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125 Years of Electric Innovation 
"Genius is 1 percent inspiration On the evening of October 21, 1879, Thomas Edison began to test a new filament material for the incandescent electric lamp he had been working on for fourteen months. Edison had conducted hundreds of trials with different filaments and would eventually try over 6,000 materials. For this test, Edison used a short length of cotton thread, baked to eliminate everything but carbon (i.e., carbonized), and housed within a glass bulb evacuated of almost all oxygen. The new filament was a breakthrough, burning more than half a day. With additional refinements, Edison had created what no one else had before—a practical electric light bulb. But Edison did not stop there. For electric lighting to become a commercial reality, Edison had to develop a complete distribution system, bringing electricity from the generator to the light fixture. Edison's invention of the long-lasting incandescent light bulb and development of the electric light and power system revolutionized our way of life, creating a future bright with possibility that few ever could have imagined. Electricity has made possible technologies that have benefited society and powered our economy through ever-increasing levels of convenience, comfort, productivity, and environmental protection. Today, U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies are carrying on Edison's tradition, providing affordable, reliable electricity to millions of homes and businesses, while finding new and innovative ways to generate this power cleanly and efficiently. This Web site will provide you with information on Thomas Edison and his innovations, as well as the electric industry's past, present, and future. Resources on Thomas Edison
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© 2008 Edison Electric Institute |
by Bernard Finn, chief curator of electricity collections at the Smithsonian Institute, in the September/October 2004 issue of