In August 1862, Edison used fearless heroism to rescue a boy who was about to be killed on the train tracks. The child's father was grateful for this, but since he had no money to repay him, he was willing to teach him telegraph skills. From then on, Edison became involved with this mysterious new world of electricity and embarked on a scientific journey.

In 1863, Edison served as a telegraph operator at the Stratford Junction Station of the Grand Trunk Railway. From 1864 to 1867, he worked as a telegraph operator in various places in the Midwest and lived a wandering life. Travel destinations include Stratford, Adrian, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville, Huron and other places.

In 1868, Edison came to Boston as a telegraph operator. In the same year, he received his first invention patent. This is a device that automatically records votes. Edison thought the device would speed up the work of Congress and that it would be welcomed. However, one MP told him that they had no intention of speeding up the agenda and that sometimes voting slowly was politically necessary. From then on, Edison decided not to make any inventions that people didn't need.

In early June 1869, he came to New York to look for work. While he was waiting to be summoned at a broker's office, a telegraph machine broke down. Edison was the only one there who could fix the telegraph, and he got a better job than he expected. In October, he and Pope jointly established a "Pop-Edison Company" to specialize in scientific instruments for electrical engineering. Here, he invented the "Edison Printing Press." He dedicated the printing press to the manager of a large Wall Street company. He wanted to ask for $5,000, but he lacked the courage to say it. So he asked the manager to give him a price, and the manager gave him $40,000.

Edison used the money to build a factory on Ward Street in Newark, New Jersey, specializing in manufacturing various electrical machinery. He worked all night long. He trained many capable assistants, and at the same time, he also happened to meet the diligent Mary (Mary Stilwell), his future first bride. In Newark, he made inventions such as wax paper and mimeograph machines. From 1872 to 1875, Edison invented the double and quadruple telegraph machines, and helped others build the world's first English typewriter.

In the spring of 1876, Edison moved again, this time to "Menlo Park" in New Jersey. Here he built the first "invention factory", which "marked the beginning of collective research." In 1877, Edison improved the telephone invented by Bell earlier and put it into practical use. He also invented one of his pet projects - the phonograph. The telephone and the telegraph "were a revolution that expanded human sensory functions"; the phonograph was one of the three great inventions that changed people's lives. "From the perspective of his inventive imagination, this was his most significant inventive achievement." By this time, he was known as "The Magician of Menlo Park."

While inventing the phonograph, Edison finally made a breakthrough in the research on electric lights after numerous failures. On October 22, 1879, Edison ignited the first electric light with widespread practical value. In order to extend the life of the filament, he tried again and tried more than 6,000 fiber materials before he found a new luminous body - Japanese bamboo filament, which can last for more than 1,000 hours, achieving the purpose of durability. In a way, this invention was the pinnacle achievement of Edison's life. He then created a power supply system that allowed distant lamps to distribute power from a central power station, a major technological achievement.

His first purely scientific discovery appeared in 1883.

While experimenting with electric lamps, he observed what he called the Edison effect: a charge inside a lit bulb traveling from a hot filament through space to a cold plate. Edison patented his discovery in 1884 but did not pursue further research. Other scientists used the Edison effect to develop the electronics industry, especially radio and television.

Edison also attempted to do for the eyes what the phonograph had done for the ears, and this is where the movie camera came into being. Using a strip of George Eastman's newly invented celluloid film, he took a series of photographs and projected them onto a screen in rapid succession, creating the illusion of movement. He first experimented with film in the laboratory in 1889 and applied for a patent in 1891. In 1903, his company produced its first feature film, "The Train Robbery." Edison did much to organize and standardize the motion picture industry.

After Edison moved his laboratory to West Orange in 1887, he founded many commercial companies to manufacture and market his many inventions; these companies later merged into Edison General Electric Company, later known as General Electric Company. Thereafter, his interests turned to fluoroscopy, ore crushers, magnetic separation of iron, batteries and railway signaling devices.

During World War I, he developed torpedo mechanisms, flamethrowers and underwater periscopes.

