5.Edison Creates The First Phonograph
5.爱迪生发明了第一部留声机
Edison had his first Menlo Park success in November of 1877. He had been attempting to record human sound since his breakthrough improvement on Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. Edison was not adverse to taking another's invention and improving on it and in no time at all had improved on Bell's product. Graham had been unable to strengthen the weak signal of his device before introducing it. Edison seized the opportunity to make the device better by improving the quality and distance of the voices sent. Edison discovered that substituting acarbon disc for the parchment membrane used by Bell did just that.
1877年11月爱迪生取得了在门洛园的第一次成功，自从他在亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔的电话上取得突破性进展就一直在尝试记录人声。爱迪生并不反对改良其他人的发明，于是很快就对贝尔的发明进行改造。在引进格雷厄姆的发明之前一直无法加强装置的信号。爱迪生抓住机会，通过提高质量和缩短收发声音的距离改良装置。他发现用二氧化碳光盘替代之前贝尔用的羊皮纸膜即可达到效果。
In February of 1878, Edison submitted a patent request for what he termed a phonograph or speaking machine. Made from two tubes, a diaphragm, a scribing and a detecting stylus, a small metal drum and tin foil, the phonograph successfully recorded his voice reciting the popular children's poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb." By taking the vibrations of the diaphragm and carving grooves into the tin foil, Edison's invention worked. As Edison had done to Bell with the telephone, Bell was able to improve on the phonograph by replacing the flimsy tin foil with discs of wax so the machine could be sold commercially. This original invention catapulted Edison into world-wide fame as one of the greatest inventors ever.
1878年2月，爱迪生为留声机呈交了专利申请。由两根电子管，一个膜片，划片和检测笔，一个小金属鼓和锡箔组成的留声机成功地记录下他背诵流行儿童诗歌《玛丽有只小羔羊》的声音。这项发明的工作原理是将膜片的震动和雕刻的凹槽记录在锡箔上以录下声音。因为爱迪生帮助贝尔发明了电话，贝尔才能用盘蜡取代锡箔纸改良留声机，并进行商业出售。这种独创性发明使得爱迪生在全世界获得"有史以来最伟大的发明家之一"的称号。
4.Edison Invents The Light Bulb
4.爱迪生发明了电灯泡
After working on his idea of electric lights for some time, Edison was finally able to introduce his first attempt in 1878. He had discovered that when placed in a vacuum of air, a paper filament, attached to wires, would burn and glow for a very short duration while the paper burned out. The short illumination time was impractical and not worth the expense of production. Dissatisfied with his original prototype and losing investors' money because of the delay, Edison and his employees kept working on it. Finally, an associate named Lattimer, after numerous tests, discovered that if the filament was made of thread that was carbonized, the light would last a lot longer. Still not satisfied, Edison tested over 6000 various materials until he found what he was looking for. After much testing, Edison settled on carbonized bamboo for his filaments, allowing his light bulbs to burn for close to 600 hours. His dream of inventing a consumer practical electric light bulb was finally a reality. Edison went on to first light all of his own facilities with these new electric bulbs and then turned his attention towards doing the same in the financial district of Manhattan. Edison's lighting system was based on direct current only, limiting its distance to three miles for each section. After the discoveries of Westinghouse and Tesla, an alternating current system was put into place.
在思索如何改良电灯之后，爱迪生终于在1878年初次尝试实施这一想法。他发现，在真空中，把纸质细线系在金属丝上点燃可发光，直至纸燃尽。这种短时间照明灯泡并不值得投资生产。不满足于灯泡雏形的爱迪生因为发明进度缓慢亏掉了不少投资者的经费。但他和员工仍坚持不懈、努力尝试。最终，爱迪生的同事拉蒂默经多次试验之后发现，如果用碳化的线作灯丝，可延长灯光的照明时间。然而爱迪生对此并不满意，他试验了6000多种各种各样的材料，终于发现了他一直苦苦寻找的那一种。在多次试验后，爱迪生选用碳化竹子做的灯丝。这种灯丝可以让他的电灯泡持续照明近600小时。他的发明实现了人们对使用长效电灯泡的梦想。爱迪生想将这些改良过的电灯泡用于所有他自己的设备中，于是他来到曼哈顿金融区将此想法付诸实践。爱迪生的照明系统必须使用直流电，这就把每部分电流传输的距离限制在3英里之内。在威斯汀豪斯和斯特拉的努力探索后，交流电系统终于问世，并投入电灯的使用中。
3.Edison's First Wife Dies From Possible Morphine Overdose
3.爱迪生的第一任妻子或死于服用过量吗啡
In 1884, Edison and his children suffered an unbearable tragedy. His wife, Mary, died at the age of 29. While there were reports that Mary died of typhoid fever, the official cause of death was listed as "congestion of the brain." This type of diagnosis could point to a possible overdose of morphine administered to Edison's wife at that time.
