1. hobbies and interests
2. inventors and patents

Thomas Edison in Your Classroom
By
Harry T. Roman
Educational Consultant and Inventor
Copyright © 2010
New Jersey Technology Educators Association (NJTEA)
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Thinker, Inventor, Mechanic
The Breakthrough Guy
Clutch Hitting His Way to Success
Camaraderie and Creativity
The R&D Legacy
Nancy Elliot Edison-Rescuing Thomas
Mina Miller Edison-A Valuable Partner
Edison and Electric Cars
Edison Loved DC Electricity
Integrated Circuits, Transistors, Vacuum Tubes, and the Light Bulb
Information Geek
Visionary of the Digital Economy
Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin
Classroom Activities
Suggested Reading
About the Author
Preface
This book is meant for those who have an interest in Thomas Edison, my
life-long hero. I have spent close to 50 years reading about and studying this
incredible human being.
Within these pages are my crystallized thoughts, observations, and
interpretations, principally coalesced over the last four years, as I served as
both a park ranger and now a volunteer ranger at the Edison National
Historical Park, in West Orange, New Jersey. These writings also bear the
inevitable marks of the many special lectures I gave to historians, inventor
groups, teacher organizations, students, and aficionados of America’s
greatest inventor. These I did during my 36-year engineering career, and
continue to do today.
Since the 4th grade in Abington Avenue Grammar School in Newark, NJ, I
have had a special relationship with my boyhood hero, Thomas Edison. It all
started in 1957 when my teacher Mrs. Wilson had us write away to a
company to learn about what that company does, and then share that
information with our classmates. She was handing out names and addresses
of companies for us to write away to; and prophetically handed me the
address for the Thomas Edison Company (their storage battery division, in
the nearby town of Bloomfield, NJ). With that long-ago autumn classroom
assignment, my life-long interest in invention had begun.
I dutifully wrote to the company and received a copy of a book entitled,
“Edison-Inspiration to Youth”-----the very same book sitting right here on
my desk next to me. It is one of the most treasured articles of my boyhood.
Reading this book, I became excited about a career as an inventor and an
engineer. Having a master mechanic as a father, and mentor, certainly made
the trip to engineering school most challenging, filled with real-world
problem solving. Dad made sure of that in the home workshop, with ample
opportunity to build and fix things of all kinds; and often invent what we did
not have available….for you see……Dad was an inventor of sorts as well.
After engineering college, I began work at the same company as my father,
the local electric utility---- Public Service Electric & Gas Company
(PSE&G). Since Edison was responsible for creating the electric utility
industry, it seems destined that I should work in an industry my hero built.
Not only that, but I worked in the R&D group of that company, again
mimicking my hero, for he invented the whole idea of R&D labs. My
personal experience with the fascinating world of invention started soon
after I arrived at PSE&G, and continued throughout my 36-years there.
Here is a really interesting coincidence, the kind that leaves you wondering,
and perhaps suspecting that maybe something is supposed to be a certain
way. Twenty years after I wrote that letter back in the 4th grade, I married
my wife…. to learn soon that her uncle is the man who manages the Edison
facility I had written to as a boy! Is this fate or what? Old Tom and I have
been doing this waltz throughout my life. Sometimes I think he and Mrs.
Wilson were in cahoots after all to snag me into the invention profession.
In writing this book, my second about the great man [“Thomas Alva Edison:
Prophet of Progress”, Kelvin Publishing 2006], I wanted it to be different
than just a re-telling of his accomplishments. Instead I wanted it to be
introspective, reflective about his life and eccentricities, something to make
him seem less mythic and more human……so I settled for a mix of things to
talk about in this volume.
The chapters presented here reflect what strikes me as interesting; and what
folks have asked me or commented upon when they took my tours or heard
me lecture about him. Each chapter can stand on its own merit. The book
need not be read sequentially. At the end of the book is a section with
suggested classroom activities for your students.
I present this series of eclectic vignettes for your reading pleasure, and hope
you enjoy me, enjoying my hero, Thomas Alva Edison.
Introduction
I originally wrote this small volume as a way to summarize a great deal of
research I had conducted on my boyhood hero. The volume was originally
titled, “Thomas Alva Edison [Reflections and Interpretations of the Great
Inventor, His Life, and Works… by a Former Park Ranger, Volunteer, and
Long-Time Admirer]” It was meant to be my historical interpretation of the
man, information I use when giving lectures and docent tours of his home
and labs at the legendary West Orange Labs. That volume resides in the files
of the labs for new and future rangers to use to become familiar with the
man and his work. It is Thomas Edison as I see him.
This expanded volume is revised for NJTEA teachers; and it contains
additional materials and activities for classroom use. I hope you enjoy these
materials and put them to good use.
There is a huge volume of literature about the man and his work. Your
students should have no trouble finding a great variety of information both
in printed and electronic form, and across a wide selection of age groups.
Challenge them to read the literature and immerse themselves in the man
and his times. His life span ranges from before the Civil War to just after the
beginnings of the Great Depression. Edison would make for a great term
project, preceded with classroom time and prep work. Have at it and enjoy
this incredible man, a man once referred to as “The Man of the Millennium”.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Thomas Edison is the iconic figure for all inventors worldwide. No one has
ever duplicated the sheer volume and depth of his 1093 patents. He invented
both products and systems to support those products; his classic inventions
being recorded sound, the electric light bulb and electric power industry, and
motion pictures.
Edison went on to systematize the process of invention, transforming it from
a cottage industry into an industrial powerhouse that led to the modern day
concept of R&D labs. Some would say this was his greatest invention,
codifying the process of invention, allowing industry to continue
indefinitely, and scientifically, the industrial revolution of the late 1800s.
Edison gave us the keys to progress……the repeatable process for making
an endless stream of products for civilization, limited only by our
imagination, planning, and organization. It was with the systemization of
R&D that Edison also does something way ahead of its time. By laying the
basic principles for multi-dimensional and inter-disciplinary problem solving
in his R&D labs, this leads directly to what we call today the STEM
philosophy of teaching and problem solving. Edison employed engineers,
technicians, mathematicians, economists, scientists, lawyers, marketing, and
other personnel on various project teams to create new products for the
marketplace. He is essentially one of the first scientific project managers.
His work in the early 1900s on electric vehicle storage batteries, and his
vision for clean urban transportation, anticipated the importance of electric
cars today. Most solar energy companies today are quick to quote how
Edison recognized the importance of solar and wind energy in the late 1920s
for what he envisioned then as the future double-barreled problem of fossil
fuel scarcity and attendant air pollution concerns.
Edison also improved rotary cement kilns, iron ore production, created
cement houses, improved chemical production, discovered two scientific
effects that led directly to radio, and pioneered during WWI the concept of
military research organizations for defense. Throughout his life, Edison
operated on four simple principles, taught to him by his loving mother:
1) Never get discouraged if you fail. Learn from it. Keep trying.
2) Learn with both your head and hands.
3) Not everything of value in life comes from books-experience the world.
4) Never stop learning. Read the entire panorama of literature.
His life-long habit of keeping notebooks and careful documentation of his
inventions and communications leaves a rich legacy of the man and the
times. Over 4,000 notebooks and other drawings, sketches and
correspondence leave us with over 5 million documents form which we are
still learning about this most unique man.
At a time of no mass media, when magazines and newspapers were the
major form of communication, Thomas Edison had the most recognized face
in the world. It was fame backed up with incredible accomplishment.
Imagine what this creative man could have done if equipped with the tools
and communication outlets of our time.
We are so much richer, because he passed our way. In a world where
schools and businesses are recognizing the importance of creativity and
innovation for global competition, the memory and life of Thomas Edison is
a bright beacon showing the way.
Thinker, Inventor, Mechanic
Edison-The Thinker
If you saw a plaster cast of the hands of Thomas Edison, you might be
surprised by how soft and smooth they appear. One might have expected the
rough-hewn hands of a master mechanic or machinist, the penultimate lab
worker. Not so. There is a story here, much different than perhaps your
previous readings or popular accounts of the man.
The legacy of a lifetime of highly creative invention is contained in the
4,000 large, cloth bound, lab notebooks left by Edison and his men. He may
have spent a great deal of time in his labs, but he did not create all his
prototypes himself. A more than capable staff, handpicked by him, worked
to transform his ideas into three-dimensional models for testing. Hiring the
right people was a hallmark of this most inventive mind.
To understand Edison, one must appreciate his methods. He spent
considerable time conceiving and planning his work, before doing anything
in the lab. He was not simply a trial and error man as many have tried to
portray. Some very serious thinking went into what he did. It was usually
preceded by extensive literature searches, and a thorough understanding of
what others were then engaged in. Many critics miss this. He could not have
filled 4,000 notebooks if all he did was scurry around in his lab trying
different combinations of things in a hit-or-miss fashion. The great inventor
was so much more than this. In fact, during his incredibly creative life,
Edison leaves more than 5 million written documents, sketches, drawings,
and notes to give us a window into his thinking patterns and reasoning.
Edison spent hours at his desk at his Glenmont home, in his lab, or in the
company library conceiving and researching ideas that he would later have
developed. His able craftsmen roughed out his envisioned prototypes and
tested them; and later, he often “tinkered” these devices to perfection with
his workers joining in. It was not unusual for him to have many projects
going on simultaneously; which he reviewed, and lent a direct hand in if he
thought it was needed. As many as 40 projects might be in progress at any
given time.
Codifying the R&D Process
To be successful, Edison believed there was an organized way to perform
research. This organizational invention may have been one of his greatest
achievements, having given the world the keys to profitable industrial R&D.
All major technological companies use R&D labs to engender the next
generation of products. Edison created a way to perpetuate the industrial
revolution then sweeping late 19th century America, and today that
revolution not only continues, but is gaining enormous acceleration.
In Edison’s world there was a preferred way to do things and his approach to
R&D was no exception. Edison felt R&D should be done according to the
following criteria:
-It must be carried out in response to a real market need.
-Inter-disciplinary team based research is best.
-Literature and library searches were essential before beginning work.
-Employees should be allowed to use their own creative skills and methods.
