/kloc-In the late 20th century, the United States entered an era of great development, and a great era of invention b
/kloc-In the late 20th century, the United States entered an era of great development, and a great era of invention began at the same time. The remarkable feature of this invention era is that inventing for the market is a popular invention. Before 1860, the US Patent Office (established in 1790) approved 36,000 patents. It is said that as early as 1733, the patent director decided to resign because everything that was important was invented. He did not expect that the flood of American inventions would not really come until after the end of the civil war.
From 1860 to 1890, the Patent Office issued 440,000 patent certificates. "The number of patents granted in any year after 1900 is equal to or greater than the total number of patents granted in the whole history of the United States before 1860". During this period, there were hundreds of inventions in office and commercial equipment alone. To give just a few examples: 1867, the eccentric printer Christopher Shoals invented the typewriter. 1876, during the 0/00th anniversary of the founding of the United States/kloc-,the Brazilian emperor Don Pedro visited the Philadelphia Expo. He walked into Bell's booth, picked up Bell's newly invented telephone, spoke into the microphone, and exclaimed, "Oh, my God, it can talk." The telephone has thus become the central product of the exhibition.
1888, Burroughs invented the adder. 1897, James Ritter invented the cash register. There are many important inventions, such as rotary printing machine, web printing machine and folding machine. Each eight-page newspaper can print 240,000 copies an hour. Electroforming has correspondingly changed the printing of magazines and books, and newspapers and magazines have since become mass consumer goods.
Among the inventions that have a far-reaching impact on the future development of mankind, the automobile is definitely one of them. The car was not originally invented by Americans, but was first improved by Americans to make it have application value, and then quickly popularized by Americans. This is not the credit of one person, but the result of the continuous efforts of many Americans. Only in the atmosphere of everyone's invention and creation can Ford, the king of cars, stand out. Americans first fell in love with cars, probably in 1893.
This year, brothers Charles delia and Frank delia of Massachusetts installed a one-way cycle four-horsepower gasoline engine on an old carriage, making it one of the earliest cars made by Americans. Charles delia later said of the car: "It can't go faster than the old man, but it can finally start." Three years later, the delia brothers made a dozen cars without roofs and sold them. The wheels of these cars are made of wood, and kerosene lamps with brass covers are installed in front.
1897, Francis Stanley and freeland Stanley, twin brothers in Massachusetts, built a gearless car driven by steam. Five years later, they began to formally produce this kind of car, with a speed of more than 40 kilometers per hour. 1903, 23 companies were producing steam cars. 1906 Stanley set a world record of 193 kilometers per hour. The earliest popular diesel locomotive is a classic car produced in 190 1 year.
This kind of car has a beautiful curved fender and steering wheel, much like the steering wheel on a ship. Edison, the great inventor, was not optimistic about these cars powered by steam or gasoline. He believes that electric cars predict the future of cars. His view may be right in the new century, but it has not been verified in the 20th century.
By 1906, the car has got rid of the form of a small carriage and become a new type of transportation. It has its own fenders, pedals, steering wheel and front and rear lights. 1908 10 In June, Ford produced the first T-type five-person convertible tourist bus, which was equipped with a 20-horsepower four-stroke engine and sold for $850. By June of the following year, the Ford Motor Factory had reached the scale of 65,438+000 vehicles per day. 19 13 years, the output of this factory exceeded150,000 vehicles. Two years later, the output reached more than 450 thousand vehicles. By 1924, the price of each car dropped to $260, and America soon became the automobile kingdom.
Thomas Edison (1847 ~ 193 1) is the most famous in this whole tide of invention for the market. Edison made many inventions in his life, not only in the phonograph, electric light, telephone, telegraph and film, but also in the fields of mining, construction and chemical industry.
Edison started school at the age of eight. It is said that after only three months of school, the teacher drove him home. He told his family that the teacher called him an idiot. It seems that celebrities have this legend. For example, Andersen and niels bohr were both considered mentally retarded when they were young, and Newton was once called a fool. But all geniuses have one thing in common, that is, they all have an opportunity to widely accept knowledge. Edison studied Richard green Parker's Philosophy of Nature and Experiment when he was 9 years old. /kloc-When he was 0/3 years old, he found Thomas Paine's works on his father's bookshelf.
Seventy years later, he wrote about Paine's influence on him: "I was inspired by reading the discourses of great thinkers on politics and theology." Paine made me understand many new problems. I can clearly remember the feeling of seeing the light after reading Paine's works ... I am very interested in Paine. If reading it once is not enough, I will study it again and again. "In addition, he finally read Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, which made him pay attention to experiments rather than theories. He publicly declared that I "immediately came to the conclusion that if Newton knew less about numerical problems, his knowledge would be broader."
From then on, I began to hate mathematics, and I never recovered my affection for it. Later, he added, "I am not a mathematician, but I can take the lead in this field." He also said, "I can hire mathematicians, but they can't hire me. "
An important manifestation of Edison's talent is his business mind, his accurate grasp of realistic demand and market. Before he was 2 1 year old, he got his first patent-TV voting recorder, which he will never forget. What happened was that when he reported the news about the voting situation in Congress, he found that it took a lot of time to calculate the voting situation by roll call. He thinks that inventing a machine can change this situation. When voting, as long as a member presses the button on his seat, the voting situation of each member can be immediately displayed on the speaker's desk, and the number of votes can be automatically counted.
