INVENTIONS
Inventions in electricity In the 1800s expanding was Americans’ use of electricity. Scientists continued to learn about how electricity works. They also learned how to make electricity with an electrical generator. The type of generator that came into widest use was invented by Nikola Tesla. an immigrant from Croatia. In the 1890s his generators began to harness the power of Niagara Falls to create cheap electricity. The inventor who made widest use of electricity was Thomas Edison. First a newsboy and then a telegraph operator. Edison wanted to invent practical things, “Anything that won't sell. I don't want to invent,” he said. In 1876 Fdison set up his own barnlike workshop in the town of Menlo Park, New Jersey. There he thought up hundreds of ways to use electricity. During one five-year period he took out a new patent almost every month. His greatest invention was the light bulb (1879). By 1882 some New York City buildings were glowing with electric light. Electric lighting replaced gas lights so quickly that in 1899 Edison's factory produced 25 million light bulbs. Edison helped shape life in the 1900s with his many inventions. He developed the dictating machine, motion-picture camera,and phonograph.
1. Who was the type of generator that came into widest use invented by? 2. Who was the inventor who made widest use of electricity? 3. What was his greatest invention?
Bell and the Telephone Electricity played an important role in other communication devices such as the telegraph. In the 1840s, telegraph stations multiplied in Europe and the United States. In 1866 a cable was laid under the Atlantic Ocean. Now the United States and Europe could communicate instantly. Electrical communication underwent another revolution with the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell. Bell, a Scottish immigrant, had opened a school in Boston for training teachers of the deaf. At the same time he began to search for a way to transmit sound using electricity. His helper was a young mechanic named Thomas Watson. After working a full day in their jobs, Bell and Watson would meet in the evenings to experiment with a device to send sound. Bell learned of the success of his experiments in a dramatic way. One evening he spilled acid on his clothes. Watson, working in another room, heard Bell shout over the transmitter he had been working on. "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you!" Bell called. Watson went running through the door "I can hear the words!" he exclaimed. Bell showed the new invention in 1876. A New York Tribune reporter said about it: "The telephone is a curious device that might fairly find place in the magic of the Arabian Tales. Of what use is such an invention?" People quickly realized the answer to that question. In 1877 telephone lines connected Boston and Salem in Massachusetts. By the 1890s many other American cities were connected by long-distance telephone lines.
1. When did telegraph stations multiply in Europe and the United States? 2. When did electrical communication undergo another revolution? 3. What did a New York Tribune reporter said about the telephone?
Isaac. Merit Singer (1811-1875) Inventors before him had created sewing machines, but Singer invented one that was easy to use. In a time before clothing stores were common, Singer's sewing machine saved hours of labor for tailors and for those who made clothes at home. Singer soon had a thriving sewing machine company in New York City. At SI 10, however, Singer's machine was too expensive for the average American. Many families only made $500 a year. The company set up ways for people to buy the machine by paying small amounts over a period of time - an idea that other companies quickly copied.
1. What sewing machine did Singer invent?
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