only had a third-grade elementary school diploma, he was shrewd and had business acumen.
Edison’s most proud business and “invention” was the “light bulb” that would later make him famous. In 1874, two Canadians filled a glass bubble with nitrogen, used an electrified carbon rod to emit light, and applied for a patent. But they had no financial resources to continue development, so they sold the patent to Edison. After Edison purchased it, he followed the example of the British Henry Goebbels and used carbonized bamboo filaments to successfully maintain the lighting time of the light bulb to 1,200 hours. He immediately applied for patents in the United Kingdom and the United States, but was sued by Goebbels.
After Edison lost the lawsuit, after years of litigation and spending money, he just obtained the patent for the carbon filament incandescent lamp, and claimed to be the first person to invent the "light bulb".
Afterwards, Edison "invented" DC electricity in the same way and founded the DC Electric Energy Company to sell electricity at a high price. He also hired a group of outstanding scientists and senior engineers with high salaries, asked them to conduct research, and then applied for patents in his own name on the collective wisdom, turning it into huge commercial profits. His business is in full swing, extending from the United States to Europe across the ocean.
At this time, in distant Yugoslavia, a young man named Nikola Tesla heard about Edison's "great invention" and was very excited. Tesla had been extremely smart since he was a child, and he quickly saw the Achilles heel of Edison's DC power transmission - because the loss in the circuit was too large, a generator set had to be built every one kilometer, making electricity extremely expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people. Luxury to bear. So, he wanted to create a way to transmit electricity over long distances.
In June 1884, Tesla came to New York City and excitedly told Edison his idea. But what Tesla never expected was that Edison refused. Because Edison's huge business system was all based on direct current, switching to other transmission methods would make him bankrupt!
But the shrewd Edison would not let such a talented person go. He recruited Tesla into his laboratory and became the most profitable and unknown "blind mill mule." In 1919, Edison handed over the improvement work of motors and engines to Tesla and promised that if the improvements were successful, he would receive a reward of US$50,000, which is equivalent to US$1 million today!
At that time, Tesla’s salary was extremely low and he often couldn’t even pay the rent. Edison’s sky-high salary was like manna from heaven. Tesla went all out, working from morning until early the next morning, sleeping only two or three hours a day. After working tirelessly, Tesla finally invented 24 designs related to DC generators for Edison, all of which could be put into large-scale industrial production!
But a few days later, Tesla discovered a stack of documents in Edison's office - DC generator patents. The owners of 24 new patents were all Edison! What's going on? Tesla's mind was in turmoil.
Late at night, Edison finally came back. Tesla rushed up and asked why. Edison explained: "If you work for a company, of course the patents belong to the company. Is it any wonder?" When Tesla asked about the remuneration of US$50,000, Edison actually shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "Haha, you are really You don’t understand our American humor, Mr. Tesla!” Tesla’s face suddenly turned pale.
The next day, Tesla approached Edison again and asked to increase his weekly salary to $25, but he was also rejected. Tesla could no longer stand Edison's mean and stingy character, and he left decisively. This made Edison quite worried, because he knew that Tesla had a superior IQ and was extremely stubborn, and sooner or later he would become a strong competitor!
As a result, Edison suppressed Tesla everywhere and slandered his character. This made Tesla unable to find a job for a long time. In the end, in order to make ends meet, he had to rely on manual labor to make a living. Ironically, the job was to dig cable trenches for Edison's company!
