Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were two of the most influential minds of the 1800s. Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, worked hard his whole life to achieve great feats in science. Tesla, the Master of Lightning, had a brilliant mind and contributed to an electronic growth that changed American history. Thomas Edison is such a familiar name, but Tesla on the other hand is more obscure. Edison is widely known by the American public, but his intellectual equal and adversary is often forgotten. Edison and Tesla were once friends and worked on many projects together, but an argument over a bet changed their friendship and the world forever (D’Alto). Both men challenged each other throughout their lives, and their differences in inventions, productivity, financial success, and fame should have etched their names into history for eternity, but that is not the case. Thomas Edison has always been in the hearts and minds of the American public as the greatest inventor, but the facts may proclaim Nikola Tesla to be the better man and more deserving of the public’s admiration. Thomas Edison’s inventions were simplistic at heart, and they satisfied a direct and immediate need. “Among the best known of his inventions are a stock-ticker machine, the incandescent light bulb, an automatic telegraphy machine, the phonograph, and the motion picture machine” (“Thomas Alva Edison”). All of Edison’s inventions required DC or direct current to work. Edison’s constant use of the direct current power source for all his inventions set his work apart from Tesla’s. The constant need for Edison’s inventions caused a drastic increase in Edison’s productivity. As a young man, Edison developed very productive habits, which he translated into the latter part of... ... middle of paper ... ...2011. Jaleshgari, Ramin P. “Shedding Light on a Neglected Genius.” New York Times 23 Feb. 1997. Gale Science In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. Jonnes, Jill. “Blackouts? Edison Might Say, ‘I Told You So’.” New York Times 2 Oct. 2003: G3. Gale Science In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. Mone, Gregory. “The Men Who Brought Electricity To The World.” Popular Science 1 Aug. 2003: 86. Gale Science In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. “Nikola Tesla.” Notable Scientists from 1900 to the Present. Ed. Brigham Narins. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Gale Science In Context. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. Stross, Randall. “Edison the Inventor, Edison the Showman.” New York Times 11 Mar. 2007: BU1(L). Gale Science In Context. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. “Thomas Alva Edison.” Notable Scientists from 1900 to the Present. Ed. Brigham Narins. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Gale Science In Context. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
In the 1880s, there was a war going on in the United States. Backstabbing, secrecy, and death were common. However, this war had no weapons. It was a dual between two geniuses. These two men are the fathers of modern technology. The War of Currents was a battle between the famous inventor Thomas Edison, and the mysterious genius Nikola Tesla. Tesla and Edison engaged in an epic competition to create the most efficient, cheap, usable form of electricity. Everyone knows who Thomas Edison was, but not many people know of Nikola Tesla. Tesla was an unappreciated mastermind who changed the world with his inventions, performed many strange experiments, and practically invented usable electricity.
This paper will be an effort to explain about Thomas Alva Edison and his life before the 1900s. Thomas Edison was an American inventor, he was considered the most prolific inventor in American history and one of America’s leading businessmen who came from humble beginnings to work as an inventor of major technology. He was also giving public recognition as a participant in the production of helping build America’s economy during the nation’s vulnerable early years. Thomas Edison was born on February 11th, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He was the last and youngest out of seven children of Samuel Edison Jr., an exiled political activist, and Nancy Elliott Edison, an accomplished school teacher. When he was seven years old he suffered from scarlet fever
The Wizard of Menlo Park, formally known as Thomas Edison, was born into a medium sized family and lost most of his hearing by the time he turned 14. Essentially being a self-taught student, Edison, by the end of his career, held over 1,000 patents in America alone (“Thomas Edison Home.”). He made inventions that reduced the workload of people by a substantial amount. His inventions were many and helped many more by contributing masses of technological advances and providing them at an affordable price to families that needed them.
While working at Thomas Edison’s headquarters in Manhattan, Tesla amazed and impressed Edison with his inventivene...
Tesla and Edison would then become direct adversaries for Electric Distribution. Thomas was all for DC currents and Tesla was all for AC currents in this war. When Nikola finished the induction motor the only downside to AC went away. The inability for motors to run AC was gone and Tesla got the upper hand. DC still had vast problems that put Nikola ahead like it couldn’t travel more than
Thomas Alva Edison was considered one of the greatest inventors and industrial leader. He had over 1000 inventions but none greater then his ability to develop a system that would provide people with a wide safe stable and efficient light and power. This also lead to other countries such as Europe and South America to follow this wonderful invention that modernized the world forever.
