WhatMakestheLightBright,Mr.Edison?

byMelvinandGildaBergerA.R.4.6Quiz#117178

HowdidThomasEdisonchangetheworld?
ThomasAlvaEdisoninventedtheelectriclightbulbin1879.Thebulb
tooktheplaceofthegaslamp.Gaslampshadmanyproblems.Theywere
smoky,smelledbad,andsometimesstartedfires.

Edisonalsofoundawaytobringelectricityto
everyone.Hebuilthugemachines,calleddynamos,
toproduceelectricity.Longwirescarriedthe
electricityfromthedynamostopeopleshomesand
businesses.
ThankstoEdison,wenowhavelightstochange
nightintoday,andelectricitytorunourTVs,
computers,refrigerators,andairconditioners.The
worldwouldbeaverydifferentplacewithoutThomas
AlvaEdison.

DidEdisoninventelectricity?
No.Nooneinventedelectricity.Electricityisaformofenergythatis
foundinnature.TheGreeksknewaboutelectricityalmost2,500yearsago.
Intheeighteenthcentury,BenjaminFranklinflewakiteduringalightning
stormtoprovethatlightningisaformofelectricity.
ManypeoplehadtriedtouseelectricitybeforeEdison.Someeven
madeelectriclights,butnoneworkedverywell.
Edisonwantedtobethefirstpersontoinventanelectriclightthat
workedwellandcostlittle.Healsowantedtobethefirstpersontobuilda
powerplanttobringelectricitytoacity.
InJune,1752,Benjamin
Franklinshowedthatlightningis
electricitybyflyingakiteina
storm.Lightningstruckthekite
wireandtraveleddowntothe
key(neartheend),whereit
causedaspark.In,1876,
CurrierandIvescreatedthis
imageofFranklinsexperiment.


WhenandwherewasEdisonborn?
ThomasAlvaEdisonwasbornonFebruary11,1847inMilan,Ohio.
HisparentswereSamuelandNancyElliotEdison.Theyhadseven
children.Thomaswastheyoungest.EveryonecalledhimAl,whichwas
shortforAlva.
Alwasaverycuriouschild.Hehadaknackforgettingintotrouble.At
theageofsix,Alsetfiretohisfathersbarn.Hesaiditwasjusttosee
whatitwoulddo.Ofcourse,hisfatherwasveryangry.
In1854,thefamilymovedtoPortHuron,Michigan.Mr.Edisontried
differentbusinesses.Noneworkedoutverywell.Thefamilydidnothave
muchmoney.

WasEdisonagoodstudent?
Edisonwasnotaverygoodstudent.Hedidnotstartschooluntilhe
wassevenyearsold.Thatsbecausehewassickalot.Hisclassmates
thoughthewasntsmartbecauseherefusedtospeakupinclass.After
onlythreemonthshedroppedout.Hismother,whohadbeenaschool
teacher,beganteachinghimathome.
WhenAlwasnine,hismotherboughthimasciencebook.Hefellin
lovewithchemistryandsetupasciencelaboratoryinthebasementofhis
house.Dayafterday,Altriedtheexperimentsinthebook.Heboughtlots
ofchemicalsandputthemintoglassbottlesthathemarkedPOISON.It
wasAlswayofmakingsurethatnoonetouchedhisthings!


DidEdisonhavetroublehearing?
Edisonwasdeafinhisleftearandcouldbarelyhearwithhisright
one.Poorhearingraninhisfamily.Frequentchildhoodillnessesprobably
madehishearingevenworse.
Edisonlaterwrote,IhavenotheardabirdsingsinceIwastwelve
yearsold.
Aroundtheageoftwelve,Algotajobsellingnewspapersandcandy
onthetrainsoftheGrandTrunkRailway.Inhisfreemomentshedid
experimentsinthetrainsbaggagecar.Oneday,ajarofchemicalsfelland
startedasmallfire.Thefuriousconductorstrucktheboyonhisears.That,
too,mayhavedamagedAlshearing.

WhendidEdisonsavesomeoneslife?
Afterthefireinthebaggagecar,Edisonlosthisjob.However,he
continuedtosellnewspapersatstationsalongtherailwayroute.
Accordingtoonestory,youngEdisonsawathreeyearoldboy
walkingonatrack.Atrainwascomingtowardhim.Edisonranoverand
whiskedtheboyaway.Theboysfatherwasthetelegraphoperatoratthe
station.HewantedtothankEdisonforsavinghissonslife,soheofferedto
teachEdisonhowtoworkatelegraph.Edisoncouldntwaittostart.

WhatwasEdisonsfirstinvention?
Edisonsfirstinventionimprovedthetelegraph.Byagesixteen,he
wasworkingasarailroadtelegrapher.Atthattime,therewereno
telephonesorcomputers.Peoplekeptintouchbytelegraph.Operators
tappedoutmessagesthattraveledlongdistancesthroughelectricalwires.
Theelectricitycamefrombatteries.Themessageswereinacodeofdots
anddashes,calledtheMorsecode.
Edisonsdutywastotapoutamessage
everyhalfhourtoshowthathewasawake.
Edisonfounditveryhardtostayupallnight.
Sohehookedupaclocktothetelegraph.
Now,messageswentautomaticallyevery
halfhournooperatornecessary!Thiswas
Edisonsfirstinvention.