1884年，爱迪生和他的孩子们经历了一场难以忍受的悲剧。他的妻子玛丽年仅29岁便阖然长逝。虽然有报道称玛丽死于伤寒，但官方公布的原因是脑充血致死。该诊断表明他的妻子可能服药过量导致摄入过量吗啡。
New information, uncovered in 2006 by the authors of "The Edison Papers," a group based at Rutgers University in New Jersey, though circumstantial, tells of the common practice in the 1880s of using morphine, as well as other similar type drugs, to treat ailments claimed by young women of the time. Morphine was not the controlled substance it is today. It was available everywhere and used as a treatment for numerous medical issues. Information recently found in digital online resources indicate that doctors believed that the side effects of opiate type drugs could result in congestion of the brain and could explain the death of someone so young. Although not confirmed, researchers have uncovered information pointing to the possibility that Mary Edison was an abuser of morphine. There is evidence that Edison attempted to revive his wife with shock treatments once she became comatose. While it is unclear whether or not he was aware of her possible addiction, it is a strange coincidence that he chose to try a medically suggested remedy for morphine overdose to help her. Edison was reportedly devastated by the loss of his wife and blamed himself for being away from home so often. It became a motivating factor later in his life.
2006年，撰写"爱迪生的论文"的作者们（来自美国新泽西州罗格斯大学）详细地讲述了吗啡及其他同类药品在19世纪80年代是如何治疗年轻女子的疾病的。吗啡在当时不像今天这样受到严格控制。人们很容易就买到吗啡以治疗各种疾病。最近，数字在线资源表明，有医生认为催眠类药物的副作用或导致脑充血。这也就解释了为什么一些人年纪轻轻便会死去。研究人员发现玛丽·爱迪生可能滥用吗啡（尽管还未确定）。有证据表明，爱迪生曾经在玛丽昏迷不醒的时候尝试过使用电击疗法挽救她。对于爱迪生是否了解他的妻子可能吗啡成瘾已难以考证，但他选择用医学上治疗服用吗啡过量的疗法挽救妻子未免也太巧了。据说，爱迪生因为痛失妻子而意志消沉，萎靡不振。他责备自己以前经常不回家。但是这也成为他日后人生中的重要推动力。
2.Edison Remarries And Forms Edison General Electric Company
2.爱迪生再婚并成立了爱迪生通用电气公司
In 1886, 39 year-old Thomas Edison married 20 year-old Mina Miller. The next year, Edison closed his laboratory in Menlo Park and opened a new facility in West Orange, New Jersey. He also purchased a home in the country's first planned community, Llewellyn Estates. A new life began for Edison. He had three more children with his second wife. Not wanting to make the same mistakes he made with his older children, Edison made a point to spend more time at home with his family.
1886年，39岁的爱迪生与26岁的米娜·米勒成婚。次年，爱迪生关闭了门洛园的实验室，迁至新泽西州的西奥兰治成立了一家新公司，同时在卢埃林房地产购置了新居。爱迪生开始了新生活，他的第二任妻子为他添了三个孩子。为了避免在前两个孩子身上犯过的错误，爱迪生决心要为家庭付出更多的时间。
In 1890, Edison formed the Edison General Electric Company. The following year, Edison merged with his major competitor, the Thomson-Houston Company. The competition for business proved to be too much for each company to stand alone. This could be described as one of the greatest mergers of all time as the General Electric Co. was born. General Electric remains today as one of the most successful businesses of all time. The following year, Edison patented both a kinetegraph camera and a kinetescope viewer allowing a single individual to view moving pictures using a crank. Edison's presence in the motion picture industry was short-lived however. Edison continued to invent and perfect existing inventions up until his death. He filed his final patent request on January 31, 1931.
1890年爱迪生创建了爱迪生通用电气公司，次年便与他最大的竞争对手托马逊-休斯顿公司合并了。由于独立的两家公司生意竞争太过激烈，所以这次合并可以算得上一次壮举，由此通用电气公司应运而生。直到今天该公司依然是生意场上的龙头产业。第二年，爱迪生获得了活动电影摄影机和活动电影放映机的专利。人们通过摇晃一个曲柄可以看见活动的相片。然而爱迪生的活动相片产业并没有存活多久。直到生命的最后一刻爱迪生都坚持发明创造以及完善改进自己的发明。在1931年1月31日，他最后一次提出了专利申请。
1.Edison's Company Provides Construction Material For Yankee Stadium
1.爱迪生的公司为洋基体育场提供了建筑材料
Edison spent a great deal of time in his later years trying to develop an effective ore-milling system. In 1881 he founded the Edison Ore-Milling Company, confident that his patented process of separating iron from rock using an electromagnet would prove successful. Working with his associate William Dickson and expert in the mining field John Birkinbine, Edison tried to refine his processes so that there would be a market for the iron produced. The process proved to be too expensive and Edison closed the company after only a few years in operation.
