Edison's Inspiration

Prepared by Peter Lichang Kuo

The conclusions of the United Nations Climate Summit (COP) have almost become energy development policies. According to information from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity consumption in 2023 was total approximately US$3.99 trillion—a huge business opportunity after all. Moreover, the use of “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) is expected to increase electricity consumption by more than 40%, urgently need for solution. Instead of studying small nuclear modular reactors (SMRs), it may be better to look back at Thomas Edison's "Viewpoint on the use of electricity."

Fig 1. Edison Memorial Tower at Menlo Park

"There is a golden house in the book." Song Zhenzong (an emperor of the Song Dynasty) said this in "Poem to Encourage Learning", and I, who had no artistic talent, took it as truth. When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, I received my first birthday gift— "Edison's Biography", from my cousin brother Yang Shi-rong. As if I had found a treasure, I read and read over again and made that the book became thicker. After being inspired, I continued to absorb knowledge through a lot of reading, truly led my family out of poverty and became rich, created Taiwan's Precision Industry, and further gave the world an era of "Contactless-tech".

Edison went out to work when he was in his teens. When he was 16, he saw a copy of Faraday's "Introduction to Electricity" at a used bookstall. He felt like a treasure and began to study electricity-related objects. He invented a “Quadruplex Telegraph” (four-way telegraph device) and an “Stock Ticker”(stock quotation automation) to earn a huge sum of money, and be able to gain a foothold in the New York metropolitan area.

Fig 2. The Stock Ticker and Quadruplex invented by Thomas Edison

When I was a child, I didn’t have enough to eat at home, so I would often go to Sakariba (a mall by the canal in Tainan); my godmother Kuo Chiong-in always kept my stomach full. Most importantly, my cousin brother would bring me a bunch of comic books to read. After being enlightened, I began to work hard to force myself to practice my skills; when I went to Sakariba again, in addition to newly published comic books, I also read "newspapers". Therefore, even in the cattle herding class (no longer up into junior high school), I read far more than those who in the preparatory class could imagine.

First, I discovered that I have good writing skills; Mr. Chiu Sen-ran, a tutor at Park Primary School, came up with an essay topic called "My Will". With my pencil, I described "My wish is to be a big gangster" vividly; of course it made my teacher angry to be crazy.

Fortunately, I had a persevering grandmother who taught me from an early age about: “If a man does not learn, he will not know what righteousness is.” The negative teaching materials about "don't read, don't study" from my parents became the key to self-vigilance – just did the opposite. For example, if parents don't want to learn Mandarin, I just need to learn Mandarin; they don't want to read, so I just read a lot of various books.

In addition to professional books, I read literature, history and philosophy. If I didn’t have time to watch TV, I read “TV Weekly”; If I didn’t have time to get to know the female, just watch "Happy Family". Some people even brought "Penthouse" to me, and not only looked at the pictures but also the text. If I didn’t understand those vocabularies, just checked up in the dictionary. There was a word for "juicy", which made both myself and Mr. Lane (a chairman of the NYSE listed company) burst into laughter. Of course, those purchasing orders were indispensable

On the eve of my father was maliciously arrested, he left me the burden of making for living a family of nine. Nevertheless, I proved that "there is a golden house in the book", and I never cared about the thoughts of those gold users and continued to move towards my goal. Ten years later, when I was about to serve my 26th term of “Reserve Officer Service”, I read the property list which I earned to my father, he fainted with scare after only heard a few words! During military service, the biggest worry was that I still had to worry about parents' chores.

Fig 3. Author still had to worry about family chores while serving in the military

My client wanted me to go to the United States to help develop new products. The two suitcases were so heavy that they were inspected and inspected by the customs. I was asked again and over again: "Why do you bring so many books?" I answered that "For developing the satellite receiver." The eyes of questioner were blank for a moment, and he didn't know how to ask further.

Fig 4. “Satellite Receiver” still visible today

After arriving in New York, I immediately went to the Barnes & Noble bookstore and bought the necessary books to read – because, in fact, I had no idea about satellite receivers at all; however, after reading the related books, I became the core figure of the R&D team. It’s because reading is not easy, so I thought that “Only idiots have books but don’t read them.”