-Ample supplies of materials and stock should be close at hand.
-Rapid prototyping of equipment is essential.
-Researchers are to be allowed to work as they please to get their job done.
-All work should be conducted to defined goals of accomplishment.
Let me give you an interesting example of how Edison felt about goals. He
wanted his workers to strive for creating a major invention every 6 months
and a minor one every ten days. Would you like to work to this sort of
creative artistry? I can tell you as a long-time inventor, I would find this a
rather stiff pace of work; but Edison knew full well about competition and
folks borrowing and building on his work. It was essential to not lose
time……a resource he cherished more than money.
My point here is to emphasize how much there was a thinking aspect to
Edison’s work. He devoted time to think, plan, and organize his projects,
and his project teams. He recognized the value of a good team leader on a
project, making him not only an incredible inventor, but a judge of character
and capability. In Edison we see the emergence of the modern day research
project manager.
In Perspective
Today, over $350 billion a year is spent on American R&D. Over 60% of
our nation’s annual economic growth is directly attributable to scientific and
technological advances. This is an Edison legacy we realize every day. Pick
up any text on managing technological R&D and one can trace the roots of
that book back to Edison’s labs at Menlo Park and West Orange. His ideas
about how to organize project teams and expertise, and best motivate
research, are as vital today as they were 125 years ago.
American R&D is conducted in the business world; and also in academia
and in our federal government labs. R&D done today makes tomorrow’s
products possible, just like Edison originally envisioned. He was involved in
all phases of the R&D process, not just the proverbial lab bench
aspects……. and how lucky we are that he was.
The Breakthrough Guy
Breaking Through
Nothing seemed to appeal more to Thomas Edison than being the
“breakthrough guy”…one who did something new and unusual. For him, the
thrill was in the chase, the pursuit of the process to inventive victory---his
mind against the problem, racing to be there first.
While running this frenetic life-long pace to creating one incredible
innovation after another, he sometimes lost sight of the true business
advantage he might be creating, often losing interest as the problem was
brought to heel. Some would say he squandered his lead in a number of
technologies for the sake of taking up yet another grand chase in a different
direction, only to return later to try and re-capitalize on his earlier lead after
other lesser, but well-financed minds had entered the field. This certainly
was the case in recorded sound. Edison could have done better in strategic
business planning areas. He should have given more freedom and trust to
others to market his inventions. As he matured and learned the harsh lessons
of the business world, he naturally acquired more acumen and drove harder
bargains.
Most inventors stick to a particular area of interest, first pioneering it, and
then methodically building and expanding upon it to eventually establish a
comprehensive body of work; and in some cases, creating a whole new
industry around their accomplishments. No so with Edison. His body of
work is uncommonly broad, and deep in some cases. He is clearly an
exception to traditional invention. This is neither good nor bad, but a
distinguishing characteristic--- a window into the man and his motivations.
Major Inventions
Let’s examine the main bodies of his work. First, the big four
accomplishments, the pillars of his genius:
-Incandescent lighting, and the electric generation and delivery system;
-Recorded sound (phonograph)
-Moving pictures and movie production
-Industrial R&D laboratories
Each of these tremendous innovations changed the world, providing
incredible benefits to humanity. Together these four industries today are
responsible for annually generating hundreds of billions in sales and value
worldwide.
What makes these big four so incredible is Edison envisioned not only each
industry itself, but the individual components as well. He had inventions
both at the process and device level in each (excepting the R&D laboratory
concept). He understood that this was certainly the way to make profits that
would sustain continually his “invention machine”; but stubbornness and
pre-occupation with new, exciting problems worked together in unison to
keep him from making a great fortune.
At the time of Edison’s death, his estate was probably worth about $12
million. Certainly even today, we would find this a huge sum of money. But
back then, compared to his contemporaries like Ford, Firestone, and the
great corporate moguls like Rockefeller, Carnegie,…etc., this is a rather
small sum of money. Ford was making almost $250,000 a day in
compensation.
Edison was a true inventor, plowing his money back into invention so he
could invent even more; but he often lacked the stamina to go immediately
to the market, stay there, and hammer his products home. And if he did, he
often hamstrung the efforts by imposing his own pride on top of the whole
affair, claiming to know what was good for the customer. This cost him
dearly, most especially in recorded sound, and the selling of songs to the
buying public. He lost his lead and never regained it. On top of this, he
failed to understand what radio could do to his phonograph business, and
most certainly did. If Edison had an Achilles heel, this lack of strategic
market planning and execution was certainly it.
I daresay this obstinate behavior also cost him some potentially wonderful
and lucrative associations with frustrated inventors who worked for him and
left in disgust, like Nicola Tesla, the man who gave us AC electricity. He left
to work for George Westinghouse, who soon thereafter showed the vast
improvements that AC power would bring to extending electricity across the
nation. Edison’s DC power just could not compete over long distances. AC
power gave us our national grid and the digital economy we now all use. To
demonstrate the extent of Edison’s stubbornness, his beautiful home
(Glenmont) was powered by DC….. not to be converted to AC power. The
whole nation had moved in the direction of AC power long ago. It wasn’t
until the late 1950s when his home was transferred to the National Park
Service (NPS) as a national tribute to his work that the house wiring was
upgraded to AC power by NPS. Even though Edison died in 1931, the house
remained on DC power, supplied from his nearby labs--- which also
remained DC powered.
Let me qualify this whole discussion by saying many inventors display this
trait regarding their inventions. They can be incredibly stubborn about their
creations, and fail to market them in a timely and efficient manner. As a
long-time inventor, I readily admit to this myself; and can produce many
other inventor friends who will corroborate this tendency. Of all the
inventions granted by the U.S. Patent Office, only about 2% ever become
commercially successful. I have got to believe this is in part due to the
individual stubbornness of inventors, their marketing inefficiencies, and
failure to appreciate the bigger picture and realities of the marketplace that
makes invention such a high casualty business. We inventors can all be
terribly short-sighted, and so was Edison.
Other Edison Accomplishments
Looking at his second tier of inventive accomplishments (not in any
chronological or priority order), we find these important items:
-Stock ticker
-Vastly improved telegraphy
-Electric pen
-Duplicating machines
-Electric railway
-Telephone improvements
-Storage batteries
-Iron ore mining
-Poured concrete buildings
-Fluoroscope
-Natural rubber from goldenrod plants
-Office dictation equipment
-Portland cement making
-Rotary kiln improvements
-Loudspeakers
-Discovery of the Edison Effect (leading to vacuum tubes)
-Discovery of the Etheric Force (leading to radio telegraphy and radio)
Need I discuss in depth how broad this work alone is; and there are yet more
inventions we can ascribe to him. He produced 1093 patents in all during his
84 years. Edison had a most rare ability to walk into an area and quickly
command respect in it through his inventive genius and quick ability to
understand the heart of any problem. He mastered the ability to solve
problems across the spectrum of technological disciplines. Edison, the
hunter, chased down his technological prey using the very same principles
he used to establish his system of industrial R&D, but it would take a
financial mind to turn that largesse into marketplace power. Here, Mr.
Edison often tied himself into knots, and mismanaged his resources.
There is no doubt the man was a visionary, often decades ahead of his time,
as in the case of storage batteries and electric vehicles. Overtaken in the
early 1920s by gasoline-powered cars, his limited range electric cars were no
match for the long distance possibilities of the internal combustion engine.
Today, we marvel at his insight into what such gasoline guzzling engines
might ultimately do to our cities, not to mention the international mess that
foreign oil dependency has done to our national security. The modern day
hybrid vehicles are a first step back to Edison’s vision; but back then, Mr.
Edison could not make a go of it. Being ahead of your time in the invention
world is just as bad as being behind. Visionaries often pay a price, usually
being recognized as a footnote to history if they cannot make the invention
and market thrust work together.
Here is a strange twist of fate in Edison’s favor to illustrate my point. Other
inventors were all working on developing a light bulb, but they could not
make a durable one that would last or be able to work well. Edison invents
the “first commercial electric light bulb” and brings it to market, and also
invents the entire support industry to make it a possibility to wire homes and
businesses. Edison goes down in history as the “inventor of the incandescent
light bulb”. Then Edison blows this incredible lead by refusing to climb on
the bandwagon of AC power as we discussed earlier. Invention is a tough,
unforgiving business.
Epilogue
One might say Edison’s visionary tendencies were similar to the proverbial
“kid in the candy store”. He just had to forage far and wide. It all had to be
tasted. In a way, Edison remained child-like in his outlook on life,
remarkably interested in how things worked. His sense of “awe” in the world
puts him on par with great scientists like Einstein and Feynman. They
wandered around a bit in life too, taking residence upon problems of great
interest and importance----exploring it, each in their own way, satisfying a
profound curiosity…..dancing to a different drummer.
Ford was a stubborn man as well. His love of the Model T and unwillingness
to change it allowed other carmakers to gain great ground in his markets.
Success in business belongs to the agile and fleet of foot, not necessarily the
first to create something new. There are no guarantees in capitalism.
What a fabulously diverse and complex man we have in Edison. Here is a
child-man in love with all things technological, whose accomplishments
came to define the 19th and 20th centuries, providing tap roots into the 21st.
We are all the richer for his curiosity, and take comfort in the fact that like
all of us, he had his faults as well. This in no way diminishes his work. We
owe him a huge debt of gratitude. He gave up much of his life to make our
daily condition more tolerable. He was a humanist as much as a visionary.
Clutch Hitting His Way to Success
Playing Fast and Loose
Edison did indeed shift back and forth between inventive projects underway
in his laboratories. Often 40 projects at a time could be in progress by his
talented staff….and he as the guiding coordinator of them. He could
suddenly shift interest without warning into new areas, or decide to launch
improvements to existing work. Sometimes his staff was not sure which
projects he might take a sudden interest in. For sure, if he locked into an area
with an intense interest, with significant new ideas on his mind, he might
stay glued to that problem for weeks or months on end, disregarding
previous business commitments he had, often ignoring his contractual
demands for delivery of new inventions.
