Thomas Alva Edison and his major inventions

¶ … life of Thomas Edison and how he changed the world with the invention of the light bulb. The writer explores the importance of the light bulb and credits Edison with single-handedly changing the world through its invention. There were six sources used to complete this paper.

HE LIT UP THE NATION AND THEREFORE THE WORLD

Throughout history, inventions have helped mankind evolve and improve its existence. Some inventions are purely for purposes of entertainment, others are out of necessity, but one invention can be credited with being a major element in every life category. The invention of the light bulb was arguably one of the most important creations in history. When the creator of the light bulb, Thomas Edison, first began to experiment with the possibility of turning on a light and illuminating life, he probably had no idea that he was about to change the world. His invention created the ability to work longer hours, perform needed services after dark, and enjoy more family time which changed the face of America in ways never before imagined. Edison did much more than invent the light bulb. He held a world record for having more than 1,000 patents and is arguably responsible for the emergence of America as a modern nation.

BIOGRAPHY

Stories abound about the man who lit up the nation and therefore the world. It is often said that Thomas Edison required very little sleep, ate if he remembered and had an genius IQ rivaled by none. With so many years passed from the life of Edison to modern day thought it is sometimes difficult to separate fact from legend when it comes to his life, however, records and documents passed down from generation to generation do allow Americans to know a bit about how the man who invented the light bulb arrived at that point.

At one point Thomas Alva Edison was thought to be slow and was called dumb by a teacher. Having been born in Milan Ohio in 1847 after three older siblings died from winter harshness before his arrival he still had one brother and two sisters left to grow up with (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm).

Edison's childhood was one of constant, almost relentless curiosity. It was a trait that would serve him well when he eventually went on to hold a world record for having more than 1,000 patents, but while he was still a child it sometimes caused him a great deal of stress. One example of this was the time he accidentally burnt down a family barn in his quest of experimentation. He was charged with the crime of arson at the tender age of six for that mishap but it didn't slow him down (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm).

There were also questions about his intellectual abilities at one point. Stories are told that a friend of his drowned while Edison was playing with him at a creek and Edison failed to show any emotion. In addition he had a teacher tell his parents that he was "dumb" and would never be able to learn (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm).

It was that statement by a teacher that prompted Edison's mother to pull him from school and home school him. It may have been the decision that created an atmosphere for him to bury himself in learning and eventually invent the light bulb.

Before Thomas Alva Edison was ten, he had already read History of England, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, History of the World, and The Age of Reason. When he was eleven, he made his own telegraph set from a picture in a book." It would later become his profession (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm).

Edison became almost completely deaf by the time he reached his teen years but it didn't' slow him down. Working as a telegrapher began to bore him and he was eventually fired but his inventions kept him so busy he barely seemed to notice. Edison, lived in poverty at the time and was rumored to be sleeping in basements. Along the way he invented voting machines and other things but when he invented a stock ticker he was shocked when he was offered $40,000 for its rights. At the time, $40,000 was an enormous amount of money and Edison was shocked. It allowed him to move from poverty status to one of prosperity. Not having to worry about his next meal relieved his stress and he was able to focus even more strongly on his desire to invent (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm).

One day, Thomas Edison saw a lady standing out in the rain, and he fell in love with her. Her name was Mary Stilwell. He offered her a job in his lab, and she accepted. He taught her Morse code, and married her (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm)."

When she died after giving him several children, he married Mina who also gave him a child.

During his adult life he created many inventions, in fact he was asked to improve the telephone that had been created by Alexander Graham Bell. It was shortly after that time that Edison invented the light bulb (American Heroes: Thomas Alva Edison http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/edison/biography.htm).It would change America and eventually the world in ways that were never before dreamed possible.

Edison died at the age of 84. American citizens were so saddened by the loss that in tandem they turned off all of their power for a moment of silence to pay tribute to the man who had lit up their world.

EXPLORING HIS INVENTIONS

Before Edison could complete the invention of the light bulb, which would have a significant impact on the American way of life, he had to invent several pre-items to go along with it. By the time he actually invented the light bulb, through the invention of filaments, Edison had seven patents on peripheral items to assist the light bulb's use.

A the parallel circuit, durable light bulb, an improved dynamo, the underground conductor network, the devices for maintaining constant voltage, safety fuses and insulating materials, and light sockets with on-off switches (Thomas Edison (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm)."

Before Edison could make his millions, every one of these elements had to be invented and then, through careful trial and error, developed into practical, reproducible components. The first public demonstration of the Thomas Edison's incandescent lighting system was in December 1879, when the Menlo Park laboratory complex was electrically lighted. Edison spent the next several years creating the electric industry (Thomas Edison (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm)."

During Edison's adult life America was changing drastically. It was an era that marked growth in several areas including immigration, domestic expansion, foreign relationships and expansion, urbanization and of course industrialization (Collins, 2004).

Edison's invention of items such as the phonograph, the stock ticker and the voting machine were stepping stones to the industrialization and modernization of America. America is now known as one of the most powerful nations on earth because of the inventions and the future that followed those inventions.

From the stock ticker to cement to an electric pen to the phonograph, Edison was both a scientific genius and someone who could be confused as one of his employees, since he often dressed in work clothes. Yet there was nothing common about Thomas Edison, nor the times in which he lived. The American landscape was changing rapidly, led by technological innovations, many of which Edison developed or improved. In short, to understand Edison is to understand the emergence of the United States as a global power (Collins, 2004)."

WHY HE SUCCEEDED

In Edison's own words, nothing he ever accomplished happened by accident. Everything he did was a product of his own hard work. He led by example. He worked a reported 73 years of the 84 years that he was alive (Hoar, 2003).

Many people have heard the stories about Edison only needing four hours of sleep a night. It is possible that his refusal to sleep had more to do with his desire to invent than his lack of need to rest.

He is a tribute to the fact that one who is motivated and willing to work will succeed. It is also evidence of one's ability to educate oneself far beyond the basics of reading, writing and math if one so desires.