Thomas Edison
AD 1847～AD 1931
The inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio in 1847. He only received an education. After three years of formal education, his teachers considered him a mentally retarded student!
Edison made his first invention when he was only twenty-three years old - the electronic voting recorder. There was no market for such an instrument. From then on, Edison concentrated on inventing what he expected to be an easy invention. something that enters the market. Shortly after inventing the recorder, Edison invented an improved stock ticker in exchange for $40,000, a huge sum of money at the time. Edison followed with a series of other inventions, and soon became famous and wealthy. Perhaps his most innovative invention was the phonograph, which he patented in 1877. But even more important to the world was his invention in 1879 of a practical incandescent light bulb.
The first person to invent an electric lighting device was not Edison. As early as a few years ago, Paris used solitary lamps to illuminate its streets. However, Edison's light bulb, together with the power transmission device he invented, made it possible for ordinary households to use electricity for lighting. In 1882, his company began producing household electricity in New York City. After that, household use of electricity quickly spread throughout the world.
Edison established the first transmission company to deliver electricity to private homes, laying the foundation for the development of a huge industry. After all, it is not just lights that use this kind of power supply today, but a whole series of household appliances from televisions to washing machines. Edison greatly promoted the application of electricity in industry because the electricity from the transmission grid built by Edison was easy to use.
Edison made a huge contribution to the development of motion pictures, cameras, and projectors. He was interested in telephones (his carbon microphones significantly improved audibility), telegraphs, and typing. 绯亍W芗波鹄chu?仙?禦谦苅ハ罘⒚鞯斖ɡ?ǎ?Badger Nafei and Huanjunjun Siyan disaster minuo neon? Jun?
Edison One of the reasons for his amazing work efficiency is that early in his career, he established a research laboratory in Manlo Park, New Jersey, and hired a group of talented assistants to assist him in his work. Since that time many industrial companies have built large research laboratories, the prototype of which was Edison's laboratory. Edison's modern, well-equipped research laboratory—in which many people worked together as a unit—was one of his most important inventions, although one he certainly would not have patented. .
As well as being an inventor, Edison also engaged in manufacturing and organized several companies, the most important of which later became General Electric Company.
Although Edison did not have the temperament of a purely theoretical scientist, he made an important scientific discovery. In 1882, he discovered that in a near-vacuum state, electric current can pass between wires that are not in contact with each other. This phenomenon is called the Edison effect. It not only has great theoretical significance, but also has important practical applications, which finally led to the invention of vacuum tubes and electronics. The creation of industry.
Edison suffered from severe deafness for most of his life, but his hard work and perseverance fully compensated for this shortcoming. Edison was married twice (his first wife died when he was young), and both wives gave him three children. He died in Orange, New Jersey, in 1931.
People recognize Edison as a genius and the greatest inventive genius that has ever appeared. One feels a sense of awe as one looks through his list of practical inventions, most of which would have been made by someone else within thirty years. But if we look at his inventions individually, we find that none of them is of real significance. For example, although incandescent lamps are widely used, they are not an irreplaceable gap in modern life. In fact, fluorescent lamps, an invention based on a completely different principle, are also widely used; if there were no incandescent light bulbs at all, our daily lives would not be very different from what they are now. Indeed, before electric light, candles, oil lamps, and gas lamps were generally considered to be quite satisfactory sources of light.
The phonograph is certainly an ingenious instrument, but it is generally considered to pale in comparison to the changes that radio, television or telephones brought to our daily lives. And in recent years, completely different recording methods have appeared, such as tape recorders. It would be relatively unimportant today if there were no gramophone or tape recorder at all. Many of the patent rights obtained by Edison were related to reforms of devices that had been invented by others and were quite useful. Although such reforms were beneficial, they could not be considered to have great significance in the entire historical process.
Although no single one of Edison's inventions stands out from the crowd, it should be remembered that he made not just one invention, but a thousand. It is for this reason that I rank Edison ahead of Gagolmo Marconi and Alexander Graham Bell.
Chronology of Edison's inventions:
On October 11, 1868, he invented the "voting counter" and obtained his first patent.
In October 1869, he co-founded the "Pop-Edison Company" with friends.
Invented the general-purpose printing press in 1870 and sold the patent rights for US$40,000. Set up its own manufacturing plant in New York.