Cross-pollination between projects already in progress in the labs and what
he saw other rivals doing played a big part in his decisions to accelerate
work. It could be a site visit, a published paper, attendance at a technical
meeting, or something his constantly searching mind focused on, that would
trigger an avalanche of activity. Whatever it was, it meant everyone at the
labs was busy, often to the exclusion of important business meetings and
progress reports to investors. Few inventors had such a reputation for
changing the face of the world as Edison; and far fewer could get away with
his eccentric behavior……but as the years lengthened and his success rate
kept climbing, established industry leaders quaked when he decided to move
into their technological backyards with some new ideas.
His lack of previous knowledge in technology areas was not a hindrance, as
he felt this gave him the advantage of not being wedded to old ideas and
notions about doing things. By his own account, he took great stock in the
ability to “out-think” and “out-work” his competitors. Monumental nerve
and “gutsy” moves were most certainly part of his routine. I’d call him the
ultimate “clutch-hitter”, the “money-batter” in the late innings of key ball
games. When the chips were low, he was his most cagey and likely to
“swing for the seats” and make it. This was true in his work in radically
changing telegraphy, improving the telephone, the phonograph, and the
electric light bulb.
Masterfully, he used the newspapers to his own ends. Edison was great
press, a showman unafraid to proclaim his next “big thing” in advance of
even having it done. His visionary thinking and left-handed comments
became tomorrow’s new invention or process. Time and again his old
adversaries and collegiate debunkers guffawed about his eccentric
ramblings, only to find him with the laurels about his head and their faces
egg spattered. Many a wise investor and business mogul quietly hedged their
bets when Edison was quoted in the newspapers. When he proclaimed to
replace the gas lighting business with electric lighting, those who owned
large holdings in the gas illumination companies quietly invested in his
work. This rumple-suited, odd-ball inventor, with a tobacco juice-stained
vest, was quite capable of the big surprise. His reputation was international.
The Inevitable Drawbacks
This behavior did have some serious drawbacks. For one thing, it made his
investors very nervous. They never could be sure the money they lent him
was really going into their own projects or fueling his massive desire to
invent and dream. On many occasions, investors were terribly frustrated
with his failure to show up for meetings or meet critical demonstration dates.
By his own admission, Edison worked for Edison, regardless of where the
money came from. He would ultimately deliver and his record proved it. He
was a man determined to go through life on his own terms, regardless of
who paid the freight.
Undoubtedly, this behavior scared potential new investors away; and many
times Edison was taken advantage of because of his inability to meet critical
deadlines. He often ran out of cash or incurred heavy debt, which made him
scramble around to secure additional funding to continue. The loan terms
given to him under these conditions, were usually not so generous. He was
not a master at all business matters and freely admitted it; but he was the
best that emerging industrial America had to offer----“warts and all”.
Edison was notorious for not paying his bills promptly; and this affected him
when things were needed in a hurry. Many times creditors pounded on the
doors to the lab or sent him dunning notices. His reputation as a “skin-flint”
is not without merit. His incredible reputation seemed to win out over this
somehow; but it was not unusual for him to let bills go for years at a time.
Edison’s stay-in-the-lab-all-night-long approach to life also took a terrible
toll on his family life. His children were neglected, the first three more so
than the last three. From his first marriage to Mary Stillwell, his original
three children saw their father very little, and poor Mary was ill-equipped to
deal with the enormous notoriety that young Tom was getting from his work
with telegraphy, the telephone, and the phonograph. Her untimely and very
young death in 1884 forced him to directly confront the situation.
His second marriage in 1886 to Mina Miller also yielded three children, but
Mina was better equipped to fill in the voids of her perpetually absent,
world-renowned husband. She had come from a wealthy and educated
family, whose father was also an inventor, allowing her to appreciate the
inventor’s life, along with the stresses and strains such a lifestyle brings.
Since she was able to influence her own children from the beginning of their
lives, they fared much better, but there were scars there as well.
Sad to say, the world’s greatest inventor was quite self-centered in his
pursuits. There were family vacations and jaunts in the countryside, but papa
was often not there to tuck the kids in or spend what we now call quality
time. It is tough to do such things when your time card at the lab says 90
plus hours a week having been accumulated.
Despite this, Edison had his faithful lab assistants and key people who
cherished the time they worked for him; and there was no lack of talent
flocking to his door, hoping to work for the great man. He was perceived as
a visionary leader at a time when big dreams were being hatched across a
nation hungry for progress to improve their lives.
His eccentric ways gave rise to many confrontations between newly
educated men, versed in college science and theory. Some felt Edison was
going in the wrong direction. Nikola Tesla, the brilliant inventor of AC
power left Edison’s employment as he and the great man differed about AC
being better than DC power. Turned out Tesla was right, and George
Westinghouse hired the young man, absolutely showing the world the better
way to operate an electric utility…….even though Edison pioneered its basic
concepts using DC power. Sometimes it takes more than an established
record of accomplishment and dogged determination to win the day.
Stubborn adherence to a position is a common problem with all inventors;
and probably more so if you are considered the greatest living inventor of
your time. Success does sooner or later exact a price for those locked in its
grasp.
Examine Edison in the heady times in which he lived. He was born in
agricultural America in 1847….. dying in industrial America in 1931, an
America he had a great hand in shaping. Self- made men of the times with
no formal education rose to prominence based on their hard-won skills and
many times, self-education. They were proud, determined, and fiercely
individualistic, not likely to cave in to first assaults on their pride or sense of
competitive spirit. They stood their ground and went toe-to-toe with their
rivals, ready to capitalize on any weaknesses they detected, or potential
advantages they might perceive. This is how the nation was built, not by
negotiation, but by guts and pride and daring. Edison was a major player and
like all long ball hitters, he sometimes stuck-out. He was the Babe Ruth of
invention.
It is incredibly interesting to note that in 1847, the year of Edison’s birth,
there were 5,000 recorded patents. In 1935, 4 years after Edison’s death,
there were 2,000,000 patents. What an incredible span of years and inventive
outpouring; and one wonders how much Edison’s work ignited the fire of
invention in several generations of people.
Camaraderie and Creativity
Fun With the Old Man
If you worked for Edison and became good enough to be included in his
inner circle of inventors and technicians, there was certainly ample
opportunity to interact with the “Old Man” as his staff called him. In fact,
they called him the Old Man when he was only 24, even though most of his
workers were older. By 31, he had completely revolutionized telegraphy,
earning the respect of his peers in the industry, his workers, and telegraphic
giants like Western Union. Edison was a tough act to follow. By 36, he was
a millionaire.
More than anything else, the Old Man enjoyed the male camaraderie of the
workshop atmosphere; sharing pranks, taking meals with the other guys,
taking verbal shots at each other, and of course working until the sun came
up on projects exciting and new. He reveled in telling knee-slapping stories
and singing little made-on-the-spot ditties; and sometimes, ribald old songs.
At his Menlo Park lab, there was an old organ that would be played at times
to let out the tension and anxiety of the creative workplace, often at midnight
or the wee hours of the morning. Songfests and big midnight meals were
quite common. So were catnaps in various corners, atop lab benches or
wherever conditions seemed to offer a comfortable respite for the body and
mind.
His development of the modern day R&D laboratory was perhaps his
greatest invention, codifying how invention can be made a profitable process
for all industries. Without doubt it has proven to be a way to perpetuate
economic progress, fuel for our national economic engine; and since all
major technology based firms worldwide have R&D outfits, we can safely
assume it is beneficial to civilization. It may not be run today the way
Edison ran his, but its principles and goals are essentially unchanged from
the poorly heated, badly lit, large wooden buildings that gave us the
phonograph, and the electric light. Magic happened there for sure, and the
fire was the Old Man himself….the leader.
Today our business executives are fond of attending workshops to learn of
stress relieving activities, in-vogue leadership techniques, and practice ways
to bond with employees in the workplace……hopefully to stimulate a sense
of partnership in the work. The Old Man seemed to be able to do this
intuitively, and with great success. There was no doubt he was the leader of
the pack. His accomplishments told that story better than anyone’s words,
official pronouncements, or collegiate diplomas could attest. What you saw
in Edison’s workshop was what you got from the Old Man. He was tough on
his boys, but he gave as good as he got; and usually outworked them all.
You don’t learn this today in a commercially offered course on leadership, in
an air-conditioned atmosphere with nicely bound course notes and gourmet
lunches and dinners.
Old Habits Die Hard
This cozy boys club at the lab led to a great deal of jealously and
consternation with his wives, probably causing them to wonder if he liked
his workers better than his family, since he spent more time with them.
Mary, his first wife, was especially hurt by this male atmosphere attraction
of Edison’s. Mina, his second wife, seemed much better able to selfactualize off his tendencies, carving out her own place in the Edison
panoply. The irresistible creative urges of Edison certainly tugged him in all
sorts of directions, usually away from his family.
Historians speculate that Edison’s behavior with the boys harks back to his
itinerant telegrapher days, when as a teenager he roamed alone around the
country from Port Huron, Michigan to Tennessee and back again, in search
of good paying jobs and opportunities to practice his craft. He lived with
pick-up roommates and enjoyed the lively banter of the crude telegraph
rooms. He was not adept at social relationships, and tended to annoy people
with his antics and bold pronouncements.
As he worked his way up the telegrapher pecking order, his early jobs were
the late nigh shifts at lonely railroad outposts. This afforded him spare time
to think, dream, and inevitably try out some new ideas on readily available
telegraphic equipment. On several occasions such behavior caused him to be
fired when one of his pranks or failed impromptu telegraphic experiments
landed him in big trouble. However, this joyful experimentation fueled his
mind.
Ordinary teenagers might move on from these failed employments and carry
nothing of it with them except perhaps a belly laugh and fond memories re-
telling it to grandchildren. Young Tom used the experience as fodder for
future experiments. His life-long philosophy was always the same, negative
results are just as important as positive ones. He always seemed to be
learning, even when people annoyed at him thought him to be a buffoon.
The penchant for joking and impromptu word play was very evident in
young Tom, as well as in many of the fellow free spirit telegraphers he
knew. In fact, some became long-time friends and associates of Edison later
as his career started taking off. One even introduced him to his second wife.