In New York, the most important thing was of course to see "Edison" (a town in New Jersey). Because Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) once had a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he invented electrical products that changed the way people live. —I have given my family a lot of gold just by making some of the relevant small parts.

Edison once said that "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this—you haven't." He also expressed that "My achievements, they’re just one percent hard work and in addition to ninety-nine percent luck.”

At first, I couldn't realize what he said at all; after understanding it deeply, I realized that to achieve something, you must work harder and harder. Even sharpening a knife which required half a year of study, not to mention inventing something unprecedented that should require infinite effort. And all efforts only account for 1% of the success rate, the so-called "LUCK" (99%) is from God's silent help.

When I was nine years old, if I had not been assassinated to lie in a pool of blood, and my mind enlightened by the heavenly light, I would not have seen the "way to improve poverty"; I started to practice those mechanic skills step by step, improving my craftsmanship year after year. The Most High also allowed me to wait until I graduated from elementary school as I wished. During those three years, I happened to participate in my father’s invention—This was something no one else can touch.

My cousin brother gave me the “Biography of Edison” appropriately and let me know about the British physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). Because Faraday's family was poor and he had no formal education, he had to work to earn a living since he was a kid. At the age of 14, Faraday worked as an apprentice in a bookstore. During seven years, he read a large number of books, which enriched his knowledge and laid a good foundation.

Faraday was lucky enough to have someone give him tickets to hear a lecture by Sir Humphry Davy (1778~1829), President of the Royal Institution; Faraday worked hard to listen to lectures and take notes, and showed Davy 300 pages of notes, which moved Davy and gave him the opportunity to serve the highly respected Davy. This gave Faraday, who was born in a humble background, the opportunity to contact the scientific elite of Europe. Later he became a fellow of the Royal Institution. His " Faraday's law of induction " led to the creation of the generator.

Faraday became valuable for the sake of reading books. His " Introduction to Electricity" inspired Edison, and "Edison's Biography" deeply influenced me, and I gradually learned to make good use of the knowledge in the book to attain my goals.

When I started my business, I had few references. Fortunately, my cousin uncle, Professor Yao Jing-bo, worked in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Cheng Kong University. He gave me "Basic Electricity" and I had a preliminary understanding of resistors/capacitors/inductors. Through his introduction, I got to know Professor Ma Cheng-jiu; Ma gave me the "Introduction to Machinery" as a present to help me understand how to use theory and integrate it into practice.

Fig 5. Professor Yao Jing-bo and the author

Copper products need to be soaked in nitric acid to become shiny, but they will emit toxic smoke, which is quite harmful to health. In addition to imparting his experience, Mr. Ma suggested buying "Electroplating Science" and reading it—After comprehensive summarization, I prepared a mixture of nitric acid/sulfuric acid/glacial acetic acid/phosphoric acid and water, which was completely smokeless and odorless when in contact with copper products, so I was able to digest a large number of orders.

Then I went to the Kai-Yuan Road Cemetery to find Brother Wang, who sold various acids, and asked him for assistance that "Is there anyone willing to take over the pickling and electroplating work?" If it was able to make money, of course you can find the vendors and gradually establish local supply chains.

In the past, there was a Chi-Yuan Bookstore in Taipei that came to sell new books. I bought all the books which needed for reference and really helped my clients resolving various problems. Therefore, I got a nickname "Dr. Blacksmith" from them. When in New York, I indeed couldn’t miss the famous Barnes & Noble bookstore.

In 1979, when I arrived in New York, I immediately went to salute to Edison— my respected senior. Although it was hit hard by two oil crises, there was ticket booth and shop selling souvenirs in "Menlo Park" New Jersey, and crowded with tourists, showing that everyone was still interested in Edison's contributions. When I visited Menlo Park again in 2004, it seemed quite desolate. The ground was covered with fallen leaves, there was no ticket booth, and the door to the souvenir shop was locked. I had to squat down to clean the fallen leaves at the "Edison Memorial Stone" before I could see the statue of Edison and the American flag clearly. It seemed that Edison has fallen out of fashion, and no-one had interest in Edison's spirit any more.

