Lot Essay
In his later years, after touring Europe, Thomas Edison remarked, "Where waterpower and electric light had been developed, everyone seemed normally intellegent. Where these applications did not exist and the natives went to bed with the chickens, staying there 'till daylight, they were far less intellegent." In this statement he summed-up his complete conviction that electricity was humanity's greatest scientific achievement.
Using electricity in everyday life had been an idea Edison carried with him for many years. During a trip to Wyoming to observe an eclipse in July 1878 he noted the huge efforts made by miners and farmers to transport their harvest. As steam would be to expensive to use he pondered the use of electricity for, among other things, a railroda. As early as autumn 1877 he made exploratory experiments in developing a practical incandescent light, but decided not to proceed because "so many others are working in the field." Also, it was at this time that he was working on the original tinfoil phonograph and its immediate success diverted him.
Many others were indeed working on the electric light among them, Joseph Swan in England, William E. Sawyer, Hiram Maxim and William Wallace in America. The precursor of the incandescent lamp, the arc light had been around since 1812 when Sir Humphrey Davy first connected a battery to two pieces of charcoal. This method of lighting was a real alternative to gas by the late 1870's but by its nature was restricted to street lighting. The gas companies, jealously protecting their hugely profitable monopolies on lighting, had of course no desire to see any progress in electric lighting. Alternative forms of energy are similarly discouraged by the public utilities today.
The two basic but seemingly unsurmountable obstacles to producing an efficient and practical light were finding a filament and producing a good enough vacuum. Finding a filament was Edison's first task. In his earlier experiments he tried carbonized paper, tissue, wood, corn and other fibres. In autumn 1878, with financial backing, he resumed work. He moved on to platinum and other metals, and the initial, albeit limited, success he had with platinum led to a first patent.
The second obstacle, an efficient vacuum, was overcome in autumn 1879 with the arrival of a new Spengel air-pump. This pump was capable of producing a vacuum of one hundred-thousandth of an atmosphere. Edison adapted it sufficiently to produce a vacuum of one millionth of an atmosphere.
Returning to carbon as a filament Edison then inserted carbonized cotton thread fitted in a nickel plate into a bulb. By the evening of 21-22 October 1879 he had a bulb which burned for forty hours.
The lamp itself was only the end product of what Edison forsaw. He proposed, planned and put into operation the first electricity supplier. It had always been his intention to convert homes, officies, shops and factories from gas to electricity. Electricity would be "piped" to the subscribers in much the same way as gas. At first it was only lighting which made use of electricity but soon subscribers would be able to cook, clean and sew by electricity, as well as see. After overseeing the problems of installation, safety and metering, the first electricity generating plant for a city was opened in Perl Street, New York on 4 September 1882.
To say that electricity changed the world would be oversimplifying the subject, but it is perhaps sufficient to say that following Edison's death America honoured his memory by dimming lights all over the country.
Using electricity in everyday life had been an idea Edison carried with him for many years. During a trip to Wyoming to observe an eclipse in July 1878 he noted the huge efforts made by miners and farmers to transport their harvest. As steam would be to expensive to use he pondered the use of electricity for, among other things, a railroda. As early as autumn 1877 he made exploratory experiments in developing a practical incandescent light, but decided not to proceed because "so many others are working in the field." Also, it was at this time that he was working on the original tinfoil phonograph and its immediate success diverted him.
Many others were indeed working on the electric light among them, Joseph Swan in England, William E. Sawyer, Hiram Maxim and William Wallace in America. The precursor of the incandescent lamp, the arc light had been around since 1812 when Sir Humphrey Davy first connected a battery to two pieces of charcoal. This method of lighting was a real alternative to gas by the late 1870's but by its nature was restricted to street lighting. The gas companies, jealously protecting their hugely profitable monopolies on lighting, had of course no desire to see any progress in electric lighting. Alternative forms of energy are similarly discouraged by the public utilities today.
The two basic but seemingly unsurmountable obstacles to producing an efficient and practical light were finding a filament and producing a good enough vacuum. Finding a filament was Edison's first task. In his earlier experiments he tried carbonized paper, tissue, wood, corn and other fibres. In autumn 1878, with financial backing, he resumed work. He moved on to platinum and other metals, and the initial, albeit limited, success he had with platinum led to a first patent.
The second obstacle, an efficient vacuum, was overcome in autumn 1879 with the arrival of a new Spengel air-pump. This pump was capable of producing a vacuum of one hundred-thousandth of an atmosphere. Edison adapted it sufficiently to produce a vacuum of one millionth of an atmosphere.
Returning to carbon as a filament Edison then inserted carbonized cotton thread fitted in a nickel plate into a bulb. By the evening of 21-22 October 1879 he had a bulb which burned for forty hours.
The lamp itself was only the end product of what Edison forsaw. He proposed, planned and put into operation the first electricity supplier. It had always been his intention to convert homes, officies, shops and factories from gas to electricity. Electricity would be "piped" to the subscribers in much the same way as gas. At first it was only lighting which made use of electricity but soon subscribers would be able to cook, clean and sew by electricity, as well as see. After overseeing the problems of installation, safety and metering, the first electricity generating plant for a city was opened in Perl Street, New York on 4 September 1882.
To say that electricity changed the world would be oversimplifying the subject, but it is perhaps sufficient to say that following Edison's death America honoured his memory by dimming lights all over the country.