A Creativity Genius
Viscerally, Edison grasped the importance of creativity and the need to
nurture this; and most important, rest it when necessary. Many inventors I
know believe in catnapping and doing some other creative exercises when
the mind goes numb from over-concentration on the same problem. I myself
prefer word play and humor, and have used it extensively when stumped on
inventive problems. Sometimes crafting a humorous story about what I am
trying to do aids in breaking a mental logjam. The mind needs variety and
inventors seem to appreciate this. Most have their own little ways of dealing
with it. My best inventions have come out of humorous side excursions and
wild thinking which forces one to see things in radically new perspective. I
also like to use props and physical things to engage my hands as well in
animated discussions and play-acting.
This may not be what R&D executives want to see happening in the lab as
high priced scientists and engineers engage in what might appear to be
sophomoric tomfoolery; but I can provide many stories of how highly
creative men and women have engaged in some fantasy trips to gain a badly
needed new perspective on a tough problem that just would not crack. This
was just as important to Edison as the late working hours; and in this regard,
he was light years ahead of today’s cognoscenti of creativity. He just didn’t
publish what came natural to him.
This all worked quite effectively with his staff. Their work is often blurred
with his in creative excellence. His leadership style brought forth huge
dividends. While his name is always on the patents, and sometimes shared
with others, the work and contributions of his dedicated staff are indelibly
stamped there. As his labs at Menlo Park and West Orange took on diverse
and more complex projects, the Old Man could not be in all places at once.
Had he not instilled his special brand of magic into the workday, things
would have turned out quite differently. This I maintain is the hallmark of a
true leader…..teaching others to be leaders and thinkers. His incredible staff
worked all night even when he was away on business.
Did this boys club take its toll on Edison and his staff’s marriages? Without
a doubt, this was so. Did he create things that were incredibly important to
our modern lives? You bet! Was Edison a slave driver or a leader? I think
we already know the answer to that. Having worked in an R&D department
in a Fortune 500 company for almost 40 years, I can personally attest, there
are research project managers across the world that would give their right
arms to be able to instill in their staffs what Edison did in his. Maybe that is
why he is such a tough act to follow.
The R&D Legacy
Edison Stakes Out the Future
Edison takes invention from a freelance art form and transforms it into a
scientific and commercially based enterprise. He fuses (not always
successfully) invention and market thrust to unleash a repeatable process we
recognize as innovation……the very essence of progress……the cardiovascular system of modern capitalism. Old Tom gives us the keys to the
kingdom, the equation to endlessly perpetuate the industrial revolution of the
late 19th century, showing us that we are in the driver’s seat and have the
power to keep the cornucopia of new products rolling. It is all up to us how
far we can take this revolution, limited only by our vision, hard work, and
desire.
The ability to advance our civilization is no longer limited by our resources,
but by our minds and our processes. Edison frees us by teaching us to
combine knowledge, technology, experience, teamwork, and old fashioned
“fire in the belly to succeed” in the R&D lab. He boldly talks about his R&D
lab as an “invention factory”, implying that it is something we have absolute
control over, able to speed up, or slow down.
Edison envisions a society where inventions follow rapidly on the heels of
other inventions, and technical men must continually learn and be ready to
meet the challenge. This is why he places libraries in his research lab, a
place where he can feed the flames of knowledge, invention, and
technology. It all makes common sense to this simple man. Many of
America’s great companies established their own version of Edison’s R&D
labs. This had a profound impact on both invention and the pace at which
new changes would take place. Here below is a chart of when some of the
country’s great R&D labs were formed.
Edison
J&J
National Starch
General Electric
Westinghouse
Campbell Soup
Hoffman La Roche
Menlo Park 1876; West Orange 1887
1891
1895
1885
1904
1939
1929
Union Carbide
Du Pont
Merck
Benjamin Moore
Exxon
Allied Signal
Bell Labs
Mobil
Nabisco
Englehard
RCA
1925
1903
1891
1904
1919
1943
1925
1925
1958
1920
1920
Today, technology-based Fortune 500 companies have robust R&D labs
aimed at turning their corporate knowledge and inventions into economic
engines for their companies. Every year, over $350 billion worth of R&D is
conducted by U.S. companies, universities, and governmental labs. R&D is
synonymous with growth and corporate wealth.
Consider that formalized invention in America begins with the Constitution
which empowers Congress to create a patent office in 1792. It takes until
1935 for the 2 millionth patent to be issued………143 years. Along come
Edison and his ideas about team invention and team-based problem solving,
and the world of patents changes radically. Look at the table below:
First 2 millionth patent issued
4 “
“
“
6 “
“
“
8 “
“
“
1935
1976
1999
2013 (est.)
Since 1935, 6 of the 8 million total patents are issued……75% of all patents!
The pace of patent submissions and issues are radically accelerating. Not
only that, but the doubling time is decreasing, signifying that exponential
growth is occurring. Think about this:
To go from “zero” patents to 2 million patents took 143 years.
To go from 2 to 4 million patents took 41 years.
To go from 4 to 8 million patents will take 37 years.
Such a blistering pace takes a heavy toll on new businesses, placing their
feet on an innovation treadmill, with product shelf-life also succumbing to
shorter and shorter times. In 1960, a product had a useful shelf-life of
perhaps as much as 10 years. In today’s world, where computerization and
intelligence is built into our products, useful shelf-life may be measured in
just a few months. We must invent faster and more efficiently just to keep
pace in the industrial race to global competitiveness.
America is not alone anymore, many other countries are reaching for the
stars and dreaming of ever-increasing standards of living….and they
understand well what Edison was talking about with his R&D laboratories.
Tom’s invention message was intended for everyone who might be
interested.
The Legacy of Edison R&D Labs
Here is a listing of the key concepts Edison embodied in his early R&D lab
innovation:
-Multiplexing his time across a variety of projects was possible only if he
carefully planned his work out first and followed through…his men building
the prototypes and he and they tinkering them to perfection;
-Inter-disciplinary problem solving teams highly focused on specific
commercially relevant problems;
-Setting goals for his teams to meet…such as a major invention every 3
months, and a minor one every 10 days;
-Realizing that putting the right people on teams was just as important as
picking the right problems to solve;
-Keeping careful lab notebooks to preserve ideas and intellectual property;
-Integration of a library into his labs to provide access to information;
-Keeping stock and materials on hand to foster rapid prototyping of new
ideas;
-Sharing of invention rights and royalties with team members;
-The use of humor, jokes, and team spirit to make for a cohesive group of
researchers;
-Move among the projects at hand if a mental block set in to stymie
progress; and,
-Maximize synergy and cross-cutting technologies;
Today, the lessons of Edison endure.
Nancy Elliot Edison-Rescuing Thomas
Introduction
Surely, Thomas Edison was the man who gave us a great deal of our modern
life. It was an incredible run of accomplishment—all for a man who had but
a very short public school education. Herein is the real story about Edison,
and his mother’s ability to influence and harness his great mental
capabilities. Little is known about this quiet woman who in her own loving
way gave us the man who gave us our modern way of life.
If young Edison was in our schools today we might have reached the same
conclusion that his teacher did. Something was not quite right about little
Tom. Edison always had lots of questions, little interest in traditional
schooling methods, and memorization, a tendency to be “dreamy and preoccupied”, and was always drawing pictures, diagrams, and sketches.
Perhaps we would put him in a special education class, or worse yet, the
little fellow might be medicated if we thought his behavior disturbed others,
or hampered what we felt was his normal course of development.
His teacher way back in the early 1850s told his mother that young Tom was
“addled”, his brain incapable of learning, perhaps even retarded. His large
head seemed to add to his predicament in the eyes of the simple
schoolmaster. That little town schoolhouse was not equipped to handle this
strange little boy. Young Tom did not fit into the educational mold.
Nancy Edison and Young Tom
His mother, outraged at what she heard from the local schoolmaster, was
adamant in her rebuttal…..obviously the teacher knew little about her child.
Nancy Edison, also a trained teacher, thankfully assumed Tom’s homeschooled education.
A first order of business was to instill discipline into the lad’s thinking. To
properly use his higher order thinking skills, the mind needed to be prepared.
Edison was not happy about doing what he did not like, but in the long term,
chance does favor the prepared mind, and so his home schooling would
begin with some basics. Mom could be a taskmaster when necessary.
Her husband Samuel and she were avid readers, and immediately imbued
Tom with a love of reading. This love became a life-long habit of Edison’s.
By the age of ten he was already deep into the classics of literature like
Gibbon’s “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire”, and many other
weighty tomes. He read across the literature, enjoying poetry and prose,
histories, and of course science, technology, engineering and chemistry. He
recited favorite poems throughout his life. This love of reading and hence
learning would be crucial to Tom’s success in later years.
By his teenage years, Tom was already roaming the Midwest as an itinerant
top grade telegrapher, earning a respectable wage, and reputation as an
electro-mechanical guru. He mastered telegraphy by first building his own
telegraph equipment and teaching himself Morse code. His determination to
find answers to his curiosity and the solution to problems was another key
factor in his success.
All the while he is roaming, he is reading at local libraries, keeping abreast
of technological advances, and crystallizing his grasp of invention. This
would remain a hallmark throughout his life. His research library at West
Orange, NJ was filled with tens of thousands of volumes that served as his
main technical and scientific reference center; as well as a large supply of
reference books in his home living room at Glenmont.
This need for information he realized as the fundamental bedrock for any
serious invention efforts. You cannot invent well according to Thomas,
unless you know what is already accomplished, what has been done, and
what is needed. Today, any respectable national R&D lab is intimately tied
to a corporate library or dedicated outside information networks. In fact, our
Internet started as an electronic network whereby collegiate and defense
researchers could trade knowledge. Edison in an indirect way helped usher
in the information revolution we experience now.
Nancy Edison also allowed young Tom to explore and learn on his own,
pursuing his beloved sketches and ideas, delving into what interested him,
and building his own little laboratory in the basement of their modest home.
