Thomas Edison :: essays research papers

Edison, Thomas Alva, American inventor, whose development of a practical electric light bulb, electric generating system, sound-recording device, and motion picture projector had profound effects on the shaping of modern society. Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. He attended school for only three months, in Port Huron, Michigan. When he was 12 years old he began selling newspapers on the Grand Trunk Railway, devoting his spare time mainly to experimentation with printing presses and with electrical and mechanical apparatus. The train left Port Huron about 7:00 in the morning and returned at 9:00 or 9:30 at night. The trip included a six-hour layover in Detroit, during which time he claims to have read "the entire public library." He was an omnivorous reader and loved to experiment with chemicals and machinery. He constantly wanted to investigate how things worked and liked to see if he could make things better. On the train he was allowed a table in an empty baggage car on which to work. He even brought a broken printing press, repaired it and taught himself to print. He may have produced the first newspaper printed on a moving train. Edison began noticing a loss of hearing around this time, which increased throughout his life. In 1862 he published a weekly, known as the Grand Trunk Herald, printing it in a freight car that also served as his laboratory. For saving the life of a station official's child, he was rewarded by being taught telegraphy. While working as a telegraph operator, he made his first important invention, a telegraphic repeating instrument that enabled messages to be transmitted automatically over a second line without the presence of an operator. Edison next secured employment in Boston and devoted all his spare time there to research. He invented a vote recorder that, although possessing many merits, was not sufficiently practical to warrant its adoption. He also devised and partly completed a stock-quotation printer. Later, while employed by the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company of New York City he greatly improved their apparatus and service. By the sale of telegraphic appliances, Edison earned $40,000, and with this money he established his own laboratory in 1876. Afterward he devised an automatic telegraph system that made possible a greater speed and range of transmission. Edison's crowning achievement in telegraphy was his invention of machines that made possible simultaneous transmission of several messages on one line and thus greatly increased the usefulness of existing telegraph lines.

Not Everything That Is Learned Is Contained in Books

Learning is a good way to improve intelligence of human being. There are a lot of sources which people can learn from, such as books, works, social environment, reading and so on. Among these sources, learning from book is an efficient way to get a lot of knowledge. However, not all things are included in books and it is just a source for knowledge. It is probable that books are an enormous source of knowledge for the people to study. There are different types of books, for example novels, journals, scientific books, sociology books, news, reports and so on. When the basic education or specific field of interest is needed to study, learning from books is an effective way to be efficient in it. Some books give people the experience of the writers. These books are valuable for the people because although they did meet with this experience, they will easily know about these experiences. Therefore, books are a good source of knowledge for the people. On the other, reading books is not a perfect way of studying since not everything that is learned is contained in books. There are unlimited amount of knowledge and experience that we have to learn in our real lives, and it is called life experience. Life experience can only be found in the real life and learning from books will only be knowledge. For example, if a person gets a serious disease, only this person will know how serious it is and others people will know only as knowledge. This person may also improve the maturity by thinking how life is impermanent. Therefore, not everything that is learned is contained in books. In conclusion, studying form books is only a part of learning. The perfect way of learning is to learn from books and from real life as well.

Cultural Elements Of Beowulf By William Shakespeare

Cultural Elements in Beowulf Beowulf ,the story, was handed down orally by mouth for centuries. However, in 1000 AD, Beowulf was written down for the first time as a poem. Beowulf is a story about a hero with supernatural powers. His strength surpasses any man, and he is the king of his people(the Sweden). Beowulf defeats and kills monsters to protect the people and the land of the Geats and Danes. Beowulf defeats the monster named Grendel. Grendel kills and eats Beowulf s men who sleep in Heriot at night, â€Å"Now Grendel s name has echoed in our land: sailors have brought us stories of Heriot, the best of all mead halls, deserted and unless when the moon hangs in the skies the sun has lit†(page 47, lines 143-1470). The cultural elements in Beowulf are about ethics, religion, and honor. The mead hall was described as a great place for warriors to relax, eat, and sleep. However, the monster Grendel kills people who stay the night in the mead hall. Hrothgar’s relatives have already died trying to get rid of the beast.Their defeat has granted Hrothgar the throne. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, has asked Beowulf to slay the monster Grendel and return the mead hall back to its former glory; â€Å"That I, alone, and with the help of my men, May purge all evil from this hall/this mead hall glittering with new light†(page 49). Warrior often wore a certain attire to battle such as, â€Å" armor and helmets†¦[chain] mail shirts.. (lines 858-63, page 47)† They wore these items to protectShow MoreRelatedThe Metrics Of English Literature4721 Words   |  19 Pagesindeed interesting and without a doubt analyses the English Language and its development. Moreover, Sylvia, your favour for the art of writing is refreshing. However, who is correct? Let s look back to the longest surviving poem in Old English, ‘Beowulf’. We know the minor details of context, no evidence of author, origins or even a title at that. So please, Joseph and Sylvia enlighten us. Joseph: Well, let’s define what linguistics is, shall we? Linguistics is in a sense a scientific study of languageRead MoreHow to Read Lit Like a Prof Notes3608 Words   |  15 Pagesconsciously aware we are, the more alive the text becomes to us. d. If you don’t recognize the correspondences, it’s ok. If a story is no good, being based on Hamlet won’t save it. 6. When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare†¦ a. Writers use what is common in a culture as a kind of shorthand. Shakespeare is pervasive, so he is frequently echoed. b. See plays as a pattern, either in plot or theme or both. Examples: i. Hamlet: heroic character, revenge, indecision, melancholy nature ii. Henry IV—a young manRead MoreThe Sonnet Form: William Shakespeare6305 Words   |  26 PagesShakespeare’s Sonnets William Shakespeare The Sonnet Form A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter—that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable, as in: â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?† The sonnet form first became popular during the Italian Renaissance, when the poet Petrarch published a sequence of love sonnets addressed to an idealized woman named Laura. Taking firm hold among Italian poets, the sonnetRead MoreChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 Pagesnothing but scorn, and directed parents to put them to the one use for which they were fitted, namely, lighting fires. Like the concept of childhood, childrens literature is very much a cultural construct that continues to evolve over time. As a term, â€Å"children’s literature† does not easily fit into any cultural or academic category; rather, it is a diverse and paradoxical area of study. Its richness is reflected in the vast amount of theories that permeate and surround the term. From feminist studies