WhatdidEdisoninventnext?
By1868,EdisonwaslivinginBoston.Thereheinventedanelectric
votecountingmachine.Itwasthefirstof1,093patentsthatEdisonwould
get.Apatentisadocumentissuedbyagovernment.Itsaysthatonlythe
inventorcanmake,use,orselltheinvention.Unfortunately,fewpeople
seemedtoneedorwantthevotecounter.
In1869,EdisonarrivedinNewYorkCitywithonlyonedollarinhis
pocket.AfriendletEdisonsleepinhisoffice.Whentheofficestelegraph
machinebroke,Edisonfixedit.Later,heinventedabettertelegraph
machine.Toprotecttheinvention,Edisongotapatent.Theownerofthe
officeboughtthepatentfor$40,000.Edisonwasnowarichman.

WhendidEdisonbecomeafulltimeinventor?
Inthewinterof1870,Edisonbecameafulltimeinventor.Heused
themoneyfromthetelegraphpatentsaletostarthisowncompanyin
Newark,NewJersey,makinginventionstoorder.Edisonhiredateamof
mentohelphiminventthingsthatpeopleaskedfor.
TheNewarkworkshopturnedoutseveralimportantinventions.
Edisonfoundwaystosendasmanyasfourtelegraphmessagesthrough
thesamewiresatthesametime!Heinventedwaxpaper.Healsobuilta
bettertypewriterwithmetalpartsinsteadofwood.Edisonoftenworkedday
andnightandexpectedhisworkerstodothesame.

WasEdisonmarried?
Yes.Twice.In1871,atagetwentyfour,Edisonmetsixteenyearold
MaryStilwell.Duringtheircourtship,EdisontaughtMarytheMorsecode.
Thisway,theycouldtalk,andnoonewouldknowwhattheyweresaying.
ThecouplemarriedonChristmasDayofthatyear.
In1876,EdisonboughtahouseandlandinMenloPark,NewJersey.
ItwasnotfarfromNewark.ThehousehadlotsofroomforMaryandtheir
growingchildren,Marion,ThomasJr.,andWilliam.
Edisonlovedhiswifeandchildren.However,hespentsomuchtime
inhisworkshopthathewasrarelyhome.HisabsenceleftMaryfeelingsad
andlonely.

WhatwasEdisonsinventionfactory?
Itwasthebig,newworkshopEdisonbuiltnexttohishouseinMenlo
Park.Hisgoalwastobringoutaminorinventioneverytendaysandabig
thingeverysixmonthsorso.Thegoalseemedimpossible,butEdisondid
justthat.Infact,heinventedsomanythingsthatpeoplecalledhimthe
WizardofMenloPark.MorethantwentypeopleworkedforEdison.They
wereaverytalentedgroup.EachhadonespecialskilltohelpEdisonbuild
hisinventions.

WhatimportantinventionsdidEdisonmakeatMenloPark?
OneofEdisonsmanyimportantinventionswasanimproved
telephone.AlexanderGrahamBellhadinventedthetelephonein1876.
UsingBellsphone,youhadtoshouttobeheard.Edisonfinetunedthe
phonesothatnormalvoicescouldbeheardloudandclear.Itwasalso
Edisonsideatosayhellowhenansweringthetelephone.
Edisonsfavoriteinvention,however,wasthephonographa
machinetorecordandplaybacksounds.In1877,Edisonmadethefirst
one.Itwasasodacansizedcylinderwrappedinathinsheetoftinfoil.On
eachsidewasashorttubewithapinattheend.Edisonturnedthecylinder
andshouted,Maryhadalittlelamb,intoonetube.Thesoundvibrations
shookthepinandmadealonggrooveinthetinfoil.
Toplaybackthesound,Edisonturnedthecylinderagain.Outcame
Maryhadalittlelamb.Thephonographworked!

Thefirstphotoshowsinventor
ThomasEdisonwithhisphonograph.

Thesecondphotoshowsa
workingmodelofEdisonsfirst
phonograph.

WhendidEdisonstartworkontheelectriclightbulb?
In1879,Edisondecidedtoinventalongburningelectriclightbulb.
Forthirtyyears,peoplehadtriedtodothesamething.Theyhadallfailed.
Theusualwaywastopasselectricitythroughawireinsideaglassbulb.
Thiswireiscalledfilament.Whenelectricitypassesthrough,thefilament
getssohotthatitglowswithabrightlight.
Earlierinventorstriedmanykindsoffilaments.Everyonehadthe
sameproblem.Thelightlastedafewmomentsatmost.Somefilaments
justburnedup.Afewmelted.
Edisonsetouttofindtherightfilamentthatgivelight
and
lastalong
time.

