Harry T. Roman's Blog, page 13

Thomas Edison – A Founder of the Electric Utility Industry

Thomas Edison in 1882 in New York City operated the world’s first modern electric utility system. Known as the Pearl Street Station, it serves to this day as the model for generating and distributing electric power.

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Modern power station

As we watch more renewable energy technologies like solar and wind come on line, many experts wonder about the fate of today’s electric utilities. The sun does not always shine and the wind is subject to long lulls. How will this impact the reliability of electricity we have come to expect; and to the digital economy so important to our economic growth? Does this mean we need to co-install massive energy storage facilities either in a centralized or distributed fashion as more and more solar and wind systems are put into service?

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Wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels

Renewable advocates are loudly proclaiming a total solar/wind energy grid by mid-century. While it is technically feasible, is it a wise path? Wouldn’t a diverse energy mix be more logical and desirable? Back in the 1970s, the world learned a harsh lesson when too much of its energy economy was invested in oil. Is it wise to swing back to the other end of the energy spectrum for philosophical and political reasons?

While Edison did originate our modern electric utility system, he did have a great sense of what the future might hold. Consider his quote, circa 1910……

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left.”

Stay tuned for the many discussions you will likely hear about our nation’s energy future; and remember…..Thomas Edison is still relevant in the discussion!

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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Thomas Edison Magic

Many marvel at the great inventor’s prodigious output, the breadth and depth of his patents and the great industries he is responsible for starting…recorded sound, motion pictures and the electric light/utility systems. He also made significant achievements in telegraphy, telephony, battery storage and the manufacture of cement; but his “magic” is much more important–for when these industries are replaced by other things, his true genius will still be evident and eternally relevant.

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A young and proud Edison shows off his phonograph to President Rutherford B. Hayes at the White House, 1878.

Ever see a modern laboratory or research facility like at a high tech company, an academic lab on campus, or maybe you were lucky to walk the halls of the world famous Bell Labs. You notice a great similarity. Long halls with many labs and teams of researchers busy, creating the future. Each lab a world unto itself, consumed with making something happen…ideas being born into prototypes. This model derives directly from Edison’s early work at his Menlo Park labs, later super-charged at his formalized invention factory at the legendary West Orange Labs.

This first, true R&D lab he invented gave tremendous advantage over other inventors who tended to be lone wolf or independent dreamers. Using his natural leadership and management skills to create the right teams of people and expertise, Edison could explore a large number of ideas at once (typically 30-40 at a time); and could:

Invent faster than competitors, giving him market and surprise advantage
Take advantage of spinning off technological achievements into whole families of inventions
Multiplex his insights and wisdom across multiple teams at once
Develop his staff into independent inventors and project managers like himself
Develop management and leadership styles that would suit specific situations, invention challenges and team make-up.
Set goals and timelines so the R&D lab was constantly running at capacity and efficiency
Maintain a centralized stock of ready materials so teams always had what they needed to create their prototypes.

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Edison knew the leadership value of working with his teams, often eating and joking with them. This was the heart of the magic of his invention factory.

Although Edison provided initial guidance and suggestions on how to approach each problem, the experimenters were often allowed, and indeed encouraged, to find their own way to a solution …

“I generally instructed them on the general idea of what I wanted carried out, and when I came across an assistant who was in any way ingenious, I sometimes refused to help him out in his experiments, telling him to see if he could not work it out himself, so as to encourage him.”

The more his stable of inventors achieved, the more responsibility they were given. His centralized library also gave inventors a huge resource of information at their disposal as well. He even set stretch goals for his teams….an minor invention every 10 days and major one every 6 months!

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Like his project teams, Edison often retreated to a secluded lab of his own to explore something new.

Careful records of each experiment were kept in notebooks as a permanent record of learning was thus preserved for possible patent application filings; as well as a jumping off point for other teams to carry some line of research further or into related areas. A daily update newsletter kept by his office staff served to let Edison know every day what was happening with his project teams. Careful records of expenditures, stores drawn from the centralized stockroom and timesheets were kept for each team’s activities. We see this done today via sophisticated computerized programs, helping to determine the cost effectiveness of new product development. It would seem R&D lab operational procedures were also pioneered by Edison.