Part Three of Inspirational Stories from Successful People
In the life of Edison, the great inventor, he invented many things. However, only one of them was immediately warmly welcomed by people. electric light. Because the benefits of electric lights are visible and tangible to people. Its appearance means that people have another sun, and people's activities are no longer restricted by the night. As early as 1821, British scientists David and Faraday invented an electric arc lamp. This kind of electric lamp uses a carbon rod as the filament. Although it can emit bright light, the light is dazzling, consumes a lot of power, and has a short lifespan, so it is very impractical. "Arc lamps are not practical. I must invent an electric lamp with soft light that can be used by thousands of households." Edison secretly determined. So, he began to experiment with materials as filaments: using traditional charcoal strips as filaments, the filaments broke as soon as electricity was turned on. Metals such as ruthenium and chromium are used as filaments. After being powered on, they burn out after being lit for a while. The effect of using platinum wire as filament is not ideal either. In this way, Edison tested more than 1,600 materials with great perseverance and patience.
After repeated experiments and failures, many experts believe that the future of electric lights is bleak. Some famous British experts even ridiculed Edison's research as "meaningless" and "doing a stupid thing." Some reporters also reported: "Edison's ideal has come to nothing." In the face of failure and the cynicism of some people, Edison did not retreat. He understands that every failure means another step closer to success. Once, Edison's old friend McKenzie came to visit him. When MacKenzie saw Edison working hard, he said worriedly: "Sir, don't tire yourself out!" Edison looked at MacKenzie's long beard that was swaying when he spoke. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he said, "Beard. I want to use your beard, sir." McKenzie cut off a lock and gave it to Edison. Edison confidently selected a few thick beards, carbonized them, and installed them in a light bulb. Unfortunately, the test results were not ideal either. "Then try it with my hair, maybe it will work," McKenzie said. Edison was deeply moved by the spirit of his old friend, but he understood that hair and beard had the same properties, so he did not adopt the old man's advice. McKenzie sat for a while and was about to leave. Edison stood up and prepared to see the kind old man off. He subconsciously helped the old man straighten the cotton jacket he was wearing. Suddenly, he shouted again: "Cotton thread, why don't you try cotton thread?" McKenzie untied his coat without hesitation, tore off a piece of cotton cloth and handed it to Edison. Edison put the cotton thread in a U-shaped sealed crucible, then put the crucible into the stove and treated it with high temperature. After the cotton thread is carbonized in this way, it is taken out. Edison used tweezers to hold the carbonized cotton thread. Ready to install it inside the bulb.
But because the carbonized cotton thread was thin and brittle, and Edison was too nervous, the hand holding the tweezers was shaking slightly, so the cotton thread was pinched off. Finally, after much effort, Edison installed a carbonized cotton thread into the light bulb. At this time, night fell. Edison's assistant removed the air from the bulb, carefully sealed it, and placed the bulb in its holder. Everything is ready and everyone is quietly waiting for the results. When the power is turned on, the bulb emits a golden glow, illuminating the entire laboratory. Edison and his assistants were so excited that they hugged each other and congratulated each other. After 13 months of hard work, more than 6,000 materials were tried, and more than 7,000 tests were conducted, finally a breakthrough was made. But how long will the light bulb stay on? Edison and his assistant stared intently at the light bulb. 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours... The lamp stayed on for a full 45 hours before the filament burned out. This was mankind's first practical electric lamp. This day, October 21, 1879, was later designated as the invention day of the electric light. "45 hours is still too short. Its life must be extended to hundreds or even thousands of hours." Edison did not revel in the joy of success, but put forward higher requirements for himself. So, he continued to experiment. Inspired by the success of the cotton silk experiment, he tried coconut bristles, hemp rope, etc., but the results were not satisfactory.
One day, the weather was sultry. Edison was sweating profusely and his whole body was almost soaked. He took the bamboo fan from the table and fanned it while thinking about the problem. "Perhaps the effect of carbonized bamboo silk will be better." Edison wanted to try everything he saw. The test results show that using bamboo filament is very effective, the filament is durable, and the bulb can last for 1,200 hours. Later, after further experiments, Edison found that carbonized Japanese bamboo filament worked best. So he started mass-producing electric lamps. He installed the first batch of light bulbs on the research ship "Garnet" so that the researchers could have more working time. After that, electric lights began to enter ordinary people's homes.