HowdidEdisonfindthebestfilament?
Edisonknewthatlong,thinfilamentsburnbrighterthanthicker
filaments.Sohemadehisfilamentsasthinaspossible.Heformedthe
filamentsintolong,tightcoilssotheywouldgivethemostlight.Healso
knewthatmostfilamentswouldburnupintheair.Sohepumpedalltheair
outofthebulbs.
Edisontriedhundredsoffilaments.
Heexperimentedwithfilamentsmadeof
metal,wood,cardboard,plants,thread
andevenhairfromamansbeard.Finally,
aftertwoyearsoffailure,Edisonfound
whathewaslookingforalonglasting
filament.

Whatwasthebestfilament?
Themostsuccessfulfilamentwasmadeofcottonthread.Butnotjust
anythread.IwastthreadthatEdisonfirstslowlyheatedinanoven.The
heatchangedthecottonintoachemicalcalledcarbon.
Allsummer,Edisonworkedtoimprovethe
carbonfilament.Finally,onthenightofOctober19,
1870,hehadit.Edisonturnedonalampwiththenew
carbonfilament.Thelightgrewbrighterandbrighter.It
gaveasmuchlightas30candles.Edisonwrote,...the
sightwehadsolongdesiredtoseemetoureyes.It
wasthefirstlonglastingelectriclight!Itburnedfor
morethanthirteenhours.

Arefluorescentlightbulbslikeotherbulbs?
No.Fluorescentbulbsdonothavefilaments.Theyarelong,thin,
glasstubescoatedwithchemicalsandfilledwithgases.Electricityflows
throughthegases.Thismakesthechemicalscoatingthetubegiveofflight.
Severalengineersdevelopedthefluorescentlightbulbaboutsixty
yearsafterEdisoninventedtheelectriclightbulb.Fluorescentsuseless
electricityandproduceslessheatthanelectriclightbulbs.Mostschools,
stores,andofficesnowusefluorescentlight.

WhendidEdisonlearntoproduceelectricity?
Duringthe1880s,EdisonandhisworkersatMenloParkbuilttwo
hugegenerators.Generatorsaregiantmachinesthatarerunmostlyby
steam.Theyproduceelectricity.InEdisonstime,thegeneratorswere
calleddynamos.Workerslaid15miles(24km)ofwire.Thewirewentfrom
thegeneratorstoallthebuildingsinatenblockareaofNewYorkCity.
OnSeptember4,1882,Edisonwasreadytotestthesystem.He
gavethesignal.Aworkerpulledtheswitch.Instantlyhundredsofelectric
lightsburstintobrightness.Itwasthebeginningoftheelectricage.

ThefirstdynamoonPearlStreet,NewYorkCity,supplied
powertolight800ofEdisonsnewlyinventedelectriclightbulbs.

WhathappenedtoEdisonafterheinventedelectricpower?
In1884,Edisonswife,Marydied.Itwasaterribleblowtothe
inventor.HestoppedgoingtoworkinhisMenloParklab.Buthecontinued
tobuildpowerplantsincities.Twoyearslater,EdisonmarriedMinaMiller,
theyoungdaughterofLewisMiller,afellowinventorandmanufacturer.
ThomasandMinahadthreechildrenCharles,Madeleine,andTheodore.
In1887,EdisonsetupalargerlabinWestOrange,NewJersey.
Here,Edisonstartedworkingagain:Hefoundawaytoseparateironore
fromrocks.Heperfectedamoviecameraandaprojector.Healsocameup
withasafetylampthataminercouldwearonhishelmet.

DidEdisoninventmotionpictures?
Edisonwasoneofseveralinventorsinthe1880swhotriedtomake
andshowmotionpictures.EdisonsaidthathewantedtodofortheEye
whatthephonographdoesfortheEar.Hefinallysucceededin18889.No
oneissureifhewasthefirst.
Edisondevelopedtwomachines:acamera(kinetograph)fortakinga
numberofseparatepicturesonalongstripoffilm,andamachine
(kinetoscope)toshowthepictures.Therolloffilmpassedthrougha
kinetoscopeathighspeed.Apersonwatchingthroughapeepholesawthe
picturesmove.
EdisonsWestOrangestudio,calledBlackMariawasthefirstmotion
picturestudioinAmerica.

WhendidEdisondie?
EdisondiedonOctober18,1931.Hewaseightyfouryearsold.
HerbertHooverwasPresident.OnthedayofEdisonsfuneral,President
HooveraskedpeoplealloverAmericatodimthelightsintheirhomes.It
wasveryfittingtributetoEdison.
MostpeopleagreethatEdisonsgreatestinventionwastheelectric
lightbulb.Infact,heobtainedpatentsformorethanonethousanddifferent
inventions.Theyrangefromtheearlyvotecountingmachinetothesecret
workhedidfortheU.S.Navyinthefinalyearsofhislife.
Edisonsaid,Thetroublewithotherinventorsisthattheytryafew
thingsandtheyquit.IneverquituntilIgetwhatIwant.Thatsaverygood
lessonforusall!