When you’re talking about a scientist, inventor, and businessman, you can’t forget about one of the goats, Thomas Edison. He was one of the top-notch people that created the foundation for the modern world. Here are 5 top inventions from Thomas Edison.
Automatic Telegraph
While the entire concept of a telegraph wasn’t completely new, Edison refined it. Samuel Morse made it possible to communicate over long distances overseas with his original telegraph. However, it could only get 25-40 words a minute because of the Morse code. Edison revamped this to a much superior system that allowed for 1,000 words a minute, which would be useful for important messages at a moment’s notice.
Carbon Telephone Transmitter
Alexander Graham Bell did a great job creating the telephone, but the problem was the weak transmission. Edison created a battery to help control the current on the phone line. The transmitter he developed helped with the sound waves (leading to better reception). He upped the ante from lampblack by creating granules made with coal. This update was relevant up until the 1980s.
The Light Bulb
Edison didn’t invent the incandescent light bulb, but he improved the design. He was fortunate enough to see the mistakes of other inventors. He invented the vacuum bulb but decided to experiment with a carbonized filament. He found that bamboo had enough fibers for a solid filament. The combination of a bamboo filament and an upgraded vacuum pump helped give the bulb 1,200 hours of staying power.
Phonograph
This is probably one of the greatest inventions ever. After creating the telephone transmitter, Edison wanted to take things a step further by developing a machine that could record and playback telephone messages. However, he found that he could record music and other sounds. However, his cylinder records became obsolete after a while. The cylinder records he created had the best sound but could only play two minutes of music. However, the early discs Victor Talking Machine Company created with their phonographs played four minutes.
Alkaline Storage Battery
This became a big payoff for Edison in his later years. One of the things that came out at the time was the automobile in the late 1800s. It was powered by a clunky battery that had constant eroding problems. Edison thought of ways to create a better and sleeker battery to help manage this issue. It took a while but he was able to invent a dependable alkaline battery. Although Henry Ford developed the Model T car with an internal combustion engine, Edison’s storage battery served well for mining camps, trains, submarines, and other things for many years.