However, this invention has not been welcomed by members of Congress, because American lawmakers have long formed a tradition of using the counting time to make long speeches to influence the legislative process. His invention will make this tradition disappear. Inventing according to the actual needs of society has since become his life rule.
1876 In the spring, Edison, who was less than 30 years old, took 15 workers to a remote village in New Jersey called Menlo Park and set up a factory here. This factory is about 9 meters wide and more than 30 meters long. The carriage brought coils of wire, boxes of chemicals, books, a brown steam engine and a gas lamp burning gasoline.
Edison was recognized as an inventor at this time, but people still couldn't see what Edison really wanted to do. However, his purpose is clear: make a small invention every 10 day and make a big invention every six months or so. By invention, he means marketable products. He and his factory had thousands of inventions, and later people called him "the wizard of Menlo Park", among which the greatest inventions were the electric light and the phonograph.
/kloc-in the 0/9th century, people began to study electric lights. In the 1960s, 19, lighthouses along the British coast used arc lamps. 1876, at the exhibition of the founding of the United States100th anniversary held in Philadelphia, three outdoor arc lamps gave off dazzling light, which left a deep impression on people. Edison is busy studying the phonograph at this time, but he is also interested in the problem of lighting with electricity. 1878, he founded the electric light company and invented something convenient for home lighting, because the arc lamp and gas lamp widely used at that time were not suitable for indoor use.
At first, he had a vague idea that the arc lamp should be separated, because its light was too strong to be used indoors. At the beginning of the experiment, but without any concrete results, he began to reveal to a reporter of new york Sun newspaper his idea of transforming the whole lighting system: the central power station supplies electricity to all households through the power grid, so that the current can ignite the lights of thousands of households. He also predicted that in the center of new york alone, 500,000 households will soon use electric lights. These predictions aroused some businessmen's interest, and he was quickly funded by Vanderbilt and drexel-Morgan.
Edison experimented and publicized. 1879 65438+February 2 1 Sunday, the front page news of the New York Herald declared: "Edison's electric lamp is a great victory for the great inventor in electric lamp lighting. It only needs a piece of paper, no gas, no flame, the price is cheaper than oil, and cotton silk can produce bright light. " Edison also announced that Menlo Park will be illuminated by magical new lights on New Year's Eve at 1880. This year, during the week from Christmas to New Year, many people flocked to Menlo Park to watch Edison's magical "light of the future".
The electricity generated by a DC generator lights up 40 incandescent lamps, which is amazing. What is particularly surprising is that these lights can be turned on and off at any time. 1880 in may, the 3,200-ton "Columbia" left a dock in Pennsylvania, which was the first ship in the world to be illuminated by electric lights. Two months later, it bypassed Cape Horn and came to San Francisco, California. The ship was equipped with 1 15 incandescent lamp. Then, Edison designed and built the first central power plant in the United States in the south of Manhattan Island. At the Paris Expo in 188 1, Edison exhibited the lighting system model he designed.
A German reported Edison's exhibition like this: "The structure of the system has been carefully considered, even the smallest details, and its design is complete, just like it has been tested in many cities for decades. All accessories such as sockets, switches, fuses and lamp holders are available. " The lighting system in new york was put into use on the afternoon of September 4th. 1882. When Edison's chief electrician pulled the switch, 400 lights flashed instantly. At night, people find electric lights so lovely.
The New York Times commented: "It was not until around seven o'clock that the electric light really showed its power. People see it is so bright and stable. " People call Edison "the king of inventors" and "the modern magician". Edison was only 35 years old at this time.
Edison's great inventions depend on his collective wisdom and his understanding of the market. Of course, we should not deny his talent. However, he himself doesn't believe in any genius of inspiration or invention, and his biographer says he doesn't think there is any genius in the world. Just like making a machine requires different parts, he also brings people with different talents together, equips them with the best equipment as much as possible, and organizes them to pursue their goals tirelessly, which makes them achieve unparalleled achievements. Take the electric light as an example. Edison was not the first person to study it.
Decades before him, there was a man named Swan in England, who devoted himself to inventing an electric lighting facility. He did experiments again and again in the basement alone. He also started the experiment of making light bulbs with tungsten wires. Edison did this experiment only because of the influence of newspaper reports in this respect. Edison succeeded because he used the collective strength and concentrated the collective wisdom.
Inventing for market and practicality is Edison's lifelong goal. He often said, "Discovery is not invention." He believes that discovery is somewhat accidental, and Americans should not wait for discovery, but should actively pursue invention. He also believes that invention is not the result of aimless exploration with the mind, nor the result of luck, but the product of purposeful pursuit. He also firmly believes that with the right organization, the right people can make inventions regularly and purposefully, just like any other products produced by factories. The invention he said refers to a social product, or rather, a marketable product. This is a typical American invention idea.