Thomas Edison, success story, short biography. All the great inventions of Thomas Alva Edison

Was born Thomas Alva EdisonFebruary 11, 1847 to a family of American immigrants in Ohio. He was the seventh child in the family and since he was the smallest, he became everyone's favorite.

His career began, perhaps, with an attempt to teach his neighbor to fly. The secret, discovered by Thomas, who had not yet gone to school, was simple: birds fly because they eat worms. But the neighbor still didn’t fly away from the ground worms, and Thomas was punished.

One American company paid Edison fabulous money for improvements to the telegraph, and Thomas Edison gained popularity as a person accepting orders for inventions. He opened his own laboratory with a staff of one hundred people, in which he practically lived. He worked 20 hours a day, was never afraid to make mistakes and did not believe in the possibility of failure.

Edison invented the quadruplex telegraph, gramophone, kinetoscope (prototype of a movie camera), fluoroscope (x-ray machine) and much, much more. In total, during his life he received 1093 patents for his inventions.

The most famous of his inventions was the incandescent electric lamp. Inventing it, Edison conducted 2000 experiments, spending a whole year on it, burned half of his face with a bright flash of light and even received nervous breakdown. Nevertheless, Thomas achieved his goal both as an inventor and as a businessman: the electric light bulb became so simple and cheap to use that lighting candles became simply a luxury in comparison.

Success stories never get old because the principles of success are essentially unchanged. Thomas Edison is a man who broke all the rules and canons. He did so poorly at school that his mother took him away from there and began teaching him herself. As an employee, he never showed excessive zeal at work. He stormed into interviews with his hands in his pockets and chewing gum. He made his first invention by accident.

The story of Thomas Edison is the story of a man who thought big, worked 20 hours a day and never betrayed himself.

Great words of Edison:

« I didn't fail. I just found 10,000 ways that don't work ».

"I had no working days or rest days. I just did it and enjoyed it ".

Interesting facts:

Thomas did not perform particularly well at school, if not worse - already in the first grade the teacher called him a brainless idiot and to this schooling The future inventor's life ended after only a few months.

At school, things went so poorly for the future genius that his mother was forced to teach him at home. Edison repeatedly stated that The secret of success is to allow yourself to be yourself, to study in the way that suits you, and not as the teachers impose.

Thomas had hearing problems due to a previous illness. But according to him, his ears “did not perceive the noise of the side electric charges, and this only helped me concentrate completely.”

Thomas Edison was the most famous American entrepreneur and inventor. He created many new products that played a big role in the formation modern society. Many of them remain relevant today. Answering the question of what Thomas Edison invented, one can list all his creations for a long time. However, he made the most significant and noticeable contribution to the development of progressive trends that were rapidly developing at that time.

Edison's inventions

Among Edison's many inventions, it is worth noting his work in the cinematographic and sound recording fields. With his participation, the country's telephone network and its overall electrification successfully developed. He achieved enormous success in studying and improving the telegraph. It was this area of ​​activity that allowed Edison to perfectly study the operating principles of many electrical devices.

However, throughout the world, his name is most often associated with the common light bulb. However, in fact, Edison was not its inventor; it was created much earlier. Since such light bulbs had very low efficiency, the inventor became interested in the possibility of increasing their efficiency useful action. As a result, a new incandescent lamp design was created, which was much more profitable from an economic point of view. The basis of this option was an incandescent filament rather than carbon rods, which significantly increased the service life of this product.

Thomas Edison and industrial electric lighting

After completing the development of a new design for light bulbs, Edison became closely involved in the problems of electric lighting for industrial enterprises. New lighting fixtures and distribution system electrical energy got the opportunity to work together economically. As a result, the inventor created a lighting system that seriously competed with existing gas lighting.

In the electrical engineering field, he worked on designs and power line diagrams. The first central power plant was opened under Edison's leadership in 1882 in New York City, marking the beginning of the American lighting industry.

In the process of conducting experiments with his lamps, the inventor discovered the phenomenon of thermionic emission. Later, this discovery was used for a vacuum diode in radio engineering.

Thomas Alva Edison is one of the most brilliant and famous inventors of the 19th century. At this time in different corners planet, people began to look for ways to use artificial light, transmit and record sound and image. Under these conditions, Edison managed not only to improve the inventions of his predecessors, but also to create completely new ones. technical devices. Thomas Edison combined the talent of an inventor and a commercial spirit. This allowed him not only to come up with many technical innovations, but also to successfully introduce their use into the daily lives of people around the world.

