Edison High School - Wizard Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

Page 15 text:

THE INCANDESCENT LIGHT ROMETHEUS, of Greek mythology, was Jupiter’s agent in giving man the valuable and necessary aid of fire; he was the prototype of Mr. Edison, the famous scientific agent of this age, who in 1879 gave man the long-desired, cheap, and non-flickering artificial light. After hundreds of experiments in which he tried fibers and metals, compounds and alloys of endless description, he at last found a clue in carbonized thread. Yet these burned only a few hours, and something better had to be found. Then followed a search for a fibrous material which would prove satisfactory. Men were sent all over the world, from the wilds of Africa to distant China and Japan. A plant was then started to make lamps using a Japanese bamboo as a filament. Electric lighting was not yet a commercial success; there was no practical way of getting current to the houses. However, once again Edison set to work against almost insurmountable difficulties, and the result was the present system, which includes everything from dynamos to insulators. And then, and only then, could Mr. Edison or anyone say “Let there be light,” and by pulling a switch have his words come true. Eleven

Page 14 text:

THE VOTE RECORDER R. EDISON’S first invention was the vote recorder. Although this device is not in use today, it has done more for humanity than we realize. The vote recorder was an instrument whereby a member of a legislative body, by moving a switch at his desk, could have himself recorded as voting either “aye” or “no.” The “ayes” and “nos” were then automatically added showing in a very short time the vote of the entire body. Mr. Edison was very happy over this invention, as he thought he had a method of “purifying” the ballot, since the device worked perfectly. However, when he tried to introduce it in the United States Congress at Washington, he was disappointed, for the officials there would have nothing to do with it. They said that the device would prevent filibustering, which is a method used to kill undesirable legislation. After this experience Mr. Edison resolved that he would devote his time to inventing only those things for which there is a commercial demand, thus the vote recorder experience has meant a great deal to the world, for it placed the Wizard’s thoughts and energies solely on those inventions for which he thought there was a recognized need. Ten

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PHONOGRAPH T has been said that “the phonograph was the result of pure reason based upon a very happy inspiration.” This shows how Mr. Edison brings about an invention. First, he has a very active imagination restricted by sense; second, he applies pure reason to the problem; then, scientifically and systematically he gives the world another labor-saving or joy-giving device. His experiments are nothing like guess work. Everything he does is done with reason, and if he accidentally uncovers some new natural phenomena, he remembers the facts and later uses his knowledge. Thus it was with the phonograph. Mr. Edison imagined the simple device, made a diagram, and had his assistant construct the machine, which consisted of a diaphragm with a needle attached to its center and a wooden cylinder covered by tin-foil revolved by a crank. Mr. Edison spoke “Mary had a little lamb” into the diaphragm and the needle recorded the vibrations on the tin-foil. When he “played” the record later, he heard “Mary had a little lamb” reproduced clearly, but faintly. The phonograph is a simple mechanism, but it took the imagination, reasoning, and faith of a true scientist to produce it. Twelve