Thomas Alva Edison Essay Example

stylus traced a groove on it. The very first recording ever made was of Edison's own voice reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb." As per his usual approach, Edison had already written a list of ten potential uses for a sound-recording machine before constructing it.

Edison viewed it as a valuable office machine and did not anticipate the lucrative record industry that exists today. This industry has managed to withstand competition from radio, TV, and even Edison's own motion pictures. In 1878, Edison began researching the development of an incandescent light bulb using his trial-and-error approach. He conducted numerous experiments before finally succeeding with a charred cotton thread that could glow without being consumed when sealed in a vacuum. His team then established the principles of a generating and distributing system that made electric lights feasible for every household. The first generating plant was inaugurated in 1882 on Pearl Street in New York City.

Edison utilized a direct-current system, which was also employed by a former colleague of his, the U.S.

Nikola Tesla, a scientist of Croatian origin, invented an alternating-current system for the Westinghouse company and was ultimately successful. The Edison Electric Light Company, on the other hand, merged and grew into the General Electric Company. While working on the light bulb, Edison's only significant scientific breakthrough was the discovery of the vacuum tube. However, at that time, its properties seemed to have no practical use until the British electrical engineer John A. Fleming discovered and developed its potential for radio in 1900. In 1887, Edison relocated to a larger laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey.

In 1889, he constructed a movie camera and subsequently established a

small studio to produce brief films for peep-show machines. However, he was not particularly interested in the entertainment aspects of his invention, and instead it was left to others to advance the movie industry. On September 4, 1982, Thomas Edison used electricity to illuminate certain parts of New York. This was achieved when he turned on a switch in the offices of financier J. P. Morgan, thereby inaugurating commercial transmission of electric power from the Edison Illuminating Co., which was financed by Morgan.

The Consolidated Edison Co. started as a power plant on Pearl Street, which would soon provide electricity to all of Manhattan. This marked a significant technological advancement, eliminating the need for sunlight and candles, and doubling our productivity time. Without the invention of the lightbulb, our lives would be drastically different. Electricity is now essential even in rural areas and is relied upon daily. Edison's contributions, including the phonograph and the vacuum tube, had a lasting impact on the music industry, radio invention, and the first computer. As an inventor of such significance, Edison deserves recognition and that's why I rank him fourth on my list.