Childhood and youth

The future inventor was born on February 11, 1847 in the town of Milon, Ohio, into the family of a merchant and a schoolteacher. Neither parents nor teachers for a long time and did not suspect that in a few decades little Thomas would radically change the usual way of life of Europeans and Americans. IN early childhood Edison was not doing well with his studies. This was due not only to childhood restlessness, but also to health problems. Due to an incompletely cured infection, the boy began to lose his hearing. He had to leave school and study at home. Thomas's mother taught her son everything she knew and also regularly bought for him best books and textbooks.

In his free time from classes, Thomas earned money by selling sweets and various small items. Quite early on, the boy began to demonstrate extraordinary commercial abilities; he managed to organize groups of the same boy traders and receive a portion of their proceeds. Then he began to conduct his first experiments in chemistry and physics.

IN adolescence Edison began working as a newspaper delivery boy. He got such a taste for the business that a couple of years later he even began publishing the first train newspaper for passengers. Perhaps Edison’s life would have turned out completely differently if not for one happy incident that happened to him in his youth. In the summer of 1862, Thomas saved little boy, almost getting hit by a train. The father of the child turned out to be the head of the railway station, who, as a thank you, decided to teach the talented young man the telegraph business. Edison thoroughly studied the work of the telegraph, which allowed him to find a better-paying job. However, the inventor did not stay in one place for long.

In the period from 1863 to 1869, Edison traveled a lot around the country and changed several jobs, including the Western Union company that still exists to this day. All this time he did not abandon his experiments and created several devices, which, however, were not found wide application. For example, potential customers rejected the electric vote-counting device that Edison created specifically for the American Parliament.

Career

In 1874, Edison was lucky. He created a quadruplex telegraph intended for stock trading. This telegraph made it possible to establish a stronger and more stable connection than its predecessor. The device was immediately purchased by the head Gold company& Stock Telegraph Company for a huge sum of money. From that moment on, Edison decided to quit his job and devote all his time to invention.

The money received for the quadruplex telegraph allowed the inventor to open a huge laboratory in the town of Menlo Park in 1876. Representatives of various American companies regularly came here, wanting to get a solution to some technical problem from Edison. And by the end of the 1880s, the name Edison was already known in Europe. Journalists and onlookers were strictly prohibited from entering the laboratory territory. Local residents treated the inventor and his work with almost reverent awe. In a matter of years, the laboratory turned into a full-fledged research center, and Edison began to open its branches in other cities.

In Menlo Park, the inventor created many world-changing devices, such as the microphone and phonograph, which allowed people to play and record sounds. Edison sent several of his first phonographs to people whom he considered the greatest of his contemporaries, including Leo Tolstoy.

A special milestone in Edison's inventive activity was the improvement of the incandescent lamp. The first such lamp was created in 1874 by the Russian engineer Lodygin. Lodygin pumped air out of a glass flask into which a carbon thread was inserted. Due to the incandescence of the filament, the lamp began to glow. Unfortunately, the carbon filament often burned out and the lamps became unusable. Edison improved Lodygin's invention by replacing the filament material with tungsten. This made the lamps more durable and suitable for mass production.

Edison also bought the rights to Lodygin’s invention: the Russian physicist could not renew his patent due to financial difficulties. Immediately after receiving the patent, the inventor set up his own production of incandescent lamps and opened the first power plant in America in 1882. Edison, who had an excellent understanding of the intricacies of legislation, very often used this technique with talented inventors who lacked commercial abilities. Because of this, he was criticized more than once during his lifetime. Many believed that Edison was a plagiarist who only slightly altered other people's inventions. The desire for profit and appropriation of other people's laurels led to a cooling of relations, and later to an open confrontation between the American inventor and Nikola Tesla, who at one time worked in the Edison company.

The inventor was married twice to:

• Mary Stiwell, who died in 1884. In this marriage, Edison became the father of two sons and a daughter.
• Mina Miller, who was 18 years younger than her husband and also bore him three children.

The inventor died at the age of 84. diabetes mellitus. During his lifetime, he became a recognized genius and world figure.

Inventions of Thomas Edison

The number of inventions that appeared thanks to the sharp mind and rich imagination of Thomas Edison is truly enormous. Over 1,000 patents were issued in Edison's name. Some of these items are a thing of the past, but we still use many of them to this day.

• The mimeograph was one of the first copying machines;
• Kinetoscope, which made it possible to make films;
• Electric chair;
• Magnetic ore separator;
• Alkaline battery;
• Electric generator;
• Carbon microphone used in telephony.

