Edison’s extremely bad moral character and his corruption
For more than a century, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) He enjoys a high reputation all over the world and is called the "King of Inventions". But with the passage of time and the decryption of information, the original ugly face of this "great man" was gradually restored to people - he sought fame and reputation, and often monopolized the results of collective wisdom; he was opportunistic and quickly applied for patents after improving other people's inventions. What’s even more frightening is that for his own benefit, he frantically slandered and attacked the genius inventor Tesla of his generation, and used the help of others to delete Tesla’s name from American textbooks... /p>
Snobbish and tyrannical, suppressing talented people
Although Edison only had a third-grade elementary school diploma, he was shrewd and had business acumen.
Edison’s most proud business and “invention” was the “light bulb” that would later make him famous. In 1874, two Canadians filled a glass bubble with nitrogen, used an electrified carbon rod to emit light, and applied for a patent. But they had no financial resources to continue development, so they sold the patent to Edison. After Edison purchased it, he followed the example of the British Henry Goebbels and used carbonized bamboo filaments to successfully maintain the lighting time of the light bulb to 1,200 hours. He immediately applied for patents in the United Kingdom and the United States, but was sued by Goebbels. After Edison lost the lawsuit, after years of litigation and spending money, he just obtained the patent for the carbon filament incandescent lamp, and claimed to be the first person to invent the "light bulb".
After that, Edison "invented" DC electricity in the same way, and founded the DC Electric Energy Company to sell electricity at a high price. He also hired a group of outstanding scientists and senior engineers with high salaries, asked them to conduct research, and then applied for patents in his own name on the collective wisdom, turning it into huge commercial profits. His business is in full swing, extending from the United States to Europe across the ocean.
At this time, in distant Yugoslavia, a young man named Nikola Tesla heard about Edison's "great invention" and was very excited. Tesla had been very smart since he was a child, and he quickly saw the Achilles heel of Edison's DC power transmission - because the loss in the circuit was too large, a generator set had to be built every one kilometer, resulting in extremely expensive electricity prices. Luxuries that ordinary people cannot afford. So, he wanted to create a way to transmit electricity over long distances.
In June 1884, Tesla arrived in New York City and excitedly told Edison his idea. But what Tesla never expected was that Edison refused. Because Edison's huge business system was all based on direct current, switching to other transmission methods would make him bankrupt!
But the shrewd Edison would not let such a talented person go. He recruited Tesla into his laboratory and became the most profitable and unknown "blind mill mule." In 1919, Edison handed over the improvement of the motor and engine to Tesla and promised that if the improvement was successful, he would receive a reward of US$50,000, which is equivalent to US$1 million today!
At that time, Tesla’s salary was extremely low and he often couldn’t even pay the rent. Edison’s sky-high salary was like manna from heaven. Tesla went all out, working from morning until early the next morning, sleeping only two or three hours a day. After working tirelessly, Tesla finally invented 24 designs related to DC generators for Edison, all of which could be put into large-scale industrial production!
But a few days later, Tesla discovered a stack of documents in Edison's office - DC generator patents. The owners of 24 new patents were all Edison! What's going on? Tesla's mind was in turmoil.
Late at night, Edison finally came back. Tesla rushed up and asked why.
Edison explained: "If you work for a company, of course the patents belong to the company. Is it any wonder?" When Tesla asked about the remuneration of US$50,000, Edison shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "Haha, you are really You don’t understand our American humor, Mr. Tesla!” Tesla’s face suddenly turned pale.
The next day, Tesla approached Edison again and asked to increase his weekly salary to $25, but he was also rejected. Tesla could no longer stand Edison's mean and stingy character, and he left decisively. This made Edison quite worried, because he knew that Tesla had a superior IQ and was extremely stubborn, and sooner or later he would become a powerful competitor!
As a result, Edison suppressed Tesla everywhere and slandered his character. This made Tesla unable to find a job for a long time. In the end, in order to make ends meet, he had to rely on manual labor to make a living. Ironically, the job was to dig cable trenches for Edison's company!
To achieve the goal, any means necessary
Tesla did not give up under the attack of Edison. On the contrary, even when he was digging in the soil sweating like rain, he was silently calculating various things in his mind. formula. A year later, he designed a unique method of power transmission, alternating current, and a complete set of related equipment to convince investor Morgan to open his own company.
After Tesla’s company was established, Edison became manic and restless. Wasn’t Tesla obviously trying to compete with himself for the market? The furious Edison lost the tolerance that a scientist should have, and he decided to attack Tesla without mercy!
In May 1888, Tesla showed the world his AC motor for the first time. It was simple and flexible, solved the problem of long-distance power transmission, greatly reduced the cost of electricity, and was deeply loved by the world. People love it. Edison's direct current was quickly losing its edge, and many technicians and salespeople left him to join Tesla.
Eddie was so angry that he racked his brains and suddenly realized that because people knew little about electricity, and fires caused by electricity were more frequent, often causing confusion, people generally had a certain attitude toward electricity. Fear, so he decided to destroy Tesla based on people's panic about electricity.
He personally wrote a pamphlet called "Beware" and also published an article titled "The Danger of Electric Light" in "North American Weekly", describing alternating current as extremely scary, but Citizens are still doubtful.