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Like any good R&D organization, a capable staff keeping project managers aware of what is going on is indispensable. Here Edison confers with staff.

So powerful and advantageous was Edison’s R&D lab, that before he dies in 1931, the world’s great companies implement their own labs; and America’s business model for converting raw ideas into new ready-to-be-marketed products forms the mainstay of our team based, technology driven economy. Today, we teach this head and hands, problem solving philosophy starting in America’s middle schools. It’s called STEM or perhaps STEAM. The currently popular term “maker space” derives from all this. This year, America will spend over $500 billion on R&D in all sectors-business, government, academia.

That dear readers, is Thomas Edison’s greatest and most enduring invention/accomplishment, a process to keep our nation’s technological cornucopia always overflowing!

Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Thomas Edison Salutes the Right Stuff – Astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly

The Kelly brothers, Scott and Mark are West Orange bred, and like Thomas Edison who spent the majority of his life in West Orange, they have the “right stuff”. The only twins ever to serve as NASA astronauts, the Kelly’s know how to adapt and survive in rapidly changing conditions, and fly by the seat of their pants if necessary—exactly the kind of fellows Edison would have hired.

A proud Town of West Orange celebrated their life work, renaming their old elementary school, formerly known as Pleasantdale Elementary to Kelly Elementary. In March 2016, Scott Kelly returned to earth after 340 days on the International Space Station. Brother Mark Kelly is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. Scott and Mark are now retired.

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Brothers Scott and Mark Kelly [L-R] at the re-naming of their elementary school in their honor

In his book, Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, Scott explains the physical impacts of prolonged spaceflight, the impacts on his body as he re-adjusted to normal gravity upon returning to his native planet. An excellent and dramatic re-counting of this is found in a recent Smithsonian article, “The Man Who Fell to Earth”, September, 2017. From this perspective, how will today’s aspiring commercial space entrepreneurs deal with what pioneer Scott Kelly went through? NASA has been dealing with space concerns since the early 1960s; and all that knowledge was focused on getting Kelly safely into space and back again—a huge commitment of resources and experiential knowledge gained over six decades. In fact, Kelly’s long stay in space was designed to gather even more data about the physiological, and mental impacts of humans in space. While Scott Kelly was in great physical shape, he experienced difficult physical readjustments upon his return. What of space travelers on commercial flights?
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Scott Kelly with weightless fruits and vegetables aboard the International Space Station

Imagine what Scott also experienced, the stress he felt while circling the earth with his fellow astronauts. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the pressures of constant close cohabitation; the catastrophic risks of depressurization or colliding with space junk, and the still more haunting threat of being unable to help should tragedy strike at home.

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West Orange school district science teachers welcome Scott Kelly home

Scott Kelly has a message of hope for the future that will inspire us nationally like that wonderful feeling as we aimed for the moon in the 1960s. His story is a triumph of imagination and human will, against the unending wonder of space. Mars for Scott is our next logical step.

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Editor’s Deep Dive on Scott Kelly:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Kelly_(astronaut)

https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/kellysj.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH8fdKP2hzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YfyvA8AxLw

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Thomas Edison had a fascination with space as well. His Tasimeter invention was designed to measure the heat of the sun’s corona during the great eclipse of 1878; and his idea for measuring radio waves from the sun in 1890 was a very early concept for what later would become radio astronomy. He and the Kelly brothers would have much to talk about!

Thomas Edison said, “I never did a day’s work in my life, it was all fun.”
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Thomas Edison – Scavenger Hunt Winners

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Congratulations!

After reviewing more than 200 entries, the results are in:

1st Place Winner: Kellie Moran – $1,000*
2nd Place Winner: Tiffany Liang – $500*
3rd Place Winner: Jayla Nartatez – $250*

*In categories in which multiple correct answers were submitted, winners were chosen from a pool by random selection by Chairman of Charles Edison Fund, sponsor of Scavenger Hunt.

Winners will receive an email for confirmation. Once confirmed, the apple gift card will be mailed directly to the winners.

The complete answers to all questions can be see on the following social media sites:

thomasedison.org
edisonmuckers.org
Facebook: Thomas Edison
LinkedIn: Edison Innovation Foundation

Thank you to all participants!