In addition, Edison was the first to isolate many substances used today in pharmaceuticals and chemical production eg phenol and benzene.

Throughout his life, the inventor remained self-taught; he never received any education. Edison was contemptuous of book learning and theoretical sciences, believing that it was a waste of time, and practice was much more important for an inventor. This often complicated his work; in some cases he had to work as if blindly, simply going through all the available options, instead of immediately choosing the best one with the help of natural science laws and mathematics. For example, it is known that during the development of the alkaline battery, Edison conducted almost 60,000 experiments. Edison always approached his work very thoroughly and carefully; every day he spent at least 16 hours on experiments and their descriptions.

Contribution outstanding people in the life of modern society is undoubtedly enormous. Without the inventions and discoveries of the “strong” minds of humanity, perhaps today’s life would look different. These discoveries and inventions represent a huge evolutionary step forward, making modern life more comfortable. Without a doubt, the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison, whose life spanned two centuries: he was born on February 11, 1847, and died on October 18, 1931, can be considered one of the outstanding minds of the past and the centuries before. For my long life T. Edison received more than 1000 patents in the USA and more than 1000 patents in other countries European countries peace. Not a single American inventor in his long life received such large quantity patents from the Patent Office. Thanks to the inventions of Thomas Edison, such areas as telephony and telegraphy were improved, and thanks to his efforts, the world's first public power plant appeared. These discoveries are truly large-scale and irreplaceable, and it can be called with capital letters The Great Mind of Humanity.

It is worth emphasizing that even as a child, the future inventor was very inquisitive and had a naturally bright mind and excellent memory, despite all the hardships of life and the rather harsh childhood years, when he was often sick and worked hard to help his mother earn money.

We can highlight the main significant inventions of Thomas Edison that really changed life for the better:

1. Edison received his first patent at the age of 22 in 1869, while he was working as a telegraph operator. Perhaps that is why his first invention was related to the telegraph industry. He invented and developed a device that automatically counted the number of votes “for” and “against” in voting, without using the paper method of counting that was common at that time, when everything was recorded on paper. This invented electric vote-counting machine allowed one to simply press a certain button corresponding to "yes" or "no" and was located on the desk of each voter. Thanks to corruption political authorities At that time, this invention of Edison did not receive due publicity and distribution, since it did not allow the authorities to rig votes, as could be done before using the “paper” voting method. The young inventor called his first creation an electrographic voting recorder. After his first failure, he decided to adhere strictly to the rule - to invent only what is really needed and will be in demand;

1. The creator patented his next invention in 1876; it was a prototype of a modern tattoo machine. This device was called a pneumatic stencil pen, which was used at that time for copying documents. In 1891, the famous tattoo artist of the time, Samuel O'Reilly, patented the world's first tattoo machine, developed on the basis of Edison's pneumatic pen;

1. In 1877, Edison invented a device that truly made him famous for centuries in many countries around the world. He called this device a phonograph. It appeared thanks to his work on combining the telegraph and telephone. The principle of operation of the telegraphic apparatus was to record a message on paper, which could subsequently be sent repeatedly via telegraphy. He planned to do the same with the telephone. As a result of his work, a conversation transmitted through a telephone was recorded in the form of prints on paper automatically, without human intervention;

1. Few people ask the question: “Who invented the dolls that make various sounds?. This idea was actually Thomas's. He continued to develop the idea of ​​a phonograph and, having reduced it several times, placed it in children's toys, thereby “revitalizing” them by giving them a voice. As a rule, such toys “spoke” in children’s voices; they read poetry and told fairy tales. But this idea had both supporters and detractors, which prevented the widespread development of this direction;
2. But there were also unsuccessful discoveries in the inventor’s career. He conceived the idea of ​​isolating iron components from low-grade ore using magnetic influence. The inventor acquired about 145 abandoned mines in American state New Jersey, but all the funds he spent did not bring a positive result, as a result he discarded the idea of ​​​​creating a magnetic iron ore separator;
3. In 1881, a device was patented that allowed him to control and accurately count the energy spent, in other words, he came up with an electric meter - a webermeter;

