Tales of celebrities

Telegraph, telephone and electric light are so common and common in today's advanced technology that no one will be surprised. But do you know how important these things were to people at that time and how ecstatic they were? Humans thus remembered their inventor-Edison.

Edison, known as the "King of Invention", is a famous American scientist and inventor. In his life, there were 1328 inventions registered in the patent office alone. How can a person who has only studied for three months have so many inventions? I think, if you have heard the story of "Edison incubating chickens", you will understand that his success stems from strong curiosity.

1847, Edison was born in a merchant family in Milan, Ohio, USA. Edison showed great curiosity when he was very young. Whenever he sees something he doesn't understand, he grabs the adult's skirts and keeps asking questions, insisting on asking ugly questions.

One day, he pointed to the hen that was hatching eggs and asked his mother, "Why is the hen sitting under her ass?" Mother said, "Oh, that's a chicken!" " "In the afternoon, Edison suddenly disappeared, and the family was anxious to look around and finally found him in the henhouse. It turned out that he was squatting in a chicken coop with a lot of eggs under his ass to hatch chickens! When his parents saw it, they were so distressed that they had to pull him out and wash his face and clothes. Another time, when he saw birds flying freely in the sky, he thought: Since birds can fly, why can't people fly? So, he found a kind of powder for his friends to eat, in order to let them fly into the sky. As a result, the little friend almost died, and Edison was severely beaten by his father.

Finally, Eddie grew up to 8 years old, and his parents sent him to a rural primary school, thinking that he could go to school safely from now on. Who knows, he still loves to get to the bottom of it, and often asks the teacher dumbfounded and embarrassed. Once in an arithmetic class, the teacher wrote "2+2=4" on the blackboard. Edison immediately stood up and asked, "Teacher, why is 2 plus 2 equal to 4?" This question puzzled the teacher. He thinks Edison is a troublemaker and always disagrees with his teacher. So Edison attended classes for three months and was driven home by the teacher.

Edison's mother is a great mother. She didn't blame her only son for being driven back. Instead, he decided to educate the child himself. When she found Edison curious and particularly interested in physics and chemistry, she bought him books about physics and chemistry experiments. Edison started the experiment on his own according to books. It can be said that this is Edison's enlightenment education in scientific inventions.

When he grew up, Edison learned radio transmitting and receiving technology. He got a job as a night shift operator at Stratford Railway Sub-bureau. According to the regulations, the night shift operator must send a signal to the train service director every hour after 9 pm, no matter what happens. In order to have a good rest at night and study and invent during the day, Edison designed a telegraph that can automatically send signals on time. This is the prototype of the telegram.

Soon after, he improved the telegraph. After many tests, a new type of telegraph was successfully trial-produced. Edison looked at the machine he invented and smiled with relief.

It should be said that every invention of Edison is closely related to his curiosity. After inventing the telegraph, he began to do telephone experiments. He found that the diaphragm in the microphone could vibrate with the sound, so he observed it carefully and made a detailed record in his notebook. Thus, a "talking machine" was made. When people heard the news, they all came to watch and called him "the greatest inventor". Therefore, curiosity is a prerequisite for a person to succeed and show his wisdom.

Edison was curious about many things since he was a child, and he liked to try it himself until he understood the truth. When he grew up, he devoted himself to research and invention according to his interest in this field. He established a laboratory in New Jersey, and invented the electric light, telegraph, phonograph, film machine, magnetic mineral analyzer, crusher and so on for more than 2000 kinds of things in his life. Edison's strong research spirit made him make great contributions to the improvement of human lifestyle.

Edison started his first experiment in his own wooden shed.

Edison liked to think about a series of problems with his distinctive big head since he was a child. When he saw the blacksmith burning iron in the blazing fire and hammering into various tools, he shook his head and asked one question after another: What is fire? Why does the fire burn? Why is the fire so hot? Why does iron turn red after burning in a fire? Why is iron soft when it is red? Back home, little Edison started his first experiment in his own wooden shed. He brought hay and lit it. He wants to know what fire is. However, little Edison's first experiment led to a big fire, which destroyed the wooden shed at home.

(1) "Life is too short to do more with less time."

"Waste, the biggest waste is wasting time." Edison often said to his assistant. "Life is short, so we should try to do more with less time."

One day, Edison was working in the laboratory. He handed his assistant a pear-shaped empty glass bulb without a lampholder and said, "Measure the capacity of the bulb." He bowed his head to work again.