>> View contest answers

Thomas Edison Would Recognize Roosevelt Island Tech Center

When Thomas Edison established his legendary West Orange Labs, everything was focused around team-based solution of problems, and making the invention process easy and conducive, with plenty of intellectual and physical resources co-located for convenience. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a similar philosophy in mind, and just recently, September 13, 2017, a new high-tech birthing place was dedicated on Roosevelt Island.

To anticipate a future New York City where small, nimble, high tech companies would be based in the heart of the city, back in 2010 Bloomberg invited top-flight universities to compete to open an applied-science graduate center. Cornell University and its partner, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, were declared the winners and awarded $100 million along with a stretch of city-owned land on iconic and historic Roosevelt Island. Bloomberg’s business model for this was Silicon Valley where founders of great companies often did so in the shadow of the schools they attended. Today, the first residents of this vision have arrived on this unique campus.

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Cornell Tech campus in architectural rendering

The tech center campus is comprised of three buildings: the Academic Building–a contemporary office structure; the House, a high-rise that will be a mix of graduate student and faculty housing; and the Bridge, will host work spaces and classrooms for Cornell Tech in about 30 percent of the building, while the rest will be leased to companies by the building’s owner, Forest City New York. The buildings incorporate ample energy efficiency considerations and alternate energy technologies. Through his charitable organization, Bloomberg has given an additional $100 million to this project, re-naming the Academic Building the Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center, in honor of his daughters.

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First phase of Cornell Tech nears completion

Daniel Huttenlocher, the dean and vice provost of Cornell Tech, described the Bridge as the physical embodiment of the institution’s goal of bringing together academia and industry. “Academic excellence here is necessary, but not sufficient,” Dr. Huttenlocher said. “You also need to be engaged with the commercial or societal aspect of your work.”

Though the campus is only about one-third built — two other major phases of construction are to follow by the year 2037, by agreement with the city — it has the nascent feel of its own little community, as well as a grassy green where students can sprawl, amid impressive views.

Thomas Edison said, “I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to invent it.”
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Thomas Edison Scavenger Hunt

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$1,000 Prize

Edison Innovation Foundation invites you to participate in the Thomas Edison Scavenger Hunt to win a grand prize! The questions will be broken up into three categories. Only one winner for each!

Ages: Up to 14 – questions 1-20

Prize $250 Apple Gift Card
Ages: 15-18 – questions 1-30

Prize $500 Apple Gift Card
Ages: 18+ questions 1-40

Prize $1,000 Apple GiftCard

Questions will be released on September 26th on our social media platforms including: thomasedison.org and facebook.com/ThomasEdison.

You will have two weeks to complete and the answers must be submitted to info@thomasedison.org by October 10th.

Contestants may use only Edison Innovation Foundation Social Media Platforms to find answers, i.e.:

thomasedison.org
edisonmuckers.org
Facebook: Thomas Edison
Instagram: thomasedison1847

A more detailed description of the Rules will be released with the questions on September 26th.

Stay Tuned and Good Luck!

Thomas Edison – Relevant in the Classroom

Teaching Thomas Edison in the classroom is the fundamental expression of what STEM/STEAM is all about, how he changed the world with his invention process-the so-called invention factory, later re-named R&D labs. It was his greatest invention.

Many teachers and educators write in to us, access our websites and visit the Thomas Edison National Historic Park [TENHP] to learn how to bring his lessons into the classroom. Shown below are some tips for integrating Edison into the classroom.

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Edison at his office desk-always studying new things.

The roots of his 1093 patents always began with detailed notebooks of his experiments and findings. Whenever student teams work on developing new ideas, have them keep track of their work in a team notebook, practicing the important skill of documenting their findings. This will help them continually improve their inventions—something Edison would heartily applaud.

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Original Edison sketch for the phonograph!

The invention process you encounter in STEM literature is basically the one Edison used to codify the iterative invention process:

1) Identify a problem worth solving

2) Evaluate the economics/market needs

3) Identify constraints, impacts, challenges

4) Identify/test potential solutions-invent!

