Edison a fraud?

[Melissa Nute]

So I've been reading random history books lately and had some fun at the UNF library and discovered a few things...

Our dead Thomas Alva Edison didn't discover electric light as we all our taught...

Sir Humphry Davy was actually the first to discover it in 1802 making an Arc Lamp (kinda like a Jacob's Ladder from what I got)...but but Jean Foucault improved this to light Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Now I know you might say "but he made the first carbon filament incandescent light bulb" except it was discovered by Sir Joseph William Swan 10 months in Newcastle before Edison 'discovered it.'

Now...I've created my own little theory about this...had I only researched this before I could have done my IB paper on it...

But I do believe that Edison just copied off Swan since Swan didn't get enough recognition for it.

[Kyle Fenton]

Originally posted by Meli W.
So I've been reading random history books lately and had some fun at the UNF library and discovered a few things...

Our dead Thomas Alva Edison didn't discover electric light as we all our taught...

Sir Humphry Davy was actually the first to discover it in 1802 making an Arc Lamp (kinda like a Jacob's Ladder from what I got)...but Jean Foucault improved this to light Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Now I know you might say "but he made the first carbon filament incandescent light bulb" except it was discovered by Sir Joseph William Swan 10 months in Newcastle before Edison 'discovered it.'

Now...I've created my own little theory about this...had I only researched this before I could have done my IB paper on it...

But I do believe that Edison just copied off Swan since Swan didn't get enough recognition for it.

I'm not a history buff, but I know Edison isn't a fraud. Edison invented the long lasting light bulb. There were many attempts at an "electric candle." However many of them burned out after a short while. Edison used tungsten as the filament (I believe), and quartz to seal it off to make it last many hours (I forget how many hours).

[rlowerr_1]

Edison used tungsten as the filament (I believe)

Actually Edison's first successful filament was carbon made from burned sewing thread. Later he (and his team) began using filaments made from bamboo which increased the life of the bulb.

I believe that tungsten was not available during Edison's time.

[Melissa Nute]

Originally posted by rlowerr_1
Actually Edison's first successful filament was carbon made from burned sewing thread. Later he (and his team) began using filaments made from bamboo which increased the life of the bulb.

I believe that tungsten was not available during Edison's time.

Tungsten was first discovered in 1783 so it could have been used...but it wasn't in the intial "discovery"

[Eric Reed]

I remember seeing a TV show WAAAAAY back about Edison. In the show, Edison had an epiphany and used a human hair as the first successful filament. Anybody know anything about this?

Eric.

[jrgrim12]

1878 Became the first to apply the term "filament" to a fine wire that glows when carrying an electric current. In a prophetic article in the North American Review he foreshadowed ten prominent uses for the phonograph - all since accomplished - including its combination with the telephone, which became a reality in 1914 with the perfection of the Telescribe.

1879 Invented the first commercially practical incandescent electric lamp. The lamp itself was perfected on October 21st, 1879, on which day there was put into circuit the first bulb embodying the principles known as the "Edison modern incandescent lamp." This bulb maintained its incandescence for over 40 hours.

This is from the web site below where you can find all of his inventions. Even if he didn't invent the light bulb he did a lot more to make him famous.

http://www.thomasedison.com/Inventions.htm

[Gobiner]

Ok, he wasn't the first person to create a lightbulb, but there are those 1000 other patents. There's no argument that shows he's fraudulent on all of those too.

[Morgoth]

Thomas Edison might not have invented the "first" lightbulb, but he invented the first "feasible" one. In fact some of the first few bulbs ares still going today because they are turned off and on very, very slowly. The jolt of electricity when they are cold is what does in most lightbulbs.

[Mike Martus]

Many times inventors do not get appropriate credit for what they have developed.

Take Dr. Joe, he invented the "Robot" but he gets no credit.