After a long time, he asked, "What's the capacity?" He didn't hear the answer, but turned to see the assistant measuring the circumference and inclination of the light bulb with a soft ruler, holding the measured figures and bending over the table to calculate them. Because the light bulb is pear-shaped, it is not the conventional status quo. Therefore, it is very difficult to calculate the circumference and inclination of the light bulb. He said, "Time, time, why does it take so much time?" Edison came over, picked up the empty light bulb, filled it with water, handed it to his assistant, and said, "Pour the water into the measuring cup and tell me its capacity at once."

The assistant read out the numbers at once.

Edison said, "How easy it is to measure. It is both accurate and time-saving. Why didn't you think of it? " ? Still counting. Isn't that a waste of time? "

The assistant's face turned red.

Edison murmured, "Life is too short, too short. Save time and do more! " "

Everyone here already knows me.

Edison was a poor worker before he became famous. Once, his old friend met him in the street and said with concern, "look, this coat on you is very worn." You should get a new one. "

"Need it to be? Nobody knows me in new york. " Edison answered indifferently.

A few years later, Edison became a great inventor.

One day, Edison met that friend again in the street of new york. "Oh," exclaimed my friend, "why are you still wearing this old coat? This time, I have to change a new one anyway! "

"Need it to be? Everyone here already knows me. " Edison still answered casually.

(3) Mom, I want to be a night sun.

One snowy night, Edison's mother suddenly fell ill, and his father hurried to call a doctor. The doctor said, "Your mother has acute appendicitis and needs surgery." . At that time, there were only oil lamps without electric lights, and the light of oil lamps was very dim, so if you were not careful, you would open the wrong knife. Edison suddenly had a good idea. He took out all the oil lamps at home and put a mirror behind him to let the doctor finish the operation smoothly. The doctor said, "Son, you saved your mother with your wisdom and cleverness." Edison took his mother's hand and said, "Mom, I want to be a sun at night."

Reference: Once, Edison's mother got appendicitis. As the family was poor, his mother asked the doctor to operate at home. The doctor agreed, but the room was too dark for the doctor to see clearly. Edison had a brainwave. He concentrated the light through the reflection of the mirror, and the room lit up at once, and his mother was saved!

(4) Even sleeping is absorbing the nutrition in the book.

In order to do experiments, Edison often stayed outside the laboratory and stayed awake for several days. I was so tired that I took a nap with a book as a pillow on the experimental table. One day, his friend made fun of him and said, "No wonder Edison knew so many inventions. It turned out that he was absorbing the nutrition in the book even when he slept. "

(5) Why can hens hatch chicks and I can't?

Once, when it was time for dinner, Edison still didn't come back. My parents are worried and look around. It was not until the evening that I found him in the hut next to the yard. Seeing him lying motionless in the haystack with many eggs, his father asked very strangely, "What are you doing?" Little Edison replied unhurriedly, "I'm incubating chickens!" " "It turned out that he was surprised to see that hens could hatch chicks, and he always wanted to try it himself. At that time, his father pulled him up with anger and laughter and told others not to hatch chickens. On the way home, he asked doubtfully, "Why can hens hatch chicks and I can't?"? "

(6) What's the secret in the wild beehive?

Edison was often in danger because he was interested in many things. Once, he went to the house where wheat was stored and accidentally bumped into the wheat barn. Wheat can't move with his head buried. He almost died, but fortunately he was found in time, grabbed Edison's foot and pulled him out. Another time, he fell into the water and was pulled up like a drowned rat. He's scared himself. When he was 4 years old, he wanted to see what was in the wild beehive on the fence, so he stabbed it with a branch, and his face was so red and swollen that he could hardly open his eyes.

Edison's anecdotes are compiled by the celebrity website www. mingren.biz-celebrity stories, most of which are collected on the internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author.

This person's information comes from the original link of Celebrity Network: /story/html/62495.html Thomas Alva Edison is a world-famous American electrician and inventor. In addition to his inventions and contributions in phonograph, electric light, telephone, telegraph and film, he also has many famous creations and opinions in mining, construction and chemical industry. Edison had about 2,000 inventions in his life, which made great contributions to the progress of human civilization.