From 1872 to 1876, he invented the electric telegraph, the automatic repeater telegraph method, the double and quadruple telegraph methods, and manufactured wax paper carbon resistors.
The acoustic wave analysis resonator was invented in 1875.
In 1876, a laboratory was established in Menlo Park, New Jersey - the first industrial research laboratory. It was the origin of the modern concept of a "study group." Invented the carbon rod microphone. Apply for a patent for the telegraph automatic recording machine.
In 1877, the early telephone invented by Bell was improved and put into practical use in Menlo Park. Obtained three patents: perforated pen, pneumatic stylus and ordinary stylus. On August 20th, what proved to be one of Edison's favorite projects - the phonograph - was invented.
In 1878, Edison claimed to solve the problem of electric lighting. The Royal Society holds a gramophone exhibition. Improved phonographs, designed microphones, amplifiers, aerial speakers, sound engines, tuning engines, microthermometers, taste testers, etc. Obtained patent for phonograph on February 19th. In July, he went to Wyoming with Professor Parker of the University of Pennsylvania to observe the total solar eclipse, and used the thermometer he invented to measure the overall temperature around the sun. Returned to Menlo Park in August and returned to scientific research and experiments. Britain approves Edison's patent application for "Video Recorder". William Wallace visited Connecticut in September. Started research into inventing the electric light. On October 5, a patent application for a platinum wire "electric lamp" was filed.
In 1879-1880, after thousands of setbacks, the high-resistance incandescent lamp was invented. Improved generator. Design new current distribution methods, circuit alignment and calculation methods. Invented the light bulb holder and switch. Invented the magnetic mineral separation method.
On August 30, 1879, Edison and Bell each demonstrated telephone devices at Saratoga Creek City Hall. Edison's phone turned out to be clearer than Bell's. On October 21, the high-resistance incandescent lamp was invented, which burned continuously for 40 hours. Application for carbon filament lamp patent on November 1st. On December 21, the New York Express reported on Edison's incandescent light bulb. A public light show was held in Menlo Park on December 25 for 3,000 visitors from New York City.
Helicopter research in 1880. Obtained patent rights for electric light invention. Made into a magnetic screener. On January 28, the patent document for "Electric Power Transmission and Distribution System" was submitted. On February 18, "Scribe's Monthly" published the article "Edison's Electric Light", officially announcing the invention of the electric light. In May, the first ship "Columbia" illuminated by electric lights successfully made its trial voyage.
New York Edison Electric Lighting Company was established in December.
1881 New York Fifth Avenue headquarters established. An incandescent lamp factory is established in New York City. Set up manufacturing plants for generators, underground wires, and electric light parts. Experimenting with trolleys in Menlo Park.
The three-wire current distribution system was invented in 1882. Applied for 141 patents. The first central factory was established on September 4. At the end of December, more than 150 small power stations were established across the United States.
A patent for wireless telegraphy was filed on May 23, 1885.
From 1887 to 1890, he improved the cylindrical phonograph and obtained more than 80 patent rights for phonographs.
Engaged in manufacturing and selling phonographs, records, talking machines, etc.
The phonograph gramophone was invented in 1888.
Participated in the Centennial Exposition in Paris in 1889. Invented many types of electric railways. Complete the moving movie machine.
1890-1899 Designed large stone crushers and grinders. Personally directed the large-scale development of iron ore using new methods at the Ogden Mine.
In 1891, he invented the "Edison Concentrator" and began to operate his own mining business. Obtained the patent for "Kinet Cinema Projector". The first successful movable motion picture telescope was demonstrated to the public on May 20 at the Edison Laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey.
In 1893, the world's first movie "studio" was built in the courtyard of Edison's laboratory.
On April 14, 1894, the first kinetoscope theater was opened in New York.
On April 23, 1896, the "Vita Projector" was used for the first time to show a film at Coster-Beyer's Music Hall in New York, and it was warmly welcomed by the public.
In 1902, a test using a new type of battery for vehicle power was successful. The range was 5,000 miles and it could travel 100 miles per charge.
In 1903, Edison's company produced its first feature film, "Train Robbery."
In 1909, after ten years of research, the battery was finally successful. Make a fax telegram. Obtained design patents for raw material machine, fine grinding machine and long kiln.
From 1910 to 1914, the disc-type phonograph was completed, with damage-free records and diamond records. Completed talkie machine.