She was tolerant of his smells and occasional “explosions”-cautioning her
not so tolerant husband that Tom really did know about chemistry (a subject
he always came back to again and again throughout his life).
Mom’s Hard Work Pays Off
Another of Tom’s famous habits was his notebooks, something he started at
a very early age. Here he dutifully recorded his work, sketches, and
impressions. This natural repository of his work turned out to be a national
treasure chest, as he left us over 4,000 large books filled with his ideas and
experiments….a resource now being mined by scholars. This was another
area where Nancy Edison allowed young Tom to stretch his wings, using his
natural ability to sketch and draw, to express himself in the best way he
knew how. This habit was incredibly useful to Edison; later serving as an
inspiration to all inventors who followed and were influenced by him.
This codification and documentation of work in progress has become the
mainstay of any inventor and the subject of legal precedent when patent
rights are questioned. Here we glimpse Edison’s mind in progress, his
phenomenal ability to see the whole problem and the individual parts at the
same time. This is the “Edison magic”, which leads directly to his idea about
setting up invention factories by using the inter-disciplinary skills of
physicists, chemists, engineers, metallurgists, machinists, mathematicians,
and laboratory technicians to solve problems, all working together for a
common goal.
The ability to see the parts and the whole problem at once gave us the
electric light and the entire electric utility infrastructure to serve it. He saw
the need for electric illumination and the process to serve all those light
bulbs at the same time. He created the product (the light bulb) and the
process (the generation, and distribution systems) to make it all work. He
would do this again, with varying degrees of success, with recorded sound
and motion pictures.
Epilog
No wonder young Tom’s time in a formal school setting was so traumatic.
His “mental wiring” was different. He was thinking more in pictures and
diagrams than simply words and text. I shudder how many other highly
creative folks suffer the same fate today in our “one-size-fits-all” schools.
For the rest of his life, Edison railed against modern education, thinking it
stultifying. He championed the kind of learning his mother gave him, and
the worldly experience and self-determination that he had experienced. His
success told his story, and he stuck to the methods that worked for him.
Today, modern brain-based research is telling us what Nancy Edison knew
in her heart, self-learning is just as important as book learning; and she had
the courage and conviction to allow young Tom to falter and advance at his
own pace. This research is also casting severe criticism on traditional
educational approaches we still stubbornly cling to in our schools. Individual
learning styles are paramount to getting the most from each student.
Humans indeed may be wired differently and of course able to learn
differently, so why aren’t teachers allowed and taught to use different
teaching styles; and given the necessary resources to do so? There is
increasing truth to having smaller classrooms, so individual teaching styles
can be better managed. Perhaps the 50-minute classroom period should be
expanded so students can do more learning in teams, exploring the rich
interconnections between subject matter?
The closest thing we have to what recent brain-based research is telling us is
technology education, a content rich educational process that started in the
mid-1980s. It uses the entire curricula as its basis, teaching students to
explore the inter-disciplinary, and multi-dimensional nature of problem
solving; and to spend time at the beginning to define the problem at the
outset. This is also something Thomas Edison did with a passion. He took
time to think through his problems, not simply rush to cobble something
together in his lab. He read through the available literature about possible
technology he could use and how others might have tried to solve similar
problems, carefully planning out his methods and approaches to solving the
problem. To him, experimental failure was just as important as success.
So why don’t we teach all this in school today?
I do note an Edison stubbornness to deal with too much mathematics. He
seemed not to trust those who placed an over-emphasis on it, fearing perhaps
they could lose the physical feel for the problem at hand by abstracting it.
Was Edison poor at math and hiding a weakness? Certainly as his businesses
grew and technology became more complex, he needed to hire college men
trained in the classic sciences and mathematics; but somehow he never could
lose that distrust of mathematics. Without doubt, Edison was a “tinker” and
felt better when in control of his innate feelings about a technology or a
problem. He trusted his intuition, experience, and empirical methods.
Mina Miller Edison-A Valuable Partner
Introduction
Mina Miller Edison (1865-1947) was the second wife of Thomas Edison. He
married her in 1886 after the death of his first wife, Mary Stillwell Edison,
in 1884.
Where Mary had been a woman of simple means, a worker in his Newark
factory…..Mina was poised, the daughter of parents of culture and good
upbringing in Akron, Ohio. Her father Lewis was an inventor himself of
farm machinery, having much of the inventive spirit in common with his
soon-to-be, son-in-law, Thomas Edison. As it would turn out, Mina would
become the daughter, wife and mother of inventors. Her son Theodore
Edison would also take up an inventive life, although he would never
achieve the acclaim his father enjoyed.
Lewis Miller played a key role in establishing the famous retreat,
Chautauqua in upper, western New York State. This kind of exposure to
people of stature and mixing with highly educated folks helped groom Mina
for the societal role she would play with a world renowned husband.
Mina and Tom
When Thomas and Mina joined, she became the matriarch of a huge 23
room mansion in West Orange, near Edison’s new West Orange
laboratories; a 13 acre estate that included the home (Glenmont), a barn,
greenhouse, garage, farm animals, and tended grounds. Thomas bought her
the magnificent Queen Anne style Victorian mansion as a wedding gift.
Mina was 19 and Thomas 39; and along came three children by his first
marriage-Marion, Thomas Jr., and William. Marion the oldest, was already
12, just 7 years younger than Mina, making her job as a young mother that
much more difficult. Mina would then have three children of her ownMadeline, Charles, and Theodore.
Unlike Mary, Mina was up to the challenge of an already famous husband.
While she adored him as Mary did, this adoration was not overwhelming.
Mina had been around famous people all her life and was raised to “take
charge” of situations. She became a loving wife and business partner to
Edison and his burgeoning reputation and public acclaim.
She handled his very busy social calendar, dinner parties, and public
relations so he could remain doing what he did best…..to invent
breakthrough technologies and industries. Mina rose to the demanding rigors
of her husband’s fame and busy schedule. Many nights would pass with
Edison spending long hours at the lab or personally supervising critical work
at job sites. This was tough on Mina and the children, but she not only
persisted in protecting her husband’s privacy, and keeping his social
calendar in order, she was an important asset to his business, his de facto
public relations department as I like to consider it.
The mansion was the site of many famous guests such as Presidents Hoover
and Wilson; the kings of Sweden and Siam; famous conservationist John
Burroughs; Maria Montessori-the famed educator; Helen Keller;
industrialists Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and George Eastman. There
were also Orville Wright, Charles Lindbergh, and variety of others,
including famed musical artists that Edison had recorded for his phonograph
records. Against this backdrop of fame and notoriety, Mina entertained,
brought up her children, managed the large estate, and carved out a
meaningful life of her own.
Mina became a potent force for the conservation movement then picking up
momentum. The rapid growth of cities and their encroachment on pristine
areas was a major concern. Men like Burroughs, Muir, and others greatly
influenced Mina’s thinking and she most likely had input to the great
movement to preserve wild areas, very much in the spirit that helped
establish our national system of parks.
She was also an avid bird watcher and horticulturalist. Mina transformed
Glenmont’s fertile grounds into a botanical wonderland----planting trees,
shrubs, and plant species from around the world there. Today still, the air
around Glenmont is very much alive with the smells and aromas of
blooming plants and trees.
Mina also gave of her talents to the surrounding communities, working
tirelessly on various social, educational, religious, and community causes for
the benefits of citizens great and small. She did her best to give back to her
community, and in doing so, create a solid reputation of citizenship, while at
the same time shedding light upon her husband’s business. Her philanthropy
was well-known. She had a most beautiful philosophy about education,
maintaining that only through a traditional and classic liberal education do
we make citizens ready for the wonderful democracy that we enjoy.
Her life-long interest in learning, studying foreign cultures, and giving her
talents back to the community were all probably formed early in her youth
with her father’s founding of Chautauqua, a beautiful outdoor retreat on the
southern shore of Lake Erie. There with Bishop Vincent of Akron, Ohio, her
father Lewis Miller established a religious retreat that emphasized worldly
learning and fostered continued learning to better understand people and
ideas. Every summer for most of her life, Mina retreated to the bucolic
splendor of this lakeside oasis for mental and spiritual rejuvenation. This
state of continuous learning meshed well with Thomas’s constant quest to
learn and study his own interests. In the big world of new ideas and creative
thinking, she and Thomas were in perfect harmony. Lovely Glenmont is a
warm home, filled with books and opportunities for learning.
Today, Chautauqua remains a place of learning and understanding, whether
for religious or other purposes. It is a name that describes both a philosophy
and a geographical location. It is an invention of spirit and mind, no less
important than Edison’s physical manifestations of technology.
A Loving Partnership
There was a lovely partnership in the Thomas-Mina marriage, even if
Thomas was often away from home for days at a time. She came to
understand his greatness and to share him with the world. She shielded him
from the distractions, and annoyances that could sap his creative energies.
In the large upstairs living room of Glenmont, are two desks, one for
Thomas and the other for Mina, signifying that both worked hard and in
close proximity. Like the invention process going on at the Edison labs
every day, their marriage was a partnership, of mutual respect, purpose, and
love. Had she not provided such a nurturing environment for creative
Thomas to dwell within, we may not have enjoyed (or been delayed in
realizing) many of the advances that he achieved.
Today, Thomas and Mina rest side-by-side in a peaceful memorial garden
area behind their beautiful home, the entire estate lovingly preserved for
visitors from all over the world to enjoy, and reflect upon. Thousands of
visitors tour Glenmont every year, marveling at the profound work done
here by both husband and wife.
Edison and Electric Cars
Background
In the early 1900s, Thomas Edison pioneered the development of a new
alkaline-based battery system that has come to be known as the nickel-iron
storage battery. This was a 10-year effort that involved a great deal of
manpower and many, many experiments….over 10,000 experiments as a
matter-of-fact. He envisioned this technology being the centerpiece of
electric vehicles for clean city travel.
His wife Mina could be seen driving her personal black brougham, electric
vehicle about town. This 5 horsepower car could be easily re-charged in the
Edison garage on their Glenmont property; thus, Edison was already giving
us the model of being able to electrically re-fuel our cars right in our own
garages, something electric vehicle enthusiasts proudly champion
today……..old news to Mr. Edison.