Edison was born in1February, 847 1 1, Milan, Ohio, in the midwest of the United States. My father is descended from Dutch, and my mother is a primary school teacher, descended from Scots. When Edison was 7 years old, his father lost money in the tile business and his family moved to Grady Otterborg in the northern suburb of Huron, Michigan. Shortly after moving here, Edison suffered from scarlet fever and was ill for a long time. It is believed that this disease is the cause of his deafness. Edison went to school at the age of eight, but after only three months of study, he was dismissed as an "imbecile" by the teacher and was expelled from school. Since then, his mother has been his "mentor". Because of his mother's good educational methods, he took a keen interest in reading. He not only reads widely, but also reads all kinds of books. At the age of eight, he read the works of Shakespeare and Dickens, the most important playwrights in the English Renaissance, and many important historical books. By the age of nine, he could quickly read difficult books, such as Parker's philosophy of nature and experiment. 10 years old, he loved chemistry. At the age of 1 1, he experimented with his first telegram. In order to make money to buy chemicals and equipment, he began to work. At the age of 12, he got a job selling newspapers on the train, commuting between Port Huron and Detroit, Michigan. While selling newspapers, he also deals in fruits and vegetables. Whenever he is free, he goes to the library to read books. He bought an old printing press and began to publish his own weekly newspaper, The Herald. The first issue of this weekly is printed on the train. With the money he earned, he set up a chemistry laboratory on the baggage car. Unfortunately, once a chemical caught fire, he and his equipment were thrown out of the car. Another time, when Edison tried to board a freight train, a conductor grabbed him by the ear and helped him get on the train. This action led to Edison's lifelong deafness.

1862 In August, Edison rescued a dying boy on the train track with fearless heroism. The child's father is grateful for this, but he is willing to teach him telegraph technology because he has no money to reward him. Since then, Edison has forged an indissoluble bond with this mysterious new electric world and embarked on a scientific journey.

1863, Edison worked as a telecom operator in Stratford Hub Station, the main railway line. From 1864 to 1867, I worked as a telegraph operator in all parts of the central and western regions and lived a life similar to wandering. Footprints include Stratford, Adrian, fort wayne, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville and Huron.

1868, Edison came to Boston as a telegraph operator. In the same year, he obtained the first invention patent. This is a device for automatically recording votes. Edison thought that this device could speed up the work of Congress and would be very popular. However, a member of Congress told him that they had no intention to speed up the agenda, and sometimes voting was slow because of political needs. From then on, Edison decided never to make any inventions that people didn't need.

At the beginning of June 1869, he came to new york to look for a job. While he was waiting for a summons in the broker's office, a telegram broke down. Edison was the only person there who could repair the telegraph, so he got a better job than he expected. On June+10, 65438, he and Pop established "Pop-Edison Company", which specializes in scientific instruments for electrical engineering. Here, he invented "Edison Universal Printing Machine". He dedicated this printing machine to the manager of a big company on Wall Street. He wanted to charge 5000 dollars, but he didn't have the courage to say it. So he asked the manager to give a price, and the manager gave 40 thousand yuan.

Edison used the money to build a factory in Ward Street, Newark, New Jersey, which specializes in manufacturing all kinds of motors. He worked all night. He trained many capable assistants, and at the same time, he happened to meet diligent Mary, his first bride in the future. In Newark, he invented wax paper and mimeograph. From 1872 to 1875, Edison invented the two-pole and four-pole telegraph successively, and helped others to make the world's first English typewriter.

1in the spring of 876, Edison moved to Menlo Park, New Jersey again. He built the first "invention factory" here, which "marked the beginning of collective research". 1877, Edison improved the telephone invented by Bell and put it into practical use. He also invented the phonograph, one of his favorite projects. Telephone and telegraph "are a revolution to expand human sensory functions"; The phonograph is one of the three great inventions that have changed people's lives. "From the imagination of the invention, this is his extremely significant invention achievement." At this time, people called him "the magician of Monroe Park".

When Edison invented the phonograph, after numerous failures, he finally made a breakthrough in the study of electric lights. 1879, 10 year1October 22nd, Edison lit the first electric lamp with wide practical value. In order to prolong the life of the filament, he tried more than 6,000 kinds of fiber materials and found a new luminous body-Japanese bamboo filament, which can last for more than 1000 hours and achieve the purpose of durability. To some extent, this invention is the pinnacle of Edison's life. Then, he created a power supply system, which made the distant lights distribute electricity from the central power station, which was a great technical achievement.

His first discovery in pure science appeared in 1883. When testing the electric lamp, he observed what he called the Edison effect: in a lighted bulb, charge travels from the hot filament through space to the cold plate. Edison applied for a patent for this discovery in 1884, but did not study it further. Scientists nearby developed the electronic industry, especially radio and television, by using the Edison effect.