Edison’s beliefs and innovations in the fields of electricity, motion picture and chemical engineering revolutionized the world into the modern technology-based society known today. His inventions furthered the Industrial Revolution and set precedents for a successful workplace. Edison created a whirlwind of technology that advanced our society as a whole. His inventions impacted the world scientifically, socially and politically. Without Edison and his inventions, the world would be a very different place.
Edison and his friend would deal with electricity to them once made a wire between their houses and wrote messages through telegraph wire. After that Edison was dealing with Direct current electricity and the cylinder which he made for recording telephone messages. The first huge invention he had was the phonograph and was recorded in tin foil around a grooved rather than discs. He had a desire to develop light that was electric. Along with that many people thought he was the one that created the light bulb, but he wasn’t he just improved on a fifty year old idea.
All I ask is that you stay tuned and enjoy the story. To begin, Thomas Edison is an inventor almost everyone knows of. For instance, he has made many different inventions; he made modern life better. According to an author published on Easy science for kids article,”Thomas Edison and his great inventions” he has made many inventions, also it says” He also invented the electric light bulb. ”(“Paragraph 1, Thomas Edison and his great inventions(easy science for kids)”)
Thomas (Alva) Edison was one of America’s most important and famous inventors. Edison was born into a time and place where there wasn’t much technological advancements. His inventions helped a lot of things quickly change in the world. His inventions contributed to many inventions today such as the night light, movies, telephones, and records and CDs.
Thomas Edison is widely regarded as one of the most influential inventors and innovators of the Twentieth Century. Edison’s efforts ushered in a new era of technology; a world in which electricity would be harnessed and made to bow before man’s will. Walter Lippman wrote, “It is impossible to measure the importance of Edison by adding up the specific inventions with which his name is associated” (qtd. in Baldwin 409). Edison’s decades long career was a synergistic melding of his success as an inventor and his prowess as a promoter and businessman. He exemplified the ideals of intelligence married to hard work and perseverance. He forever changed the landscape of American invention and the limits of technological change (Baldwin 409).
Despite the importance that electricity plays in modern day society, many overlook where these advancements came from and where they started. In the 1800’s, when the population relied on hazardous candlesticks and lanterns for light, Thomas Edison explored something beyond him… the first electrical light source. The Electricity discovery resulted in many failures, but there were many contributors that improved upon the downfalls, making electricity a ongoing exploration.
To explain what exactly Tesla and Edison did, it is important to know that in a DC system, electrons flow only in one direction. Where as in an AC system, the electric current reverses its direction many times during the time frame. To conclude, the use of electricity came from no one person, but actually a combination of quite a few intellectuals. Nonetheless, the reality of how electricity behaves is just as important as its history.
Thomas Edison left an enormous impact on society after he passed away. His legacy included that his success helped make the US and industrial power in the late 1800’s (Henstra, Pg 98) Along with that, “Tom and his electric lights won the hearts and minds of the public world.” (Benge, Pg 130) Because of his success, Tom was awarded the congressional Medal of Honor in 1928. (Dolan, Pg 118) These big points in his life is only a few things that make up his lasting legacy.
Thomas Alva Edison is a very well-known American inventor. He invented about 1093 devices that influenced us greatly, such as light bulb, microphone, telephone receiver, universal stock ticker, phonograph, kinetoscope (used to view moving pictures), storage battery, electric pen, and mimeograph. Edison also improved many other existing devices as well. In the period from 1878 to 1880, Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp. Edison and his associates worked on at least three thousand different theories to develop an efficient incandescent lamp. In 1878, Edison built his first high resistance incandescent electric light. Incandescent lamps make light by using electricity to heat a thin strip of material (called a filament) until it gets hot enough to glow. Many inventors had tried to perfect incandescent lamps to "sub-divide" electric light or make it smaller and weaker than it was in the existing arc lamps, which were too bright to be used for small spaces such as the rooms of a house.Edison's lamp would consist of a filament ho...