Early electric cars were marketed as cars for refined women, not needing to
be cranked or tinkered with mechanically. Crank vehicles of the day could
be very dangerous, as the crank could kick-back, breaking an arm, and often
did. With an electric vehicle, you just turned a key and off you went.
Edison always felt that electric vehicles would be an ideal city or inter-urban
mode of transportation. His philosophy was railroads would be the long-haul
form of transportation; and electrics would be the preferred method instead
of smelly horses and their waste products left all over the streets. He thought
horses quite dangerous, well past their time in crowded cities.
Prophetically, he firmly believed that if gasoline was the choice for car fuel
it would be no better than horses, fouling the city air and eventually
becoming difficult and costly to obtain. How right he would appear today!
His world envisioned a car that had the ability to travel 30-60 miles on a
battery charge….. quiet, clean, and used locally.
The Challenge for Electric Vehicles
Using electric vehicles today does provide a number of significant benefits
for the American people:
-Removal of dependence on foreign oil;
-Cleaner air in our cities;
-No need for local and often polluting gasoline re-filling stations;
-Ability to re-fuel our cars at night in our own garages; and,
-The infrastructure to replace gasoline (the electric utility) already
exists; and is capable of handling the task.
Unfortunately Edison batteries suffered from not being able to pack enough
energy into a small space, and their range was limited to mostly intra-city
applications. There have been many improvements to batteries since, but the
operating range of electric vehicles today is still limited compared to the
traditional gasoline-powered vehicle.
For a battery equipped electric vehicle to compete equally with a gasoline
powered car requires that batteries be able to store ten (10) times as much
energy as they do now…….a very difficult technological task indeed. There
is a great deal of energy coming through the hose from a gasoline pump.
Dinosaur juice (gasoline) is energy intensive. It has given us the ability to
travel hundreds of miles on a tank full; and Americans very much enjoy this
freedom to move around any time and any place. A huge and intricate
network of gasoline re-filling stations is available in every state to serve our
needs. The American public enjoys a very strong bond with their cars.
As an interim compromise between the energy intensiveness and longdistance capability of gasoline cars and the clean re-charge capability of
electric vehicles, we are seeing hybrid cars today that combine the best of
both worlds, with batteries and an internal combustion engine working
together.
In the future, we are likely to see other forms of electric cars, like those
powered by fuel cells, running on clean hydrogen gas. The only emissions
from a hydrogen-powered vehicle would be water. The question would be
how do we generate the hydrogen in the first place and how do we move this
potentially explosive gas around. The car companies have been looking at
and developing hydrogen-based concept cars to gain a better understanding
about how such cars would operate and impact our existing infrastructures
and roads.
Edison’s Work in Perspective
I find it somewhat ironic that Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were very
good friends, especially since they were on opposing sides of the automobile
issue. Sitting in Edison’s garage at Glenmont today, alongside his early
electric cars, is a 1922 Model T given to him by Ford.
Here we have two inventors with very different visions for the automobile.
Edison sees it as a local transportation provider, able to negotiate the city
streets, and provide a cleaner replacement to the horse. Railroads would take
care of long-distance travel. Besides, I think deep down, Edison realized
many electric vehicles re-charging at night would be a nice way to keep his
little neighborhood power plants running all night long, which would be a
most efficient way to operate them. Edison does not invent electric vehicles.
He revolutionizes them with a highly rugged, very dependable, battery pack.
Ford determines that Americans want to go where the railroads do not, and
yearn for getting way out into the country. He develops a low cost car to do
just that. Its popularity soars and along with it comes the road and re-fueling
infrastructures. The rest is history, but clearly we need to do something
today, for as Edison so accurately predicted, our city and country air have
become fouled. Many folks are also talking about using corn and other plantbased ethanol (alcohol) supplies as fuels, so as to extend limited gasoline
supplies and also help clean the air.
Historically, Edison’s nickel-iron storage battery was a very successful
technology for his company, and may have been his most profitable
business. These batteries found application in mining, railroad, marine, and
military applications, and are still used today. The battery business started by
the original Thomas Edison Company was the last business to stay in
operation after Edison’s death…..well into the 1970s.
Edison Loved DC Electricity
Edison the Stubborn
The great inventor was very fond of DC electricity, maintaining to his death
in 1931, the superiority and safety of it over George Westinghouse’s AC. He
fought bitter verbal wars with Westinghouse. These battles were
acrimonious, and largely played out to a delighted press willing to have two
inventive giants square-off for the paying public.
In the long term, AC electricity would prove more versatile, with its ability
to change voltage levels via transformers, and economical long-distance
transport via high voltage transmission lines. Without AC power, we would
never have developed an integrated national electric grid.
With DC, generating stations would have been numerous, and limited
perhaps to a square mile or so in distribution capability. In a world of DC,
there would be no long distance transmission capability. Lots of little
generating stations would have dotted the landscape. This was fine in
Edison’s mind, but it would have been a more costly system to build and
maintain with so many generating stations and the staffs to run and maintain
them.
Edison’s inability to understand and trust the theoretical limitations his DC
power would face clearly cost him the lead in emerging electric utility
technology. Probably his aversion to mathematics and theory was most
detrimental here. AC power is very complex to the untrained mind,
grounded in advanced mathematics. Edison with his empirical mind, and
notorious streak of stubbornness, were a 1-2 punch that cost him dearly.
Even his technical supporters and financiers abandoned him when it became
obvious that Westinghouse’s camp had made the right choices with AC
power.
Edison’s Home-Glenmont
So confident was he of DC, that when Edison purchased his home in
Glenmont, in the town of West Orange, NJ, he ran power cables up the hill
from his laboratory and supplied his entire estate with it.
He bought Glenmont in 1886 and electrified the home in 1887, right in the
middle of the time he was demonstrating his electric power and light
generation and distribution system at the famous Pearl Street station in New
York City. So he probably used the same kinds of underground power cables
as those used at Pearl Street. It would stay DC powered until the late 1950s
when the National Park Service took over the estate for all Americans to
enjoy, and learn about Edison’s incredible career and indelible mark on our
nation’s history.
Since he needed lots of electric power for his massive labs at West Orange,
the generating station was almost always in use. Tapping the generators for
his home use was probably not much of a problem. His huge 29-room
mansion used about 180 amps of electric current, most of it for lighting and
general household use. The outlying garage, barn, and greenhouse on the
property needed power as well. Also housed in the garage in the early 1900s
was an electric vehicle charging station to support his pioneering use and
testing of electric cars and batteries. So in all, Edison’s DC power
consumption was probably about a peak of 400-500 amps.
Those prototype DC electric cables running up from the lab generating
station lasted from 1887 thru the late 1950s, and probably would have
continued running longer…..a run of about 70+ years….better than most
utility industry cables today.
Integrated Circuits, Transistors,
Vacuum Tubes, and the Light Bulb
The Edison Effect
There is a definite link leading back from the sophisticated integrated
circuits in our computers to the venerable light bulb. Edison’s humble light
bulb is where “The Wizard of Menlo Park” first discovered his “Edison
Effect”; which would later revolutionize our lives in ways so very profound.
It has become the basis of today’s Information Age.
While trying to prolong the life of his early bulb filaments, Edison and his
laboratory assistants noticed a dark spot on the glass bulbs near one end of
the filament. This dark spot was not germane to the life of the filament so it
was not taken seriously. Later, he experimented with a specially designed
bulb where he inserted a separate electrode and soon was able to measure a
current flowing in this new electrode.
How could this be? There was no direct electrical connection between a
glowing filament and this new electrode, so how could an electrical current
flow? What was the source of this current? Unable to understand what was
happening, Edison dutifully recorded his experiments and moved on.
Today we certainly know what this series of experiments signifies. The
heated element is “boiling-off” electrons that are then moving through the
vacuum in the glass bulb and hitting that new electrode. This flow of
electrons can be accelerated and enhanced or even stopped, by changing the
polarity of the element. If positive, current flows more readily. If negative,
current flow is hampered.
Thanks to Edison, it was now possible to move electricity through a vacuum
without a direct electrical wire link between elements. This all happened
before the electron itself was discovered and understood. Blunder or
misunderstanding, whatever the choice of the reader, nevertheless, Edison’s
careful experiments helped both theoretical science and applied engineering
make significant advances.
Fleming in England and De Forest in America eventually understood how to
harness this effect. Fleming did so with his diode or valve as he called it
(two element vacuum tube); and De Forest did so with the triode (three
element vacuum tube) that enabled amplification. These two vacuum tubes
led directly to the advent of radio and early electronic circuits. Diodes are
used for rectification, and triodes for amplification and switching
Vacuum Tubes and Transistors
Vacuum tubes became the mainstay of radio, TV, radar, communications,
computers, and medical equipment into the 1960s and 70s. Events at Bell
Laboratories in 1947 completely re-invented electronics, making it possible
for semi-conductive substances under certain conditions to permit the flow
of electricity.
Called solid-state electronics, it was now possible to make electricity flow
through structures as easily as it moved through wires and the empty space
of vacuum tubes. Called the transistor, this three-element device analogous
to a triode vacuum tube, was now made of tiny slabs of solid germanium and
silicon carefully treated or doped with conductive atoms. Like a vacuum
tube, transistors can be used to amplify signals or perform as fast acting
switches. Shockley, Brittain and Bardeen were given the credit for the
invention and development of the transistor in 1947.
Very much smaller in size and power needs than bulky and not-so-long-lived
vacuum tubes, transistors soon found great application. Radios now became
small enough to carry in a shirt pocket, powered by a simple battery. In fact,
all electronic equipment became much more compact…..and much cheaper
to build and operate. More electronic power could now be packed into a
smaller volume. It was also no longer necessary to be near an electric outlet
to operate an electronic device. Portability was another chief advantage in
moving to transistorized devices.
However, deep inside those tiny slabs of silicon, the same switching action
of a vacuum tube was still operative---the same thing observed by Edison so
many years earlier.