5) Validate invention against 1), 2) and 3)

[repeat 1) thru 5) as necessary-re-design/re-evaluate original problem]

6) Market the invention

7) Grow and improve the invention

Use this process to empower students to ask questions. The quality of solutions is dependent upon the quality of the questions asked. Teach them how to ask tough questions! Let your students be like “hard boiled” detectives when they have problems to solve-to get in there and turn every problem inside-out, learning as much as possible about the problem and how proposed solutions could be used.

The questions are especially important to step 3) above…dealing with constraints and limits that can affect any new invention.

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A smiling Edison

Host a website/newsletter in your class/school. What a great way to promote and practice communications! Have students develop a website accessible to the entire school, and perhaps other schools within your district. Students can write articles about how Edison changed the world, influencing us yet today. All things Edison can be explored and discussed, along with publicly available photos of the great inventor and his work.

Invite inventors into the classroom, modern day inventors so they can explain how to use creativity techniques to develop solutions to problems. Allow your students to learn first-hand from men and women who invent as a living or as a vital part of their jobs as engineers, technologists, scientists…etc. Consider writing articles about the meeting with inventors and publish them on the school website mentioned above.

Which was Edison’s greatest Invention? Study the many inventions created by Edison, fostering a debate about the pros and cons of his introduced technologies. How did his technologies impact the economy, society, environment, culture, and standards of living? Make sure your students marshal their arguments as quantitatively as possible.

Check out these websites for additional information and classroom projects and activities:

www.edisonmuckers.org
http://www.edisonmuckers.org/resources-for-teachers/
www.thomasedison.org
www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm

Have a wonderful school year and happy inventing!

Thomas Edison said, “If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves …”
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Thomas Edison – Impact on the Music Industry

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1903 ad for the Edison phonograph

Back in the 1870s, if you wanted to hear music, it was basically a communal experience. You went to hear a concert, attended a school auditorium or show hall to hear and see a production, or perhaps you gathered around a gazebo on a warm summer night to hear popular tunes of the time.

Along comes Thomas Edison who makes a practical, affordable, and portable device to record and play music, and allow you to enjoy it all by yourself if you so desire. For all purposes, the great inventor “decentralizes” music, decoupling it from a group experience. Does this sound vaguely familiar? It should.

iPods and other personal listening devices do this too, decoupling people from radios that are electromagnetically linked to broadcasting stations, and allow you to store huge amounts of songs for play on demand…without the need to carry tapes, discs and other old bulky forms of storage media.

To this day, in his legendary West Orange labs, Edison’s original recording studio can be seen—the world’s first recording studio. It sits directly above his iconic library/office. There the great singers of the time, operatic and popular, came to record their music for sale by Mr. Edison. [see photos below]

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Edison recording studio today

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Invention factory with location of recording studio indicated by blue lines

It was truly an art form to situate the instruments and singers around a recording horn for optimal sound reproduction, with lots of trial and error. No way to change the volume of sound like we do today via simple electronic controls; and certainly no mixing consoles to blend sound tracks. Sound mixing would have to wait until musical innovators like Les Paul [the man who also gave us the electric guitar] came along…100 years later.

Take a look at the photo below of a large group of musicians crowded around a recording horn to get the instrument sounds all into the small horn. It was a tough way to make music back then. Today, 140 years later we have a robust industry we all enjoy…..but it all started with a recording studio on the third floor of Thomas Edison’s magic invention factory, an entrepreneur’s dream come true.

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A private off-site recording session-with musicians crowded in close to recording horn

“Of all my inventions, I liked the phonograph best….” -Thomas Edison
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Thomas Edison’s Cars Get a Needed Lift

Visiting the Thomas Edison garage at the Glenmont home estate is a treat for many visitors each year. On a good day, over 200 members of the public enjoy the vintage cars-in particular, the electric cars that used Edison’s famous nickel-iron alkaline storage batteries. Recently these cars were conserved and given much needed cleaning and primping.

Shown below is the 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47, the preferred vehicle of Mrs. Edison. Folks marvel at its “teapot” shaped appearance. In the day, this well-recognized vehicle was seen traversing Essex County on various philanthropic and social missions as Mrs. Edison “gave back” to her fellow citizens. She often served on many committees and working groups engaged in charities, education, and other important issues of the day. She and her vehicle epitomized the independent “home executive”.

