Proposal and Annotated bibliography Essays - Thomas Edison

Proposal and Annotated bibliography The light bulb is one of the most significant discoveries of the modern time. It is known that it took about a thousand tries for Thomas Edison to finally get a working incandescent bulb. That same incandescent light bulb is still used today. That shows how important that discovery is to society. If we look around us, every room we go into includes a light source all originating from Edison's time. The physics of it is fairly easy to understand. With a power source given (a battery or electrical input), the bulb works by converting the electricity coming from the power source to heat energy that is visible. Although about 90 percent of the energy is lost to heat energy, the 10 percent is what we visibly see. The light bulb is applicable in many situations from lighting large stadiums to small bedrooms. Regardless of the applications, the light bulb has proven to be an immensely historical discovery. Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb discovery and research began in early 1878, when he filed his first patent related to the bulb. At the time, it was known that sending a constant voltage through a vacuum containing a filament could somehow create light. However, the problem lied in putting the bulb in a vacuum and finding the right filament so that the bulb doesn't burn out . After many trials and errors, Edison stumbled upon Platinum to use as a filament soon to realize that it was being weakened by the high temperatures. Edison then decided to use a carbon based filament with high resistance. Soon after, Edison ran a test of that filament that lasted about 13 hours; the highest it has been. Edison continued to improve his design and by 1879, he filed a patent rega rding his discoveries. That same year, Edison displayed the bulbs that used carbonized filaments to large gatherings at his laboratory in New Jersey. Throughout the years, the light bulb has had many improvements done to it but the cornerstone provided by Edison still remains. The first source is by author Andre Millard and published on June 36 1992. The source is titled, "Thomas Edison, the battle of the systems and the persistence of the direct current". Although the title is fairly specific, the article actually covers a wide range of issues. For example, Edison's path to market is discussed in this article. It is important to note that Edison was not only credited with the invention of the light bulb but also the structured approach he had towards making it a mass consumer product. Edison was able to show to many that his product would revolutionize the way light was used for many genera tions to come. However, safety became a concern as higher voltages were used to power the bulbs. So, Edison was determined to find a safer way to light the homes of millions of Americans. The article also hints on a little history regarding the light bulb. Towards the beginnings, the article discusses the discoveries Edison made and how that affected the stock market at the time which was dominated by gas lighting companies. This information can be used to describe the effects the light bulb had during that era and the significance of it. The author for the second source is unspecified, but it was published September 9, 2010. The source is titled, "The Light Bulb , Cystoscopy, and Thomas Alva Edison ." A bit of history is also included in this source, but its importance comes from the stats included that describe the amount of light bulbs sold in three decades. Those staggering numbers point out the incredible demand that existed for the newly made light bulbs. The motives behind those high demands are simple. The world sought and was in great to need for a better light source. Any product used by a mass population can surely have some type of effect on society. The effects of the newly discovered product at the time and its significance can be discussed vastly using the stats described above. Work Cited Millard, Andre. "Thomas Edison, the Battle of the Systems and the Persistence of Direct Current." Material History Review, no.