Edison's Electric Light
eBook - ePub

Edison's Electric Light

The Art of Invention

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Edison's Electric Light

The Art of Invention

About this book

In September 1878, Thomas Alva Edison brashly—and prematurely—proclaimed his breakthrough invention of a workable electric light. That announcement was followed by many months of intense experimentation that led to the successful completion of his Pearl Street station four years later. Edison was not alone—nor was he first—in developing an incandescent light bulb, but his was the most successful of all competing inventions. Drawing from the documents in the Edison archives, Robert Friedel and Paul Israel explain how this came to be. They explore the process of invention through the Menlo Park notes, discussing the full range of experiments, including the testing of a host of materials, the development of such crucial tools as the world's best vacuum pump, and the construction of the first large-scale electrical generators and power distribution systems. The result is a fascinating story of excitement, risk, and competition.

Revised and updated from the original 1986 edition, this definitive study of the most famous invention of America's most famous inventor is completely keyed to the printed and electronic versions of the Edison Papers, inviting the reader to explore further the remarkable original sources.

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Yes, you can access Edison's Electric Light by Robert Friedel,Paul B. Israel in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Technology & Engineering & Civil Engineering. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface to the Johns Hopkins Edition
  6. Chapter One “A Big Bonanza”
  7. Chapter Two “The Throes of Invention”
  8. Chapter Three “Some difficult Requirements”
  9. Chapter Four The Triumph of Carbon
  10. Chapter Five Business And Science
  11. Chapter Six A System Complete
  12. Chapter Seven Promises Fulfilled
  13. Afterword
  14. A Note from the Authors with Acknowledgments
  15. Notes
  16. Recommended Additional Reading
  17. Index