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1914 Model 47 electric vehicle

Behind the vehicle, to the left as shown above, is the battery charging station Thomas built in 1908—and today, perhaps the oldest garage-based charging station in existence (and we think charging a modern electric vehicle in a garage is something new)! The Model 47 has three on-board battery compartments; one forward, one rear and one underneath for auxiliary applications like headlamps, clock and perhaps some heating for the interior. It was advertised as having a range of 80 miles, at a speed of 20 mph.

Below is the 1911 Detroit Electric L-1 vehicle, the forerunner of the Model 47. Many photos exist of Thomas being driven in this vehicle by either Mrs. Edison, his then young sons, or laboratory assistants. The great inventor was a not a very good driver, often making contact with ditches and trees! He soon became content with sitting peacefully and thinking up new ideas, while being driven around safely by others.

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1911 Model L-1 electric vehicle (front and side view)

Notice the absence of a steering wheel (the same for the 1914 model too). Dual “tillers” were used: the lower one for steering the front wheels right or left; the upper tiller for acceleration. This took some getting used to, and may have been what caused Mr. Edison trouble when he drove. The upper tiller is an adaptation of the “Johnson Bar”, borrowed from locomotive design.

Full steering wheel capability becomes evident in the 1922 Ford Model T, also on display in the garage; and shown below alongside a beautiful 1936 Ford-Brewster owned by Thomas’s son Charles when he was Governor of NJ. Notice the incredible technology and styling changes between the 1922 Model T and the 1936 Brewster.

The Brewster has a 65 Hp, V-8 engine [the famous flathead Ford V-8], and with its rejuvenated internals is capable of 100 mph. The Model T had a 4 cylinder, 20 Hp engine with a top speed of about 45 mph; but it also had a multi-fuel surprise built in….the little engine could burn gasoline, kerosene, or alcohol!

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1922 Model T (right) alongside a 1936 Ford Brewster

The entire first floor of the garage, walls and ceiling, have been freshened as well to show the Edison concrete used to build this magnificent structure. The same Edison concrete formulation used here is what was used to build the original Yankee Stadium in the 1920s.

The Edison Innovation Foundation www.thomasedison.org is now raising money to convert the second floor of this building into an educational facility for the many students and teachers who visit to learn about Edison and his role in creating the very popular STEM educational philosophy and team-based problem solving.

Did you know?

In 1914:

38% of all the cars on the road were electric; 22% gasoline, 40% steam powered.
Average annual wage was about $625. Cost of Model 47 was about $3,700.

Thomas Edison said, “I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others… I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent …”
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Hyperloop Revisited — the Edison Spirit Alive and Well

Prologue

Almost exactly four years ago, we ran a story about Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept, a pod based, rapid transit system to traverse long distances. Original literature discussed being able to traverse Los Angeles to San Francisco in about 30 minutes. The article below updates our readers on the significant advances since then.

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Original concept drawing for a Hyperloop pod

Imagine a pod that will someday carry human passengers and probably freight too, something that resembles a bus with 16 retractable wheels….perhaps 28 feet long, pointed at the business end, composed of aluminum and fiber composites. Load this structure into a an 11 foot concrete test tube evacuated of air, and shoot it down the track using an electromagnetic propulsion system –think magnetic levitation (Mag-Lev)- and record the results. How about 192 mph in about 5 seconds!

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Hyperloop test pod

Check-out a recent test of the pod and test track:

https://www.teslarati.com/hyperloop-one-192-mph-test-video/

All this work adds up to what engineers call a “proof of concept”; and now the details get filled in to make it practical…and that means lots of hard core engineering tempered with tough-minded business analysis. There will be lots of coordination with safety and environmental agencies, and discussions and analyses to determine where to locate such facilities, the location of station stops, the ergonomics of passenger travel and lots more.

Maybe we shall see these lines located along established high voltage power line rights of way. It makes sense. Those lines move “electrons” (electricity) between populations centers, so why not move people and freight the same way? Perhaps such lines can parallel roads or railroad rights of way too. No doubt there will be very many interesting questions and points of view to be addressed and various constraints to be dealt with.

Thomas Edison would applaud the work done so far and anxiously await more progress!

Thomas Edison said, “If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves …”
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Left: Intel-Edison module now available world-wide for developers. Right: The “Tommy” award given by the Edison Innovation Foundation.