Edison tried to do for his eyes what the phonograph did for his ears, and the movie camera was born here. Using a piece of celluloid film newly invented by George Heasman, he took a series of photos and projected them on the curtain quickly and continuously, creating the illusion of movement. He experimented with movies for the first time in the laboratories of 1889 and 189 1. 1903, his company produced the first feature film great train robbery. Edison did a lot of work for the establishment and standardization of the film industry.

After Edison moved his laboratory to West Orange in 1887, he founded many commercial companies, manufactured products and popularized his various inventions. These companies later merged into Edison General Electric Company, which was later called General Electric Company. Since then, his interests have turned to fluorescence, ore mashers, magnetic separation of iron, storage batteries and railway signaling devices. During World War I, he developed a torpedo device, a flamethrower and an underwater periscope.

1929 10 2 1 On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the invention of electric light, people held a grand celebration for Edison, and famous scientists such as Einstein of Germany and Madame Curie of France congratulated him one after another. Unfortunately, at this celebration, Edison suddenly fainted because of excessive excitement during his defense. Since then, his health has gone from bad to worse 193 1 year1October 18 The scientist who made great contributions to mankind died of illness at the age of 84.

Edison's cultural level is extremely low, but his contribution to mankind is so great. What is the secret here? In addition to curiosity, he also has an instinct to experiment by himself, that is, he has unlimited energy and courage to work hard beyond ordinary people. When someone called Edison a "genius", he explained: "Genius is 2% inspiration and 98% sweat." He organized many people of different professions in the "invention factory", including more than 65,438+000 scientists, engineers, technicians and workers. Many of Edison's great inventions were achieved by collective strength. His achievements are mainly attributed to his diligence, creativity and collective strength. In addition, his wife also played a very important role.

Edison paced back and forth in his laboratory in Roman Park, New Jersey. He has a clump of hair on his forehead, bright eyes, and wrinkled clothes covered with stains and holes burnt by chemicals, unlike a reformer. He doesn't pretend anything. Once, an important person visited and asked him if he had won many medals and certificates. He replied, "Well, yes, there are two bottles of wine at home, which were rewarded by my mother." "Mom" means his wife, my mother.

But in the eyes of those of us who live with him day and night, he looks different. Although he made great contributions to mankind (he won 1093 invention patents before his death), what we remember most is not those outstanding contributions, but his unparalleled courage, imagination, determination, humility and wit. Sometimes he is also very naughty.

Father usually works more than eighteen hours a day. He said to us, "success at work is the only real happiness in life." It is no exaggeration to say that he can only sleep four hours a day (and sometimes take a nap).

He thinks: "Sleep is like a medicine. If you eat too much at a time, your mind will be unclear. You will waste time, lose energy and miss opportunities. "

His achievements are well known. At the age of thirty, he invented the phonograph and recorded the sound on a record. The light bulb he invented lit up the whole world. He invented the megaphone, copier, medical fluorescent screen, nickel-iron battery and film. He also improved other people's inventions-telephone, telegraph, typewriter-into practical goods.

Someone asked, "Has he never failed?" Of course I failed. He often encounters failure. His first patent was an electronic voting recorder for magnetic separation of low-grade iron ore. But later, because of the development of high-grade iron ore with abundant reserves, the design completely failed.

But he never hesitated for fear of failure. In a series of arduous experiments, he told a frustrated colleague, "We didn't fail. We now know that there are 1000 methods that don't work. With these experiences, it is easier to find feasible methods. "

The same is true of his attitude towards money gains and losses. He believes that money is a raw material, just like metal, and we should use it instead of accumulating it. So he continued to use his funds to make new plans. On several occasions, he was on the verge of bankruptcy, but he refused to let the economic situation manipulate his actions.

One day, my father was observing the efficiency of the ore crusher. He was very dissatisfied with the operation of the machine and told the operator, "increase the speed."

"I dare not," the worker replied. "If we speed up any more, the machine will break down."

Father turned to the foreman and asked, "Ed, how much is this machine?"

"Twenty-five thousand."

"Our bank deposits have so much? Really? Then speed up a level. "

The operator increased the power and then warned again, "The machine is noisy. If it explodes, we will all die! " "

"Never mind," father shouted. "Try to start!"

"The noise is getting louder and louder, and everyone starts to retreat. Suddenly there was a bang, and the pieces were scattered all over the floor. The ore crusher collapsed.

"So," the foreman asked his father, "what did you learn from this experience?"

