How Did Thomas Edison Contribute To Society

Though Thomas Edison is most well know for inventing the lightbulb, he has many other contributions to the engineering society that often go unnoticed. He has been deemed by many as one of the most influential people of all time and is considered to have had a large impact on modern civilization. Edison had a large breadth of experience working with motors, generators, and light bulbs. He fine-tuned and improved the DC generator/motor and expanded the popularity of both the DC and AC motors and generators in the USA, making them more common throughout American industries. Early in his career, Edison resisted using AC motors. Edison initially tried to capitalize on the public fears of high voltage AC by running a PR campaign involving the use to AC to execute animals (and people in 1890). He preferred small-scale DC. Edison expected to sell his parts to companies, allowing them to build their own generating plants. However, large power plants began to emerge with the creation of a national grid that provided shared power to large populations. This favored AC motors and generators. Additionally, DC motors were becoming inconvenient because the voltage must be generated at the level required by the load. Unnecessary resistors and other ‘voltage droppers’ needed to
Edison did not invent the lightbulb, his 1878 patent was based off an earlier bulb patent, but he did create the most efficient and highest quality bulb for his time. The Edison light bulb was created to help with Edison’s push towards electricity. Edison believed that electricity was safer than gas. Gas deprived rooms of oxygen while releasing toxic fumes. Gas could also get out of control and cause both major and minor damages. Edison aimed to produce large amounts of electricity and transmit it safely to homes. Edison needed a dependable light bulb that would rival the price and usefulness of the gas