1. During his experimental activities, Thomas came up with an innovative new method storing food, in particular fruits and vegetables, by creating glass flasks in which a vacuum was created thanks to evacuated air;
2. By using an alkaline battery solution based on iron and nickel, he obtained an analogue of the modern alkaline battery, which formed the basis for the creation of electric vehicles running on electricity. Thus, thanks to the method he invented for creating an alkaline battery, by 1900, about 30% of cars produced in the United States ran on electricity. But, unfortunately, after 10 years this idea exhausted itself, and gasoline took its place. Nevertheless, this discovery of his became one of the largest, due to which he became significantly enriched;
3. Trying to simplify the lives of Americans as much as possible, Edison improved the concrete production process through the use of a special method of rotation in kilns. As a result, the cost of the material dropped significantly and became available different layers population. But the improver did not stop there and began to use this cement in the production of concrete furniture, which lasted many times longer than the usual wooden one. In addition, he became the founder of the construction of concrete-based houses. On average, finished houses with a full communication system cost an American about $1,200, which was a third cheaper than similar houses made from other materials. But, unfortunately, concrete houses did not become widespread, since the production of concrete structures required special expensive forms that not everyone could afford to use. construction company of that time. However, by 1917, about 11 houses were put into operation, but they did not receive a corresponding positive response, so the construction of these houses was first suspended, and subsequently completely stopped;
4. Few people know, but Edison became interested in the occult and afterlife. He tried to record the voices and sounds of people who had just died, this formed the basis for the creation of the wind telephone in 1920, in other words, he developed the necrophone device. Unfortunately, to this day this device has not survived, nor have the drawings, so whether Thomas really managed to realize his idea, no one knows for sure to this day;
5. The bright mind and ingenuity of this man led to significant improvements in telephones. In particular, he improved the telephone microphone by replacing the carbon rod with a carbon battery;
6. By adding carbon filament to incandescent lamps, he significantly reduced the cost finished products, and also increased its service life to 40 hours, allowing its mass use. Today, Edison's improved light bulb is compared to the name Svetlana, which is just as light and bright. But Edison did not stop dabbling with light, continuing to work on the topic of lighting. He went even further, creating a transformer that controlled the supply of electricity to electrical appliances, and subsequently, in 1882, an entire electrical distribution system. Initially this system functioned only in 2 quarters, but it managed to short period time to prove yourself with a purely positive side. In the same year, under his leadership, the first power plant began operating in one of the major cities of America, New York. This invention is rightfully considered the best creation of his entire life;

1. Edison conducted experiments to create a special device that would operate on hydrogen and oxygen, releasing water. His experiments were very successful and formed the basis of many modern technologies.

Undoubtedly, the contribution of the inventor Thomas Alva Edison is enormous. His works formed the basis for the creation of many modern developments, in addition, he significantly simplified the lives of people of that time thanks to his discoveries and achievements. He tried to make them as affordable as possible in terms of price and developed truly necessary things in everyday life any person. Today there are many reviews about Edison: some call him a “patent thief,” and others call him a genius of his time. There are a lot of reviews about him, it’s worth paying tribute to, not all of them are laudatory and positive. But he was an honorary academician of science from the Soviet era, and also received America's highest award - the Congressional Gold Medal. And many printed publications At the time, he was called "America's greatest mind." However, Thomas Edison's contribution to modern science enormous, his bright mind is simply irreplaceable today. The likelihood of his success lay largely in the fact that he was doing what he loved.

Video

Born February 11, 1847 great inventor Thomas Alva Edison. We remember ten technical achievements that immortalized the name of an American engineer

2014-02-11 10:05

This one was born legendary man in the USA in Ohio on February 11, 1847. Edison received his first patent at the age of 22. Over the course of 62 years, Thomas Edison received 1,033 patents in the United States alone and 1,200 patents in other countries. The researchers calculated that, on average, a scientist received a new patent every two weeks. Despite the fact that many of his inventions were not unique, he often sued other inventors whose ideas he was guided by. At the same time, marketing skills and its influence often helped to win.

Electric meter

Edison's first invention, for which he received a patent in 1869, was an electric election counter. The device was a vote counting machine on which deputies had to press “for” and “against” buttons. This is how the general vote count took place.

Edison's friend Dewitt Roberts showed interest in the device, bought it for $100 and took it to Washington. But, according to parliamentarians, his counter was absolutely useless for holding elections. So the device was sent to the political cemetery.

Currently, such devices are used in almost all countries and greatly facilitate the work of election commissions.

Electric chair

One of Edison's inventions that changed history was the electric chair.

There have been long discussions in government and society about the death penalty. Thomas Edison, with his speech, was able to convince everyone that the best and most humane punishment would be the electric chair.

Against all odds, Edison was able to buy alternating current generators. On January 1, 1889, the chair was ready. The first person on death row in the electric chair was William Kemmler, convicted of murdering his wife with an ax. Subsequently, since 1896, the death penalty by electric chair was adopted by a number of other states, where a similar method of punishment was also allowed.