In order to further let citizens intuitively feel the dangers of alternating current, Edison decided to use a "death show" to "educate" the public. He hired elementary school students to catch kittens, puppies and other livestock on the street, and cruelly electrocuted them to death under alternating current. The most horrific of all was the execution of the elephants. The electrified elephant was covered in black smoke and stirred up a burst of dust when it fell to the ground. The ground trembled as if it had caused an earthquake. The audience screamed in fright, their faces turned ashen. Edison employees took the opportunity to publicize: "Alternating current can kill everyone, no matter how big they are!"
In order to create a contrasting effect, Edison employees used 1,000 volts of direct current to shock cats, dogs and other animals. They were still alive; then they were electrocuted with 350 volts of alternating current, and they were electrocuted to death one by one. Edison's propaganda caused great panic among citizens. In order to enhance the effect, Edison also bribed officials in the New York State Prison to change the hanging to electrocution, and invited local citizens and media to watch the process in real time. The prisoner who received electrocution for the first time was a young man named William. Three consecutive horrific electrifications caused William to die in an extremely horrific way: "The back was burned to charcoal, emitting a foul odor. The blood in his head condensed into black blocks."
Individuals at the scene As silent as a cicada, alternating current has since become synonymous with death. Tesla and its company became the target of public criticism, and their reputation plummeted.
Fortunately, Edison’s successive attacks did not defeat Tesla. Tesla used his talents to create the world's first radio-controlled boat, and invented X-ray photography, radio, radar, fax machines, vacuum tubes, neon light tubes, etc. He ushered in a brighter moment again, and dignitaries, wealthy businessmen, celebrities, and even writers all became his good friends. At the same time, the Edison Company was in trouble due to poor management. In 1892, Edison had to join forces with Thomas Houston and other companies to form General Electric Company.
It is disgraceful to use a knife behind your back
In 1893, Chicago held the first World's Fair. The organizers decided to use electric lights, the latest scientific and technological achievements, for lighting, and Tesla's Westinghouse Company won the bid. As soon as the results came out, Edison scolded him on the spot: "I won't sell you electric lights, let's see how you use them for lighting!"
But Tesla would not give in, and he called on all employees to work overtime to make the light bulbs. , finally completed at the last minute. On May 1, 1893, 100,000 spectators poured into the venue. After nightfall, the President of the United States pressed a button and more than 90,000 light bulbs and tubes lit up instantly, illuminating the venue as if it were daytime and dazzling the audience. They clicked their tongues, their panic about the alternating current gone.
Afterwards, Tesla performed a unique electric magic show. With everyone watching, he connected the AC power line with his hands, let the current pass through his body, and lit the lamp. There were sparks all over his body, he was smiling and safe, and everyone was shocked. This scientific wizard fully proved that electricity can be controlled by humans and is not a runaway demon!
Tesla’s performance at the expo left an indelible impression on the public, and the haze hanging over his company was finally cleared away! At this time, Edison was gone, and GE's business was being cannibalized by Tesla. When he reached the end of his rope, he spent almost all his wealth to bribe Tesla's assistants and used various methods to get close to Tesla's boss, the most famous political and business tycoon in the United States: John Morgan.
Soon, Edison got news that Tesla was trying to use air, sunlight, water, etc. to create electricity, and planned to give up the patent royalties on alternating current for free use by the public. Edison had an idea. If Tesla really gave up the money tree of patent fees, Morgan, who regards wealth as his life, would definitely be furious! Isn't it easy to drive a wedge between Morgan and Tesla and deal with the helpless Tesla? Edison immediately asked spies to seize every opportunity to persuade Tesla to give up the patent.
The situation is increasingly developing in a direction favorable to Edison. Under the persuasion of his assistant, Tesla gave up the opportunity to become the world's richest scientist and began a great work-using the power of Niagara Falls to generate electricity!
Soon, he succeeded again. Hydropower can be delivered to thousands of households at low prices. Morgan's profits were significantly reduced, coupled with Edison's repeated provocations, his dissatisfaction with Tesla gradually increased.
Not long after, Tesla discovered the existence of a unique "ionosphere" in the atmosphere. He persuaded Morgan to invest $150,000 in wireless power transmission research in the name of building a global communications center. Edison could no longer sit still. If Tesla's experiment succeeds, electricity will be completely free. In this way, he is completely finished.
Edison met with Morgan in private and said that Tesla was a lunatic. His plan was like transmitting natural gas from Ukraine to the United States through radios. It was a fantasy. Morgan immediately terminated his relationship with Tesla and kicked him out of the company.
After leaving the ruthless Morgan, Tesla, who lived on relief funds, conducted research on ball lightning alone. Soon he could accurately transmit alternating current wirelessly over long distances. It is said that the Tunguska explosion in Russia was his masterpiece. If this momentum continues, he is very likely to become the greatest scientist in history. But the cunning Edison secretly met with Morgan urgently, saying that Tesla's research would destroy all the money-making foundations that Morgan relied on - electricity, newspapers, energy, etc. Morgan broke out in a cold sweat. He informed all consortiums to stop providing funds to Tesla, and used economic means to influence the American education sector to delete Tesla's name from textbooks.
In 1943, Tesla, who was poor and sick, died in a simple hotel. And the profits Edison made through direct current patent fees would never be used up in his lifetime. Ironically, GE derived many of its theories and product ideas from Tesla, which was, of course, free to use.
? Time is fair. Although Tesla suffered all kinds of unfair treatment during his lifetime, he was eventually remembered by people: In 1960, in recognition of Tesla’s contribution, the International Electrotechnical Commission classified magnetic induction as The SI unit of strength is named Tesla, or T for short. On the contrary, Edison did make a huge fortune, but what he did was despised by the world and left a stain on himself that can never be erased!