The "disc record" was invented in 1910.
The "talkie" was invented in 1912. Developed into a speech phonograph.
In 1914-1915, the comprehensive manufacturing method of carbolic acid was invented, and a phonograph and a telegraph machine were combined into a remote writing machine. One party's telephone could automatically record the other party's speech. Manufacture benzene, indigo oil, etc. by ourselves.
39 inventions were completed from 1915 to 1918, the most famous of which are torpedo mechanical devices, flamethrowers and underwater periscopes.
Completed long-term recording in 1927.
In 1928, rubber was successfully extracted from wild grasses.
Thomas Alva Edison was a world-famous American electrician and inventor. In addition to his inventions and contributions to the phonograph, electric light, telephone, telegraph, and movies, etc. , there are also many famous creations and insights in mining, construction, chemical industry and other fields. Edison made about 2,000 inventions throughout his life, making great contributions to human civilization and progress.
Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in the small town of Milan, Ohio, in the midwestern United States. His father is of Dutch descent, and his mother once worked as a primary school teacher and is of Scottish descent. When Edison was 7 years old, his father lost money in the roofing business, so he moved the family to Fort Gratiot in the northern suburbs of Huron, Michigan. Shortly after moving here, Edison contracted scarlet fever and remained ill for a long time. It was believed that this disease was the cause of his deafness. Edison went to school at the age of 8, but after only reading for three months, he was dismissed by the teacher as an "imbecile" and kicked out of school. From then on, his mother was his "teacher". Because of his mother's good education methods, he developed a strong interest in reading. "He not only read a lot of books, but also read ten lines at a glance, and he could recite them after reading them." When he was 8 years old, he read Shakespeare, the most important playwright of the English Renaissance, the works of Dickens, and many important historical books. By the age of 9, he could quickly read more difficult books. , such as Parker's "Natural and Experimental Philosophy". I loved chemistry when I was 10 years old. At the age of 11, he experimented with his first telegraph. In order to make money to buy chemicals and equipment, he started working. When he was 12 years old, he got a job selling newspapers on the train, traveling between Port Huron and Detroit, Michigan. While selling newspapers, he also runs a fruit and vegetable business. Whenever he has time, he goes to the library to read.
He bought an old printing press and started publishing his own weekly magazine, the Herald. The first issue of the weekly magazine was printed on the train. He used the money he earned to build a chemistry laboratory on a luggage cart. Unfortunately there was a chemical fire and he and his equipment were all thrown out of the car. Another time, when Edison was trying to board a freight train, a train conductor grabbed his ears to help him get on. This action resulted in Edison becoming permanently deaf.
In August 1862, Edison used fearless heroism to rescue a boy who was about to be killed on the train tracks.
The child's father was grateful for this, but since he had no money to repay him, he was willing to teach him telegraph skills. From then on, Edison became involved with this mysterious new world of electricity and embarked on a scientific journey.
In 1863, Edison served as a telegraph operator at the Stratford Junction Station of the Grand Trunk Railway. From 1864 to 1867, he worked as a telegraph operator in various places in the Midwest and lived a wandering life. Traveled to Stratford, Adrian
Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville, and Huron
etc.
In 1868, Edison came to Boston as a telegraph operator. In the same year, he received his first invention patent.
This is a device that automatically records votes. Edison thought the device would speed up Congress's work and would be welcomed. However, one member of Congress told him that they had no intention of speeding up the agenda and that voting slowly was sometimes politically necessary. From then on, Edison decided not to make any inventions that people didn't need.
In early June 1869, he came to New York to look for work. While he was waiting to be summoned at a broker's office, a telegraph machine broke down. Edison was the only one there who could fix the telegraph, and he got a job that was better than he expected. In October, he and Pope jointly established a "Pop-Edison Company" to specialize in scientific instruments for electrical engineering. Here, he invented the "Edison Printing Press." He dedicated this printing press to the manager of a large Wall Street company. He wanted to ask for $5,000, but he lacked the courage to say it. So he asked the manager to give a price, and the manager gave
$40,000.
Edison used the money to build a factory on Ward Street in Newark, New Jersey, specializing in manufacturing various electrical machinery.
