By: Shannon Matuszny EECT 111. Thomas Edison and his family.

Thomas Edison By: Shannon Matuszny

EECT 111

Early lifeThomas Edison and his family

Born February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio

Inquisitive and wanted to learn on his own

◦ Mystery of hatching eggs

◦ Escape from drowning

◦ Public spanking

Milan, Ohio

Moved to Port Huron by railroad train when

seven

Removed from formal schooling at age 12

Realized worth of education

◦ Sponsored Edison scholarships

Port Huron, Michigan

At age 11 had a chemical laboratory

Read many books

◦ Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”

◦ The “Dictionary of Sciences”

At age 12 had a job as newsboy and candy

“butcher”

“The Weekly Herald”

First Laboratory

Tale

◦ Caused by trainman who boxed his ears when

Edison’s traveling laboratory caught fire

Truth (Edison’s Truth)

◦ Caused by trainman who picked him up by the

ears to get him on a train pulling out of the

station

Edison’s Deafness

Edison’s BeginningsHow Edison got introduced into the world of electricity

Before age 17 Edison risked his life to save

a station agent’s young boy

In return, Edison was taught telegraphy

First insight to electricity and the beginning

of his studies and experiments

Train Rescue & Reward

At age 17 became a regular telegrapher on

the Grand Trunk Line in Ontario

Creative invention got him fired

◦ Device to automatically “report in” in Morse code

every hour

Found a job with Western Union in Boston

Ended up in New York poor and in debt

Telegrapher Jobs

Created the Universal Stock Printer

◦ Received $40,000

Opened a factory and manufactured stock

tickers

At age 23 was established and successful

Gold and Stock Telegraph Co.

Incandescent LampThe creation of a commercially viable incandescent electric lamp

Gas lights were prevalent before 1879

Many inventors worked to create

incandescent light stemming from electric

arc lamp

◦ James Prescott Joule

◦ Sir Humphrey Davy

Light History

Contributing factors

◦ Durable incandescent material

◦ A better vacuum within the bulb

◦ Filament material of high resistance

Platinum

Carbonized Japanese bamboo

Tungsten

Edison’s Success

Parallel circuit

Durable light bulb

Improved dynamo

Underground conductor network

Devices for maintaining constant voltage

Safety fuses and insulating materials

Light sockets with on-off switches

Critical System Elements

Following InventionsInventions following the success of the incandescent electric lamp

First application in the field of electronics

Phenomenon where an independent wire or

plate, when placed between the legs of the

filament in an electric bulb, serves as a

valve to control the flow of current

The “Edison Effect”

Motion picture camera◦ Invented and patented in 1888

Steel alkaline storage battery◦ Improved Edison battery in 1910◦ Boost to electric car manufacturers◦ Short-lived

Rubber◦ U.S. dependent on foreign sources during WWI◦ Made from goldenrod

Other Inventions

Electric CompaniesFollowing Edison’s success multiple electric companies were formed

Edison General Electric was formed in 1889

from various smaller companies

◦ Edison never controlled company

General Electric was formed after Edison

General Electric and leading competitor

Thompson-Houston merged

General Electric

Formed by Thomas Edison and George

Westinghouse

“Joint arrangement between GE and the

Westinghouse Co. to defend the patents of

the two companies in litigation” (Venable)

Over 600 lawsuits for patent infringement

filed

Board of Patent Control

ConclusionThomas Alva Edison’s impact

Affected life as we know it today

Huge discoveries and improvements

◦ Incandescent light bulb

◦ Phonograph

◦ Motion camera

Still remembered today through the

existence of General Electric

Conclusion

Light bulb history - invention of the light bulb. (2007). The

Great Idea Finder. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions

The inventions of Thomas Edison. (n.d.). Inventors. Retrieved

May 2, 2012, from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors

Venable, J. D. (n.d.). A brief biography of Thomas Alva Edison |

Thomas Edison Muckers. Thomas Edison Muckers. Retrieved

May 2, 2012, from http://www.edisonmuckers.org/thomas-

edison-biography/

References