Printed and Integrated Circuits
It did not take long for this trend of miniaturization of electronic circuits to
gain momentum. Soon, the heavy metal chassis that so characterized the
vacuum tube era of electronic device design, gave way to the mounting of
small transistors on separate printed circuit boards, each dedicated to a
specific function within an electronic device. Soon thereafter, these printed
circuit boards “morphed” into many printed circuit boards etched onto a
single piece of silicon, making it possible to put microprocessor capability
on a single “chip”. This micro miniaturization was so rapid, that a new
engineering rule of thumb soon emerged to become a significant measure of
the times.
Known as Moore’s Law, for the last 30 years, the amount of electronic
horsepower available (computing power) on a chip doubles about every 18
months; and it is expected to do this for decades more. This is exponential
growth on a massive scale. The iPods, personal computers, laptops, cell
phones, and electronic gadgetry that mesmerize everyone, is just the
beginning of what is to come. This incredible technology makes all sorts of
national defense capabilities possible, sophisticated medical treatments
commonplace, and tremendous telecommunications options available for all
of us.
The Final Word
Things are accelerating rapidly; and if Edison were alive today, he might
lament that he should have realized the significance of what he had
discovered. But it all had to start somewhere, and Edison was the one who
did give us the first electronic experiments, even if he did not fully
understand what he had discovered. Again, his lack of a theoretical
underpinning, and minimal mathematical education cost him dearly.
Thomas Edison-Information Geek
Information as a Feedstock
With all this talk today about the information age, and the world being flat
with respect to access to information, it is amazing 130 years ago, how much
Edison valued information. It formed the centerpiece of his work, and the
foundation of his invention factory concept.
Having been nurtured and home schooled by his teacher-mother, young Tom
learned early the value of information for both pleasure and useful ends. He
was encouraged to and did read voraciously throughout his long life. His
Glenmont home contained several thousand books he mined for useful
technical information, as well as texts for pleasure.
Edison firmly believed the only way he could seriously invent was to first
understand what had already been done and what technologies were out
there that he might use as feedstock for his idea generation process. With
patent applications today, the applicant must perform a due-diligence survey
of the technology art, known as “prior art” in the field that applies to the
patent application, demonstrating to the patent examiner that one
understands the known art and what it implies in relation to the patent being
applied for. This sets the stage for innovating anew upon what is already
known and practiced.
In addition to his home library, Edison had a massive library in his West
Orange lab. This collection contained books, periodicals, reference
resources, and technical journals for he and his staff to use. It is noteworthy
that his library also served as his office, keeping that all-important
information resource very close at hand. In fact, we might credit Edison with
teaching us that the key to good R&D labs is to have such libraries close at
hand; and indeed today many top-notch R&D outfits do work very closely in
concert with their corporate libraries, or have their own technical library
within easy reach for lab members. I can only imagine what a man like
Edison would have been capable of if the Internet was available to him.
It is interesting to muse about how a man like Edison, with only months of
formal schooling, came to have such a fond regard for information, and
learned how to make it the lynchpin of his inventive efforts. This
demonstrates to me the process skills he employed to develop his R&D lab
concept, reinforcing my belief that Edison was not a slave to a simple trial
and error, shotgun approach to invention. Real sweat and thinking went into
his efforts.
This man produced and left us over 4,000 large laboratory notebooks filled
with his insights, ideas, sketches, and drawings; plus other forms of
documentation----over 5 million pages of information in all. He may not
have been schooled in the conventional sense, but he certainly came to
develop the rigor of hard thinking, focusing his attention on the problem at
hand. His quote about invention being 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration
totally describes his work ethic; and raw information was the fuel for his
imaginative fire.
Edison was not a very big fan of the schools of his time and I think his
opinion would be the same of the ones we have today. He felt they taught
lots of facts and figures and little in the way of actually applying them. He
relished demolishing young college men for how little they actually knew
about engineering and technology application. He hired some really good
ones all right, because as technology became more complex, he needed to
have folks around who could understand and cut through the mathematics
and theory. His R&D lab model was broad enough to recognize the need for
subject area experts.
The Value of Information
Edison teaches us the value of hands-on, team-based learning…..not
necessarily vocational training, the mention of which still rankles many
educators today. We seem to want to send everyone to college to become
great thinkers and earn huge salaries, but few really ever rise to such heights.
The world needs folks who can apply technology toward useful ends. This is
as true today as in the time of Thomas Edison. There is no shame in being
this kind of person whether one goes to college or not. It’s about
transforming information into competitive knowledge.
Julian Simon, a past great American economist, was fond of describing
technology as the process we use to convert what we have (resources, money
time, and people power, and information) into what we want and need
(products and services). This is rather profound, for it jives with Edison’s
belief in the fundamental value of information as a feedstock for
technological invention. Edison was not as literate and certainly not as
profound as Simon, but felt his conviction more viscerally, and he practiced
it every day. The two would have much to talk about.
We add value to things (inventions) when we add information and
knowledge to them. Our brainpower, thinking processes, and life
experiences help to determine the shape of solutions to human wants and
needs. This is also what makes teams so important in R&D and inventive
activities, for it brings together a variety of life experiences of the members
of the teams, their collective knowledge and wisdom, and different
approaches to problem solving. The team shares information and knowledge
to solve the problem at hand, and disbands a whole lot smarter than when it
first convened. Thomas felt this deep in his creative soul, and I for one am
very glad that he did.
Visionary of the Digital Economy
Characteristics of the Digital Economy
Looking at today’s information age, we can find it characterized by a:
1) Profusion of computers and computer-based applications;
2) Varied and information rich resource formats (words, pictures, videos,
diagrams, hyper-text…etc.) often accessible through electronic means like
the Internet;
3) Pervasive communication options via hard wire, satellite, radio, and
Internet; and,
4) Reliable electricity infrastructure powering 1), 2), and 3) above.
This frenetic-paced, information rich world, makes it possible to compete
globally and create almost instantly, markets for new products and services.
Over 60% of our nation’s annual economic growth is directly attributable to
advances in science and technology fueled by and for the information age .
The lifeblood of this digital economy is electricity, its application, and
reliability. To be able to handle the coming torrent of information requires
nothing less than a sturdy, reliable, robust and self-healing electric utility
industry. Outages can put business transactions at risk, cause loss of valuable
information, waste time—causing missed business opportunities.
The four pillars of the digital economy are (CICE):
1. Computers
2. Information
3. Communications
4. Electricity
These must work together seamlessly to maintain the nation’s high standards
of living, and hence global competitiveness. Moreover, our children must be
prepared to live and function in this dynamic world. So where does Thomas
Edison fit in to all this?
Edison-Visionary to All This
Let’s take a look at Edison’s inventions and place them in the same four
categories as the pillars of the digital economy. We’ll start with his early
work with the:
-Stock ticker
-Telegraph
-Telephone improvements
-Recorded sound (phonograph and dictation machines)
-Motion pictures and moviemaking
These early big inventions are certainly communications related; and they
can be also considered information related as well, since they contain the
very basis for meaningfully transferring bulk information at high speeds (a
very important aspect of the digital economy). Furthermore, this captured
communication/information was made portable by Edison, so it could be
reproduced and used by many for increasing human knowledge (and
entertainment) across the world.
Consider Edison’s ground-breaking work with codifying his concept of an
invention factory, where team based problem solving using technology
specific experts, has now formed the basis for highly productive large
corporate and collegiate R&D departments. Some would say this could be
his most significant invention as it gave us the keys to invention-on-demand;
and a way to perpetuate indefinitely our industrial revolution. Surely, this
process or method invention is an information related one.
Moving to Edison’s development of the electric light and the consequent
electric generation and distribution of electricity, we find him responsible for
giving us the modern electric utility system. He furthered this work by
inventing a whole new battery technology, the nickel-iron storage battery,
and electric trains. But certainly, there can be no doubt about his role in the
electricity related aspect of the digital economy as discussed earlier.
That leaves us with the only remaining aspect of the digital economy, the
computer. We discussed this earlier. His work with the light bulb and the
Edison Effect led directly to the development of vacuum tubes, leading to
transistors, leading to integrated circuits, and “voila”, the computer. There
you have it, Edison had a hand in all of the fundamental precepts leading to
today’s digital economy.
Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin were two of America’s great men.
Both changed the course of history and left the world vastly better off. Not
only did they create lasting inventions and ideas, but their way of thinking
and solving problems is probably more important than their inventions. They
spent their days improving the lives of fellow citizens.
Edison and Franklin began life in modest families, and early learned the
virtues of hard work and personal responsibility. They wasted little time on
frivolous activities, taking life seriously and learning as much as they could
from the world around them. Both were on their own at an early age, making
their way using determination and confidence.
Edison sold candy and his own created and printed newspaper on the Grand
Trunk Railroad in Michigan. His little newspaper talked of life along the
railroad line and nearby communities. He even found time to conduct
chemical experiments in a boxcar on the train while resting between train
runs and stopovers. Franklin worked as an apprentice printer in a variety of
small printing shops. Here he developed a passion for writing and publishing
his own newsletters, pamphlets, and booklets. Both men knew and practiced
the art of business enterprise and learned how to sell something of value to
customers.
Creativity and invention came naturally for Edison and Franklin. They loved
to research problems and solve them in a practical way. Franklin invented
the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, a musical instrument made of glass
(Armonica), and a number of other useful items. Edison invented the
phonograph, electric light, and motion pictures (and many other things).
Both also played key roles in discovering new scientific principles. Franklin
pioneered the basics of static electricity, and its fundamental similarity to
lightning. Edison discovered the basic principles for radio telegraphy and
transmission of electromagnetic wave through open air; and how electrons
can be used in vacuum tubes. At the time he did not completely understand
what he had discovered, but today they form the basis of radio and all
electronic circuits.
As you can see, Edison and Franklin were both heavily involved with
electricity and its practical application. Franklin’s work leads to the
everyday application of lightning rods, and protects tall buildings from
dangerous lightning strikes. Edison perfects the idea of producing bulk
amounts electricity in large generating stations and distributing it to stores,
businesses and eventually homes. This forms the basis of today’s electric
utility system, the very same system that powers our all important computerbased economy.
