3. Edison left a profound impact on the nation’s energy
sector. Beyond inventing a light bulb that was both
practical and inexpensive, he devised a whole system of
electric lighting -- including electricity generators, wires
to get electricity from the power station to homes and
light fixtures (lamps, sockets and switches).
4. In 1882, Edison launched Pearl Street Station in New
York City -- the first modern electric utility. Within a
year of its opening, Pearl Street served more than 500
customers -- including The New York Times. Offering
both reliable power generation (there was only one
single three-hour interruption throughout its existence)
and efficient and safe distribution, Pearl Street served as
the catalyst for cost-competitive incandescent lighting.
5. Back when the automobile was first introduced,
electric cars outsold their internal combustion
counterparts. Still, the lead-acid batteries that powered
these vehicles featured several limitations: not only were
they very heavy, acid from the battery would corrode
the car’s interior. Edison was among the first scientists
focused on developing a better alternative. However,
the project proved to be his most difficult undertaking.
Despite being released with substantial fanfare and bold
claims of superior performance, Edison’s batteries were
plagued by many shortcomings and were eventually
outpaced in the automobile market by the arrival of
Henry Ford’s Model T. Although it failed to live up to
automotive expectations, the Edison battery proved
to be a profitable invention and paved the way for the
modern alkaline battery.
6. In recent years, Edison’s battery has come back into
the spotlight. In 2012, scientists at Stanford University
created a high-performance, low-cost version of the
nickel-iron battery Edison developed more than a
century ago. The prototype battery developed by the
researchers could someday be used to help power
electric vehicles -- much as Edison originally envisioned.
PHYSICS
DEPARTMENT
7. Edison was a huge enthusiast of clean energy
technologies -- even designing prototypes for smallscale
wind-powered electricity generation. In 1912 he
announced an innovative new energy-self sufficient
home called the “Twentieth Century Suburban
Residence.” Every device and system in the house was
powered by Edison batteries and a small-scale electrical
generator -- making it completely “off the grid.” Near
the end of his life, the New York Times reports Edison as
telling friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone: “I’d put
my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source
of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal
run out before we tackle that.”
8. At the end of his life, Edison, the “Wizard of Menlo
Park,” had close to 1,100 patents to his name. To this
day, no one has topped his record.
https://energy.gov/articles/top-8-things-you-didn-tknow-about-thomas-alva-edison
THE CLAPPER 2016 - 2017 43