Available online
Description
Thomas Edison was the most prolific engineer who ever lived. He was committed to electricity as a form of power and created the first commercial electric networks. But he was an inventor who's work...ing methods were a far cry from normal research. We explore the turns of fortune that lay behind Edison's improvements to the light bulb. Why did Edison think a wild platinum mining venture would seal the success of the bulb? And how did it really come to destroying his nascent empire. In the last ten minutes Peter Evans speaks to Sir John Harvey Jones about the current state of British industry.
Thomas Edison was the most prolific engineer who ever lived. He was committed to electricity as a form of power and created the first commercial electric networks. But he was an inventor who's work...ing methods were a far cry from normal research. We explore the turns of fortune that lay behind Edison's improvements to the light bulb. Why did Edison think a wild platinum mining venture would seal the success of the bulb? And how did it really come to destroying his nascent empire. In the last ten minutes Peter Evans speaks to Sir John Harvey Jones about the current state of British industry.
| Series: | Generals of the revolution; Series 2 |
|---|---|
| Episode | 7 |
| First transmission date: | 1994 |
| Published: | 1994 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OUDA web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:28:54 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Dick Taylor |
| Contributors: | Peter Evans; John Harvey-Jones |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Carbon; Charles Batchelor; Electric Light Bulb; Francis Upton; Incandescence; Inventions; Lamp; Telegraph; Thomas Alva Edison; Vacuum |
| Master spool number: | 93YT0174 |
| Production number: | T004_07 |
| Available to public: | no |