Stencil pen

In 1876, Edison patented a pneumatic pen pistol. The device used a rod with a tip in the form of a steel needle to perforate printed paper. This pen was the first effective means for copying documents.

On its basis, in 1891, tattoo artist Samuel O'Reilly was the first to patent a tattoo machine. He made only one such device and used it for personal purposes.

After developing his own tattoo machine, many circus performers and representatives of the entertainment industry became regulars at his O’Reilly house. The machine worked faster than a normal tattoo artist's hand, and, as many thought, it gave a clean result. After O'Reilly's death in 1908, one of the master's students bought the machine and worked on Coney Island until the 50s.

Fruit preservation method

In 1881, Edison patented a method for preserving fruits, vegetables and other organic foods in glass containers. The products were placed in a container, after which the air had to be pumped out of it with a special pump. The tube was then closed with a piece of glass.

Edison's invention was inspired by experiments with glass vacuum tubes during the development of incandescent lamps.

Edison is also credited with another invention related to food products- wax paper. But in fact, it was created in France in 1851, when Edison was still a child.

Electric car

Edison was confident that the future belonged to electricity. In his opinion, everything should be equipped with it, even cars.

In 1899, he invents alkaline batteries, which were to form the basis of electric vehicles. In 1900, 28% of cars produced in America ran on electricity. But main goal The scientist was developing a battery that would allow him to travel more than 150 kilometers without recharging.

After 10 years, Edison abandoned his idea, as the abundance of gasoline minimized the need for electric vehicles.

Phonograph

On February 19, 1878, Edison received a patent for the phonograph. It was one of the first devices used to reproduce and record sound.

The first recordings were made with a moving needle on foil, which was located on a rotating cylinder. The cost of a phonograph at that time was $18. Having presented his invention to the public, Edison gained fame. It was also presented at the French Academy and at the White House.

The disc version of the phonograph was released in 1912 and became more popular than previous models.

Mimeograph

In 1876, Thomas Edison patented the mimeograph. The device was used for printing and duplicating books in small editions. But working with him was not easy.

The mimeograph consisted of an electric pen and a copy box. Inside the box were the necessary supplies: a rubber roller and cans of paint.

First, I had to write the text using an electric pen.

A pen, inside of which a thin needle was constantly moving, “stuffed” a dotted pattern onto special paper, creating a matrix. The resulting stencil was fixed in a lid frame and covered with printing ink. Under the frame there was a special box with a platform. By lifting the frame on its hinges and placing a sheet of paper on the platform, it was possible to roll the frame with a rubber roller and obtain a print. At the same time, the paint appeared through the matrix, leaving an autograph.

Edison's invention was actively used by Russian revolutionaries.

Incandescent lamp

Another great invention appeared during the development of the incandescent electric lamp. To create the filament, the most different materials, but for a long time attempts did not bring the desired results.

In April 1879, the inventor established the critical importance of vacuum in the manufacture of lamps. On October 21 of the same year the work was completed. The final version used a charred bamboo thread placed in an airless space to create light.

Similar experiments were carried out in parallel by scientists from many countries. But it was Edison who was able to create a source of electric light, the production of which did not require large expenses.

Kinetoscope

The Kinetoscope was patented on July 31, 1891. It was a large box with an eyepiece. Inside there was a system of reels with stretched film and lighting. Through the eyepiece, the viewer could watch a film lasting no more than half a minute.

Before the advent of film projectors, Edison's invention was in demand. In 1894, the inventor opened a special hall with ten kinetoscopes. Anyone could watch films there by paying 25 cents.

Unfortunately, only one person could watch the film using the Kinetoscope. Therefore, as soon as film projectors appeared, which made it possible for many people to watch a film at once, they quickly replaced kinetoscopes.

Telephone membrane

The carbon telephone membrane was one of Thomas Edison's many inventions that never gained popularity, but laid the foundation for the era of telephony.

Unfortunately, little is known about this invention. But you can imagine it based on modern analogues.

The device was enclosed in a kind of box, inside it there was a membrane itself and a carbon block, in which several cutouts were made and coal powder was poured into them. This design was connected to electrical circuit, one end was a carbon membrane, and the other was the same block and carbon powder was a component of this chain. A microphone and speaker were also connected to the circuit. When speaking into a microphone, the membrane either narrowed or expanded depending on the strength of the sound and changed the voltage, which in turn went to the speaker and reproduced the sounds just spoken.