Because of Edison and Alexander Bell, recorded music in the home became a reality for many families and ushered in the golden age of records, then radio, and eventually television!
We've come a long way in a very short time, and inventions like this have led the way!
Feb 19, 1878:
Thomas Alva Edison patents the phonograph
The technology that made the modern music business possible came into existence in the New Jersey laboratory where Thomas Alva Edison created the first device to both record sound and play it back. He was awarded U.S. Patent No. 200,521 for his invention--the phonograph--on this day in 1878.
Edison's invention came about as spin-off from his ongoing work in telephony and telegraphy. In an effort to facilitate the repeated transmission of a single telegraph message, Edison devised a method for capturing a passage of Morse code as a sequence of indentations on a spool of paper. Reasoning that a similar feat could be accomplished for the telephone, Edison devised a system that transferred the vibrations of a diaphragm—i.e., sound—to an embossing point and then mechanically onto an impressionable medium—paraffin paper at first, and then a spinning, tin-foil wrapped cylinder as he refined his concept. Edison and his mechanic, John Kreusi, worked on the invention through the autumn of 1877 and quickly had a working model ready for demonstration. The December 22, 1877, issue of Scientific American reported that "Mr. Thomas A. Edison recently came into this office, placed a little machine on our desk, turned a crank, and the machine inquired as to our health, asked how we liked the phonograph, informed us that it was very well, and bid us a cordial good night."
The patent awarded to Edison on February 19, 1878, specified a particular method—embossing—for capturing sound on tin-foil-covered cylinders. The next critical improvement in recording technology came courtesy of Edison's competitor in the race to develop the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. His newly established Bell Labs developed a phonograph based on the engraving of a wax cylinder, a significant improvement that led directly to the successful commercialization of recorded music in the 1890s and lent a vocabulary to the recording business—e.g., "cutting" records and "spinning wax"—that has long outlived the technology on which it was based
When you stop and realize just what a short time ago this machine came into being and how far it's evolved up to now, you can't help but wonder just what going to be the next big thing!
Thank you, Thomas Edison...and you too, Mr. Bell! Well done!
Coffee in the nice, warm kitchen this morning. Can you smell the bread in the oven?
8 comments:
Can't help but think that it's all going way too fast. All this technology, I mean. Last Thanksgiving I saw a segment on TV about what to do about guests who are being texted and called on their cell phones while the family is all sitting at the table eating the meal that somebody slaved over. That is really over the edge. Course I know that's not what you are really saying. I agree that it is all quite impressive but we seem to have so much trouble being sane about it.
I agree with Anonymous it
s gotten waay out of hand. Personally I think it's time for phone free zones. Places put up blocking systems where cell phons won't work. Restaurants, concert halls, Movie theaters, etc.
And ALL moving automobiles!!
Hey, I love my satellite radio. Now I can listen to my blue-grass music twenty four hours a day and anywhere I go. But maybe all the other stuff is too much. I had the texting option on my cell phone turned off. Phones are to talk on. Am I old fashioned?
Nice post. I love to listen to music. I think I play CDs or the radio more than watch TV.
Dizzy I don't think you are old fashioned. I hate the text thing. Your right phones are for talking.
Now for that coffee in a nice warm kitchen with the smell of baking bread. I am on my way with some sweet whipped butter.
Nice post. There's a lot of Edison's stuff in the Ford Edison museum in Ft. Myers. Worth checking out if anyone is ever in that area.
Hey Anon 6:44...
I couldn't agree more about how addicted some folks are to the texting thing.
Seems like a lot of common courtesy went out the window with the use of cell phones!
Thanks for dropping in today!
Hey Ben...
That seems like a workable plan to me! I'll certainly vote for it!
Thanks, buddy, for coming over this morning!
Hey Dizzy...
Satellite radio was certainly a boost from the old form . I'll bet Bell and Edison would have been really impressed!
When used properly, these are all very good inventions...but like most good things, someone always finds a way to abuse them!
Thanks for the visit this morning!
Hey JoJo...
Good music does seem to make the world go round a little smoother!
Keeps a tad younger, I think!
Only trouble is...I find myself a prisoner of the "golden oldies" stations very often!
Thanks for the butter, sweetie, and for coming by today!
Hey Sixbears...
Sounds like an interesting place to visit! Amazing that Edison had such an impact on our lives today!
Thanks for the heads up on the museum and for coming by this morning!
My best years were before the internut showed up.
Edison is one of my favorite persons. I have been down to his winter home in Ft. Myers Fla. Last there in 1985. I want to go again as we live in Florida. The Henry Ford home next door is now open to visitors.
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