Thomas Edison Research Paper

There have been many brilliant men and women who have been able to change the way we live our lives. These innovators were able to create an original idea, develop it, and apply it to our daily lifestyle. Thomas Alva Edison is one of these remarkable individuals. Edison is known for many of his inventions ranging from the phonograph to an industrialized electrical system; but I believe that Edison’s greatest invention is one that we still use in our daily lives, the incandescent light bulb. This incandescent lamp became extremely successful due to the advantages it had over its rivals. Before its invention, society was force to use inefficient and dangerous forms of lighting such as arc lights and gas lamps. Compared to its counter parts, Edison’s …show more content…
Edison needed to solve the problem that was present by arc lights. Invented in 1809, Sir Humphrey Davy created a form of arc lighting that worked by having an electric current travel through the space between two carbon electrodes. Arc lighting provided too intense of a beam of light and was accompanied by loud hissing noises and a putrid odor. Edison focused on a safer, cheaper replacement to the gas and arc lighting. Edison’s light bulb also led to many new creations, such as evening newspapers. Because people were now able to read late in the evening, they were able to read about what had happened the very same day that it occurred. The light bulb was also able to make lighting in theatres much brighter and safer. Without the light bulb, various establishments such as classrooms would cease to exist because the majority of their light is produced by light bulbs. In fact, before the invention of the lightbulb, most businesses would have to close before dusk and it would be impossible for cinemas to function. Given these examples, the lightbulb is one of, if not the greatest innovation in