He worked all night long. He trained many capable assistants, and at the same time, he also happened to meet the diligent Mary, his future first bride. In Newark, he made inventions such as wax paper and mimeograph machines. From 1872 to 1875, Edison successively invented the double and quadruple telegraph machines, and also helped others create the world's first telegraph machine. Get the first English typewriter.
In the spring of 1876, Edison moved again, this time to "Menlo Park" in New Jersey. Here he built the first "invention factory", which "marked the beginning of collective research". In 1877, Edison improved the early invention
The invention king Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio in 1847. He only received three years of formal education, and his teacher thought he was mentally retarded. students!
Edison made his first invention when he was only twenty-three years old - the electronic voting recorder. There was no market for such an instrument. From then on, Edison concentrated on inventing what he expected to be an easy invention. something that enters the market. Shortly after inventing the recorder, Edison invented an improved stock ticker in exchange for $40,000, a huge sum of money at the time. Edison followed with a series of other inventions, and soon became famous and wealthy. Perhaps his most innovative invention was the phonograph, which he patented in 1877. But even more important to the world was his invention in 1879 of a practical incandescent light bulb.
The first person to invent an electric lighting device was not Edison.
As early as a few years ago, Paris used solitary lamps to illuminate its streets. However, Edison's light bulb, together with the power transmission device he invented, made it possible for ordinary households to use electricity for lighting. In 1882, his company began producing household electricity in New York City. After that, household use of electricity quickly spread throughout the world.
Edison established the first transmission company to deliver electricity to private homes, laying the foundation for the development of a huge industry. After all, it is not just lights that use this kind of power supply today, but a whole series of household appliances from televisions to washing machines. Edison greatly promoted the application of electricity in industry because the electricity from the transmission grid built by Edison was easy to use.
Edison made a huge contribution to the development of motion pictures, cameras, and projectors. He made important improvements to the telephone (his carbon microphone significantly improved audibility), the telegraph, and the typewriter. Among his other inventions were the phonograph, the mimeograph machine and the accumulator. In total, Edison patented more than a thousand individual inventions, an incredible number.
One of the reasons why Edison was so incredibly efficient was that early in his career, he established a research laboratory in Manlo Park, New Jersey, and hired a group of talented assistants to assist him in his work. . Since that time many industrial companies have built large research laboratories, the prototype of which was Edison's laboratory. Edison's modern, well-equipped research laboratory—in which many people worked together as a unit—was one of his most important inventions, although one he certainly would not have patented. .
As well as being an inventor, Edison also engaged in manufacturing and organized several companies, the most important of which later became General Electric Company.
Although Edison did not have the temperament of a purely theoretical scientist, he made an important scientific discovery. In 1882, he discovered that in a near-vacuum state, electric current can pass between wires that are not in contact with each other. This phenomenon is called the Edison effect. It not only has great theoretical significance, but also has important practical applications, which finally led to the invention of vacuum tubes and electronics. The creation of industry.
Edison suffered from severe deafness for most of his life, but his hard work and perseverance fully compensated for this shortcoming. Edison was married twice (his first wife died when he was young), and both wives gave him three children. He died in Orange, New Jersey, in 1931.
People recognize Edison as a genius and the greatest inventive genius that has ever appeared. One feels a sense of awe as one looks through his list of practical inventions, most of which would have been made by someone else within thirty years. But if we look at his inventions individually, we find that none of them is of real significance. For example, although incandescent lamps are widely used, they are not an irreplaceable gap in modern life. In fact, fluorescent lamps, an invention based on a completely different principle, are also widely used; if there were no incandescent light bulbs at all, our daily lives would not be very different from what they are now. Indeed, before electric light, candles, oil lamps, and gas lamps were generally considered to be quite satisfactory sources of light.
The phonograph is certainly an ingenious instrument, but it is generally considered to pale in comparison to the changes that radio, television or the telephone have brought to our daily lives. And in recent years, completely different recording methods have appeared, such as tape recorders. It would be relatively unimportant today if there were no gramophone or tape recorder at all. Many of the patent rights obtained by Edison were related to reforms of devices that had been invented by others and were quite useful. Although such reforms were beneficial, they could not be considered to have great significance in the entire historical process.
Although no single one of Edison's inventions stands out from the crowd, it should be remembered that he made not just one invention, but a thousand. It is for this reason that I rank Edison ahead of Gagolmo Marconi and Alexander Graham Bell.