ThomasAlvaEdison

Thomas Alva Edison

Born Feb. 11, 1847Milan, Ohio

Youngest of 7 ChildrenHome tutored by motherThree months of formal schoolingHad his own chemical lab at age 11

Jobs Held

Progress hinderedDeaf in one ear

First job at 12News boy

Moved to Boston to work for Western Union

Worked 20-24 hr. days to build lab.Menlo Park, NJ

Significant Inventions

Practical Light BulbElectric Generating SystemPhonographMotion Picture ProjectorStock Ticker

46 patentsImprovements of stock tickers

Duplex Telegraphy

Telephone Transmitter

First major work in Menlo Park More practical than Bell’s telephone Transmitter used carbon microphone Connected to a series of batteries

Produced a stronger signal

Could carry messages clearly107 miles

PhonographRecorded sound mechanically

tin foil cylinder

Suggested usesdictation for letter writingphonographic books for the blindreproducing musicstudy of language and educational purposes

1888Disc instead of a cylinder

Kinetoscope

Produced motion picturesRapid succession of individual views

First commercial motion picture in 1891Talking motion pictures in 1913

Syncronized phonograph & kinetoscope

New form of entertainment.

Incandescant Carbon Lamp

J.W. Swan patened one earlierIt was not practical

Swan and Edison got togetherNamed the lamp the “Ediswan”.

Finished it in 1879

Carbon Filaments

Started with carbonized cottonDid not last long.

Experimented with vegetable fibersSix thousand different types

Discovered that bamboo gave the most durable filament.

Designed an efficient vaccum pump to extract air from the bulb.

Edison Electric Light Company

1878Paid Edison for all his electric light inventions for the next five

years.

1889EELC merged with Edison Lamp Company, Edison Machine

Works, and others to form the Edison General Electric Company (G E).

He eventually surrendered his control over the industry that he had created.

Less Known Inventions

Alkaline storage batteriesContributed to the development of

manufacturing processes.Designed plants for manufacturing Benzine,

Carbolic Acid & Analine Derivatives during WW I.

Invented electric pen that formed stencilsMimeograph and paraffin papers

Patents About 200 were concerned with telegraphs and

telephones. Several hundred evolved from the incandescent

electric lamp. Some for central electric power system. Designs for phonographs and phonograph records. A number were attributed to the stock tickers

Other Achievements

Helped invent the Sims-Edison torpedo Had two labs: West orange, New Jersey and

one in Menlo Park Founded the Edison Portland Cement

Company Discovered the Edison effect while working

on his light.Had implications for modern electronics.

Thomas A. Edison had over 1000 patents. His work greatly effected the Technological

advancement not only of his time, but of ours as well!

Summary