On October 21, 1929, on the 50th anniversary of the invention of the electric light, people held a grand celebration for Edison. Albert Einstein of Germany (German Federal Republic of Germany) Famous scientists such as France's Marie Curie (born in Poland) all congratulated him. Unfortunately, at this celebration, when Edison was giving a speech, he suddenly fainted due to excessive excitement. From then on, his health deteriorated. On October 18, 1931, this scientist who had made great contributions to mankind died of illness at the age of 84.

Edison had a very low level of education, but made such a huge contribution to mankind. What is the "secret" here? In addition to having a curious heart and an instinct for personal experimentation, he also has infinite energy and determination to work hard that are beyond ordinary people. When someone called Edison a "genius", he explained: "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." In his "invention factory", he organized people from many different professions There are more than 100 scientists, engineers, technicians, and workers inside. Many of Edison's major inventions relied on the strength of this collective to achieve success. His achievements are mainly due to his hard work, creative talent and collective strength. In addition, his wife also played a very important role.

Edison only attended elementary school for three months in his life. His knowledge was obtained through his mother's teaching and self-study. His success should also be attributed to his mother's understanding and patient teachings from an early age. Edison, who was originally considered an imbecile, became a world-famous "invention king" when he grew up.

Someone has made statistics: Edison’s inventions in his lifetime were officially registered in the patent office, with about 1,300 inventions. 1881 was his record year for inventions. This year, he applied for registration of 141 inventions, with an average of one new invention every three days.

The life of the great inventor Edison tells us: great achievements come from arduous labor.

Edison will not be forgotten as time goes by. His life was glorious and everything he did was for mankind. Edison was determined to build electric lights when he was a child. He used his wisdom to save his mother while she was undergoing surgery.

Since the winter of 1881, Edison has been living in New York for longer and longer periods of time, while his time in Menlo Park has been getting shorter and shorter. His wife and children all live in New York, and their hometown of Menlo Park has become a place specially designed for summer escape. The Edison family spent several summers in Menlo Park.

In 1884, Edison was 37 years old. This year was a sad year for Edison. In the summer of 1884, Mary Edison contracted typhoid fever here, a dangerous disease. At first I thought she just had a cold and would be fine after taking some medicine.

Therefore, Edison, who was fighting in New York, did not visit her. Mary's sister Alice and the doctors tried their best to take care of her every day and stayed by her bedside.

Soon, his wife's condition worsened, and Edison did not go to the institute for several days. Edison was laughed at as a "work bug". It was rare for him to come to the institute, so his colleagues were very worried. Mrs. Edison's hopes of recovery were dashed, and in the early morning of August 9, 1884, Mary Edison died. After the funeral ceremony was held at the residence, the coffin was transported to a small station and taken by train to her childhood hometown of New York. The news of her death was issued on August 16: The wife of the famous inventor Edison died suddenly on Saturday, the 9th of this month, in Menlo Park, New Jersey. A funeral was held on the afternoon of the 12th, with more than 400 guests present. Among them were Edison, the manager of the Edison Company, and Johnson, the deputy manager, Laurel, DeNavarro and Roosevelt. There are a lot of flowers sent to pay homage to guests. She is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, New York.

After Mrs. Edison passed away, she left him three young children, 11-year-old Dot, 8-year-old Thomas Alva Jr. and 6-year-old William Rice. L． The death of his wife made him feel lonely as never before. Yet he had to keep working. He cannot stop working because of this. He rented his house to William and Alice Holzer and sent the children to New York to be cared for by his grandmother Stillwell.

Menlo Park could give the inventor nothing but sad memories, so he moved out all the mechanical parts, medicines, instruments, etc. and abandoned it. A few years later, the old house burned down due to a lightning strike, and the old electric light factory next to the Pennsylvania Railroad also burned down. After Edison moved out, farmers moved in.

The large room above the laboratory was rented out for dance parties. L.M. Hussey used it as the headquarters for his wind band and built a stage at the back. The downstairs floor was once used as a cattle shed. The ancient building gradually fell apart, its timbers were removed to build nearby houses, and finally it collapsed.