后来爱迪生在矿物碾磨工业上耗时颇多。1881年，他创办了爱迪生矿物碾磨公司，并自信利用他从岩石中分离钢铁的专利使他的公司前程大好。于是他与助手威廉·迪克森以及矿物专家约翰·贝尔金宾一起研究，他负责改善生产结构，从而打造钢铁生产市场。然而事实证明这项工程耗资过多，于是爱迪生在公司成立不久后就将其关闭了。
Not one to give up easily, Edison made another attempt in the late 1880s. He first built a plant in Pennsylvania close to the mines he was trying to extract ore from. In 1889 he built a very large ore crushing plant in Ogdensburg, New Jersey. Production problems persisted in spite of all his efforts, and the company closed its doors for good in 1899. Through all the frustration he faced trying to make his ore-milling business profitable, Edison learned that there was a market for the waste sand that resulted. Originally selling the waste sand to other cement companies, Edison decided to go into that business for himself and in 1899 founded the Edison Portland Cement Company. Edison made great strides in streamlining the production of cement using kilns twice the size of those previously used. He chose to rent the larger kilns to his competitors, increasing their production and making his competition much stiffer. Edison thought there would be many uses for his cement, especially in home construction. While there was some interest initially, the process proved to be too complicated and costly for most home builders. Struggling financially, the Edison Portland Cement Company was awarded the contract for materials to be used in the construction of the original Yankee Stadium, which was completed in 1923. The Edison Portland Cement Company was unable to stay in business and closed a few years later. Thomas Edison never felt that he failed at anything. Although a number of his inventions were unsuccessful, Edison always pointed to what he learned during the process and how it would help him going forward. Although he demanded much from his employees, he was always open to their suggestions and did not hesitate to implement them where he saw fit. Edison's tenacity, work ethic and attention to detail was inspirational to all he came in contact with. Although he received the most acclaim for perfecting the electric light bulb, Edison said his favorite invention was the phonograph. Although a disappointment to his older children with his frequent absence, Edison learned from this as well and made sure he made his family a top priority in his later life. Thomas Alva Edison died on October 18, 1931 leaving behind an unbelievable legacy of improving the lives of people all over the world with his numerous inventions. Not everyone considers Thomas Edison to be the grand inventor described above. Read about Thomas Edison's long-running feud with Nicola Tesla.
爱迪生从来不是一个轻言放弃的人。十九世纪八十年代末，爱迪生再次尝试经商。起先他计划在宾夕法尼亚发展，因为那里靠近他所需要提纯的矿物原材料。1889年，在新泽西州的奥格登斯堡建立了一所大型的矿物碾磨公司。尽管做了大量努力，产品依然存在问题。1889年，公司就关门大吉了。在经历了诸多挫折与打击之后，为了让自己的矿物碾磨产业有发展前景，爱迪生发现废弃砂石的潜在市场。一改之前向其他水泥公司销售原材料，爱迪生决定自己进军这个领域。1899年，他建立了爱迪生波兰水泥公司。他使用较之前大两倍的炉窑，从而实现了水泥批量生产这样的质的飞跃。他决定给竞争对手们租赁自己的大炉窑，以提高他们的产量，但同时也使他的竞争对手更加竞争性。爱迪生认为他的水泥用处良多，尤其是在房屋建造上。最初一些人对此比较感兴趣，但对于大多数房屋建设者来说工序太过复杂且造价太过昂贵。迫于经济状况，爱迪生波兰水泥公司被迫签订为洋基体育场提供建筑材料的合同，并于1923年完工。爱迪生的波兰水泥公司无法继续经营，几年后就倒闭了。托马斯·爱迪生认为他从未有过失败。即使他的很多发明都不甚成功，但他经常强调在实践过程中所获取的经验教训以及这些经验教训是如何促使他不断进步。尽管他对员工要求非常严格，但他常常听取他们的建议。一旦建议合理，就会毫不犹豫地采纳实施。爱迪生的不屈不挠、职业道德以及事无巨细的精神成就了他的一切。虽然他因改良电灯泡备受称赞，但他最喜欢的发明却是留声机。由于他在前两个孩子生活中的频繁缺席致使孩子们对他很失望，爱迪生在他后续的生活中特别注意这一点，也因此，一直将家庭放在首位。托马斯·阿尔瓦·爱迪生于1931年与世长辞，留下了改变人类生活的传世发明。但并不是每个人都认为托马斯·爱迪生是以上描述的那样的发明大王，如果你了解了他与尼克拉·特拉斯的长久纷争便知缘由。
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