Both men not only invented items of use to society, but also invented whole
new industries that have endured today. Franklin gives us the modern post
office, public lending libraries, and fire departments. These have become
important parts of our daily lives and communities. Edison creates the
electric utility system as we discussed before; and the recorded sound and
motion picture industries that provide us with so much enjoyment and
entertainment.
Edison and Franklin teach us something very important about leading
productive lives. Each man developed a deep and lasting love for learning.
Throughout their lives they read and studied science, literature, poetry,
history, and technology. This profound love of learning helped provide the
basic building blocks that would generate those wonderful ideas and
concepts that are still inspiring our imaginations today.
Both men enjoyed working with others when solving problems and
developing new ideas. Today we talk much about teamwork and leadership,
but Edison and Franklin were doing it many years ago. They also enjoyed
good humor and funny situations. They knew the creative and healthy value
of humor in their lives, and using it when working with others
These men were big thinkers, not afraid to be revolutionary in their
application of knowledge. Franklin plays a key role in creating our form of
government, a truly incredible accomplishment. He helps hammer out the
basic principles upon which our economic and political freedoms would rest,
and how a democratic form of government would protect them. Edison
shows us how to take the basic principles of inventing and scientific thinking
so anyone can duplicate his thinking. Today, we have research and
development departments in all our major companies, one of his great
inventions, which apply his thinking methods to continue to produce
inventions and new ideas. His inventive methods, endures the years and
benefits its citizens---just like a sound government.
Money and great personal wealth was not something that interested Edison
or Franklin. For them the sheer joy of using their minds and applying solid
thinking and logic to solving problems was what motivated them. They also
left detailed accounts of their lives in journals, notes, and observations so
others can learn from them. Edison was so productive in his documentation
that he left over 5 million written documents about his lab experiments,
ideas, inventions, and concepts. Both men had a great capacity for planning
and organization before they acted. Thinking things through carefully was a
common trait. How they solved problems was as important as what
problems they solved.
As a final thought, consider this remarkable commonality between these
great men……both had sons who were governors of New Jersey!
Classroom Activities
Here are some interesting classroom challenges that you can use in your
classroom. Perhaps you may have some of your own as well. Edison is a
wonderful venue to study invention, creativity, and organization. He is
America’s quintessential entrepreneur. At one time Edison created 30
companies to manufacture his many products, and managed them all from
his West Orange laboratories.
Make a timeline of Edison’s inventions and display it in the classroom. Can
you define certain periods in time for his work and major patents, or did he
tend to work on them continuously?
Discuss how his work changed the way of life back in the late 1880s and
how does it still affect ours today?
Look at the pros and cons of Edison’s electric light bulb and the creation of
the electric utility industry? How did this impact the existing manufactured
gas industry and its previous use for indoor illumination?
Did Edison invent the electric light bulb or make one that was most
commercial and durable? Discuss and defend your findings and research.
What other important technology came from his research into making a
commercial light bulb?
What inventions did Edison work on and why? What directed him to pursue
whether he should invent a certain new product or not? Do inventors today
identify new products for development like Edison did back in the 1800s?
Research some of his famous quotes and list them. See if these quotes can be
summarized into a few simple maxims that provide key insights into the
man?
Who were some of the other inventors who were contemporaries of Edison?
What did they invent and commercialize?
Edison had his invention labs first at Boston, MA, then Newark-MenloPark-West Orange, NJ. What did he invent at these sites; and how did the
work at each there differ…or did it? Why did West Orange represent the
pinnacle of his work?
Have students keep a notebook of their inventions. Edison kept such
invention notebooks his entire life, filling 4,000 of them. Challenge students
to invent something and use this notebook-keeping activity to help build
their creative, planning, and communication skills.
Edison helped improve Bell’s telephone. What significant contributions did
he make to the telephone? What other inventions did Bell and Edison
compete on?
Research the great AC-DC wars between Edison who favored DC electricity
and Westinghouse who championed AC forms of electricity for distributing
it to customers. Who won this great debate and what were the reasons for the
form we have now today?
What did Edison think about patents and how did he protect his inventions
and intellectual property?
Challenge your students to develop a chart that shows Edison’s invention
process? How many defined steps does this process take? Is it pretty much
the same as what inventors today would use?
Edison put a great store in creativity, and gave his employees free rein to use
their creative powers. Talk to your class about what creativity means and
what makes them feel creative. Also discuss with them, what things tend to
squash their creativity. Have them look at themselves and see if they can
find the times of the day when they feel most creative and explain why.
Edison’s work with electric storage batteries and his championing of electric
vehicles was 100 years before the time today when we are seriously looking
at this technology. What prompted Edison to be such a proponent of electric
vehicles and are those arguments still with us in some form today? How did
he see it tying into his new electric utility system of that time period; and is
that still relevant today?
Perhaps your students can try their hands at making crossword puzzles,
featuring the inventions and various aspects of Edison’s rich life, and then
challenge each other to solve them.
Trace the history of recorded sound, since Edison’s original invention using
cylinders to record the sound, right on up to today with our digitally
recorded music. Construct a timeline, and show and explain, the various
ways we have stored sound over the last 125 years.
How have motion pictures changed our world? How many ways can
students define how motion pictures affect our world? [hint: entertainment,
news capture, educational videos….etc.]
Edison really thought his concrete homes would be a big change to the way
folks could afford and habitate homes. Why did he feel concrete homes
offered a new and less expensive option for potential homeowners? How did
this venture turn out, and why? Do your kids think concrete homes could
make a come-back…why/why not?
Many great inventors worked for Edison and then moved on to their own
businesses. Identify some of these people and what they went on to
accomplish.
Edison was on his own very early in life and worked a variety of jobs
including that of an itinerant telegraph operator which really set him on the
course of serious inventing. How did this experience of learning to live by
his wits affect him as he grew up? What do your students think about this
and could they see themselves doing something similar…why/why not?
Edison’s mother and father encourage him to read across the panorama of
literature. How does your class feel this may have influenced his inventive
genius?
Some interesting design challenges to give to your class:
-Personal robot for the handicapped
-Portable shelter for bad weather or following natural disasters
-Alternate uses for old automobile tires
-Recycle old asphalt or concrete
Have students survey their parents for new products they would like to
see……and then challenge students to try their inventive hand at actually
designing those new products.
Thomas Edison Suggested Reading--Bibliography
Adult Reading
Baldwin, Neil; “Edison, Inventing the Century”; Hyperion, 1995.
Charles Edison Fund; “The Best of Edison Science Technology Kits”;
[This compendium contains a variety of experiments printed by the Thomas
Alva Edison Foundation.]
Conot, Robert; “Thomas A. Edison-A Streak of Luck”, Da Capo Press,
Inc., 1979.
Cook, James G.; “Edison-the man who turned darkness into light”;
Thomas Alva Edison Foundation, 1978.
Freidel, Robert and Israel, Paul; “Edison’s Electric Light: Biography of an
Invention”; Rutgers University Press, 1986.
Israel, Paul; “Edison-A Life of Invention”; John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Josephson, Mathew; “Edison”; McGraw-Hill, 1959
McCormick, Blaine; “At Work with Thomas Edison”; Entrepreneur Press,
2001.
Millard, Andre; “Edison and the Business of Innovation”; John Hopkins
University Press, 1993.
Melosi, Martin; “T. A. Edison and the Modernization of America”; Scott
Foresman & Co., 1990.
Musser, Charles; “Thomas A. Edison and His Kinetographic Motion
Pictures”, Rutgers University Press, 1995.
Pretzer, William: “Working at Inventing: Thomas A. Edison and the
Menlo Park Experience”; John Hopkins University Press, 2002.
Young Readers
Adair, Gene; “Thomas Alva Edison-Inventing the Electric Age”, Oxford
University Press, 1996.
Burgan, Michael; “Thomas Alva Edison-Great American Inventor”,
Compass Point Books, 2007.
Dooling, Michael; “Young Thomas Edison”, Holiday House, 2005.
Lewis, Floyd A.; “The Incandescent Light”, Shorewood Publications, Inc.,
1961
Palmer, Arthur J.; “Edison-Inspiration to Youth”; Thomas A. Edison, Inc.,
West Orange, NJ, 1954.
Probst, George F. (Editor); “The Indispensable Man”, Shorewood
Publications, Inc., 1962.
Some Interesting Websites to Visit:
http://www.nps.gov/edis/home.htm (Edison National Historic Site - in West
Orange, New Jersey)
http://www.edisonnj.org/menlopark/museum.asp (Edison Menlo Park Site in
New Jersey)
About the Author
Harry T. Roman is a retired engineer, teacher, author, and inventor. He holds
12 U.S. Patents, and has written and published over 500 papers and articles,
including 50 peer reviewed scientific papers. Harry has published 10 books
related to his engineering profession; as well as 32 teacher resource books,
and 6 educational math card games for the classroom. He is currently an
educational advisor and consultant for the Charles Edison Fund / Edison
Innovation Foundation; and a technical consultant for Petra Solar.
His feature educational articles for teachers and students appear in
Highlights for Children, The Technology Teacher, TechDirections, TIES,
and Interface. Every month, approximately 50,000 teachers and educators
nationwide read his articles. His books, educational volumes, and games
have been published and sold by Kelvin Publishing, Hearlihy / PITSCO,
Nasco, PublishAmerica, Professional Publications, Inc., Gifted Education
Press, EESC / Bonamy Publishing, the Charles Edison Fund / Edison
Innovation Foundation, the International Technology Education Association,
and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
In 2005, Harry was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame as
an Inventor of the Year for his work in developing mobile robots for
hazardous work environments.
Since 1986, Harry has been involved in the inception, advocacy, and
implementation of the technology education curriculum, with its STEMbased, hands-on approach to learning. He writes extensively in this area, and
holds the honor of being named a Distinguished New Jersey Technology
Educator. For ten years, Harry was an adjunct professor at the New Jersey
Institute of Technology where he taught evening graduate courses in
engineering and research project management.
He is also a literary writer, with over 800 poems, short stories, and 7
volumes of his creative work published.