The east end of the brick machine shop was converted into a storage room for the Menlo Park Fire Department to store debris. The other end also served as a bullpen for a time. There was a farmer named Thomas J. McConnell who lived in that glass house and raised many pigs on the pasture. Later, a family named Willcox moved into the house that was the former office and raised many chickens in the house.

In the years between 1884 and 1885, Edison's life was lonely and monotonous. When Mary was alive, she did not have many demands on Tom. She loved him and understood the importance of his career. Edison did not have so much time for family life, but Mary was always waiting for him. Edison was now very lonely and monotonous, and he might have apologized to her for not spending a lot of time with her.

Edison began experiments to reform the arc lamp in 1877, proposing to divide the current and convert the arc lamp into a white light lamp. This test needs to be done satisfactorily. It is necessary to find a substance that can burn to white heat to make a filament. This filament must withstand burning at a temperature of 2,000 degrees for more than 1,000 hours. At the same time, it should be simple to use, able to withstand the bumps and bumps of daily use, and the price should be low. The turning on and off of one lamp should not affect the turning on and off of any other lamp, and the relative independence of each lamp should be maintained. In order to choose this kind of lamp. This was a very bold idea at the time and required great efforts to explore and test. As for the material used for filament, Edison first experimented with carbonized substances. After failure, he experimented with metal platinum and iridium high-melting point alloys for filament. He also conducted 1,600 different experiments with high-quality ore and ore seedlings. The results All failed. But by this time he and his assistants had made great progress and knew that the incandescent filament must be sealed in a highly vacuumed glass ball to prevent it from melting. In this way, his experiments returned to carbon filaments.

He used it day and night until the first half of 1880, but Edison's incandescent lamp experiment still had no results. One day, he tore a piece of bamboo silk tied around a banana fan in the laboratory into thin filaments, and devoted all his energy to carbonization. There were more than 6,000 carbonization experiments on plants alone. He has more than 200 experimental notebooks, totaling more than 40,000 pages, which took three years to complete. He works eighteen or nineteen hours a day. At three or four o'clock every morning, he would sleep under the experimental table with two or three books on his head. Sometimes he slept on the stool three or four times a day, for just half an hour each time.

By the first half of 1880, Edison's incandescent lamp experiment still had no results, and even his assistants were discouraged. One day, he tore a piece of bamboo silk tied around a banana fan in the laboratory into thin filaments, and then carbonized it to make a filament. The result this time was better than all the previous experiments. This was Edison's earliest experiment. The invention of the incandescent electric lamp - the bamboo filament electric lamp. This bamboo filament electric lamp continued for many years. It was not replaced until 1908 when tungsten filament was invented. The alkaline storage battery that Edison began to develop after this was very difficult, and his research spirit was even more amazing. This kind of battery is used to provide motive power. He and a selected assistant worked painstakingly for nearly ten years and experienced many hardships and failures. One moment he thought he had reached his destination, but the next moment he knew he was wrong. But Edison never wavered and started over. After about 50,000 tests and more than 150 test notes, the goal was achieved.

Reference: Edison was studious, good at thinking, and hardworking throughout his life. At the age of 75, he still went to the laboratory to sign in on time every day. He worked almost ten hours a day for decades, and worked in the laboratory at night. Reading in the study for 3 to 5 hours, if calculated based on the activity time of an ordinary person's life, his life has been extended exponentially. Therefore, on Edison's 79th birthday, he proudly said to people, I am already 135 years old. He lived to the age of 84 and made as many as 1,100 inventions in his life. His greatest contribution was the invention of the phonograph and the automatic telegraph, and his experiments and improvements in incandescent lamps and telephones. Edison began to study electric lamps in his early 20s. Over a period of more than 10 years, he successively selected bamboo cotton, graphite, tantalum, etc., and thousands of different substances as filament materials for experiments. He often had great successes. On one occasion, he and his assistants actually continued to experiment. Work 5 days and nights. In 1879, Edison used carbon filament as an incandescent filament and ignited it for 40 hours. Because the surface of carbon wire is porous and brittle, its strength is very low. Soon replaced by tungsten wire.