"Rival the Scientists in Wisdom - Brainpower Step by Step"

Author: Zeng Xiaofeng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Edison (1847-1931) was an American inventor. In his lifetime, he held over 2,000 patents, averaging one new invention every 15 days. Therefore, he was known as the "World's Greatest Inventor." Besides inventing the phonograph, electric light, and storage battery, he also made contributions in fields such as mining, construction, chemistry, and film. As a child, Edison was curious and loved to think, which led to stories about him hatching chicks and mixing "flying potion." He attended school for only three months before being labeled a "dummy" by his teacher and dropping out. Upon returning home, Edison did not give up despite others' but instead worked harder to teach himself and dedicated himself to research, ultimately becoming a great inventor.
Did Edison's numerous inventions come easily? No. Before each success, he put in tremendous effort, going through hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of failures. He invented the world's first electric light, bringing illumination to humanity. However, even a single light bulb took Edison over a decade of effort. Just to gather materials for research, he used 200 notebooks and wrote more than 40,000 pages of detailed records. To extend the filament's lifespan and find a suitable material, he experimented with over 1,600 heat-resistant materials like copper wire and platinum wire, as well as hair and various types of bamboo fibers. In his laboratory notebook, Edison once wrote: "October 21, 1879, Experiment No. 7,895, filament material: carbonized cotton thread." Eventually, he discovered a new luminescent material—a type of bamboo fiber from Japan, which, after burning and carbonizing, became the first filament.
Although Edison was a great scientist, he never became arrogant. He modestly said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." This perfectly reflects his life. P1-2