Father smiled and said, "Yes, we can increase the power limit set by the manufacturer by 40%-as long as it does not exceed the maximum limit." Now I can build another machine and increase the output. "

I especially remember a cold winter night in 19 14+02. At that time, my father spent most of the past ten years trying to make nickel-iron batteries, but all failed, which made him financially strapped. The laboratory depends entirely on the profits of movies and records. That night, there was a wild cry from the factory: "Fire!" In an instant, packaging materials, celluloid used to make records, films and other flammable items all caught fire with a bang. Fire brigades from eight nearby towns rushed to put out the fire, but the fire was too fierce and the water was low, so the fire hoses were useless.

I am very worried because I can't find my father anywhere. Did something happen to him? Will he be disheartened when all his possessions are burned? He is sixty-seven years old and can't start from scratch. Later I saw him running towards me in the factory yard.

"where's mom?" He shouted, "Go get her! Tell her to call all her friends! Such a fire never happens in a hundred years! "

At 5: 30 the next morning, when the fire was just under control, he called all the staff and announced, "We want to rebuild." He sent one person to rent all the factories nearby, and another person to borrow the emergency crane of Yili Railway Company. Then he added, as if suddenly remembering a little thing, "Well, does anyone know where I can get some money?" "People can always think that every dark cloud has a silver lining," he said. "Whether the old factory is burned down or not, we can build a bigger and better factory on the ruins."

His new inventions are endless, as if they are magical, so some people call him "the wizard of Roman Garden". The name made him laugh and cry. He always retorted, "A wizard? Nonsense. My achievements are the result of hard work. " Maybe he will say his famous saying: "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." He hates people's laziness, especially mental laziness. He often hangs a sentence that Sir Reynolds said in a conspicuous place in laboratories and factories: "People always try their best to avoid real hard thinking.

Father never changes his values, nor is he arrogant. In Boston, when the first electronic theater opened, the power was cut off. He immediately threw away his tie and tuxedo (which he hated) and went to the basement to help try to repair it without hesitation. In Paris, he took off the red rose badge on his lapel lest his friends "think I am a playboy"

When people talk about Edison, they sometimes say that he has no education. Yes, he only received six months of formal school education, but under the guidance of his mother, he had already read classic works such as The Decline of the Roman Empire at the age of eight or nine. When he was a peddler and newsboy on the trunk railway, he often stayed in the Detroit library all day, where he read all the books from beginning to end. In our family, he often keeps many books and magazines, and there are five or six kinds of daily newspapers.

This man who has made great achievements in his life has been almost completely deaf since he was a child. He can only hear the loudest noise and shouts. But he doesn't care about this defect. He said, "I haven't heard birds chirping since I was twelve years old. But deafness is not an obstacle for me, but it may be beneficial. " He thinks that deafness makes him study early, so he can concentrate and save a lot of time without chatting with others.

When someone asks his father why he didn't invent hearing AIDS, he always replies, "How many sounds have you heard in the past 24 hours that you have to listen to?" Then he added, "If a person has to shout loudly, he will never tell a lie."

He likes music. If the melody is clear, he can appreciate it He held the pencil between his teeth and put the other end of the pen on the box of the phonograph to "listen". In this way, he can appreciate the beauty of cadence and rhythm. Of all his inventions, the phonograph made him proud.

Although he is deaf, he has to shout or write with a pen when talking to him, but reporters still like to interview him because his views are very incisive. He never admits that happiness and satisfaction are goals worth fighting for. He said, "If you can point out a completely satisfied person for me, I can assert that he must be a failure."

He has never retired and is not afraid of getting old. At the age of eighty, he also began to study botany, a discipline he had never studied before, trying to find the source of rubber in local plants. After testing and classifying 17000 plants, he and his assistants finally worked out a method to extract a large amount of glue from compositae plants.

At the age of 83, he also took his mother to the bustling Newark Airport to "see the actual situation of a real airport". When he first saw the helicopter, he smiled and said, "I always thought so." So he began to design again and put forward many suggestions for improving the little-known helicopter.

At the age of eighty-four, he was dying of uremia. Dozens of reporters came to visit his illness and waited all day. The doctor announced to them every hour: "The light is still on." 1931018 at 3: 24 am, the bad news finally came: "The light went out."

On the day of the funeral, in order to express his condolences and respect, the authorities had planned to cut off the electricity for one minute across the United States, but considering that it would be too expensive and might have dangerous consequences, they only put out some lights for a while.

The wheel of progress never stops. Edison knew it in the spring and certainly agreed to do so.