Fig 6. Author and Edison Memorial Stone

An Edison Memorial Tower stood alone in a vacant lot, but from the words engraved on the tower's outer wall, we can see Edison's significant contribution to the world. When Thomas was a child, he saw his mother having an operation for appendicitis. It was very dangerous to operate by lighting a kerosene lamp at night, so he made a wish: "I will invent a 'sun at night' in the future, so that the operation will not be too dangerous." It can be seen that Edison’s original intention of inventing the electric lamp was out of compassion.

Edison really invented the tungsten electric light at the laboratory with his assistant in 1878; he further invented the "DC Generator" the next year. Edison was eager to share "Electric Lamp" with the world, hoping that could deliver people from the darkness and enter the kingdom of light, so he and his wife Mary founded the "General Electric Company" (GE) in 1882— until the 21st century, it is still the world's largest enterprise. One-third of the world's electricity and related facilities are supplied by GE. You can imagine its far-reaching influence..

Edison advocated "Community-based Power Supply", and used "Small Power Sites" for near field transmission to provide the power needs of end users locally. Since widespread commercialization required huge funds, he invited J. P. Morgan (1837~1913) to participate in investment, and then used the resources of the capital market to attain his ideals. However, Morgan knew that the amount of money could earn in Edison's way was limited, so he decided to use an "Alternator" to build a hydroelectric power plant in Niagara Falls, the northernmost part of New York for generating the electricity, and to construct high-voltage power towers for long-distance power transmission and distribution. Install those electric poles and substations, turned them into public utilities, mounted electricity meters in every household, and collected electricity bills every month.

Fig 7. The water in Niagara Falls seems endless

Edison insisted on using direct current, and claiming that "It is good for environmental protection and harmless to human health." At that time, because he could not provide data to prove his persistence, he was ridiculed by his competitors and fell out with Morgan. In the end, the Edisons were kicked out of the company they founded, and Mary died in depression in 1884 at the age of 29.

The death of Mary Edison (1855~1884) represented the rampant injustice; the consequence is that mankind must bear the "Catastrophe". The widowed Edison immersed himself in Menlo Park and developed many of the "Consumer Electronics" products needed today. They were the audio-visual equipment that were commonly used today -- such as "Recorders, Cameras, Televisions..." and so on, which created a colorful world. And silently continued to improve the generator to develop towards natural energy and bio-energy. The above mentioned was all Edison's contributions.

Without the generator and improved "battery" invented by Edison, there would be no cars, airplanes, ships, or submarines; however, due to the greed and lack of social responsibility of some people, Edison's "Concept of Electricity Utilization" failed to be implemented. A bunch of contemporary scholars and experts mocked that "Ah, Edison's inventions are all rough experimental results!" They distorted the original intention of technological development--"Universal Concern" that caused irreparable mistakes and laid the foundation for "Ecological Catastrophe".

What is less well known is that Edison set up a "Botanic Lab". The year after Mary's death -- 1885, when he traveled more than 2,000 kilometers from New York in the northeast to Fort Myers, Florida in the southeast, he spent US$2,700 to buy 13 acres of land (approximately 53,000 square meters). In addition to built a vacation house called "Seminole Lodge", a botanical laboratory was later established here. The banyan trees planted for research are now well-established and green.

Fig 8. The Banyan Trees Planted by Edison

It still snows in May in New Jersey, and it’s already very cool in September, so there are mostly tall trees and fewer types of plants; However, Florida has plenty of sunshine and a rich variety of plants. Edison mainly studied plants related to "Phenolic and Rubber" – including rubber trees, castor and hemp. When World War I broke out in 1914, he also helped the U.S. government develop some plant-derived products that were beneficial to soldiers.

Fortunately, Edison met his second wife "Mina Miller" (1865~1947) in 1886. Mina, unlike Mary, was expertise on public relations, made much efforts on protecting her husband's privacy and promoted Edison's achievements to increase his reputation. Mina personally planted thousands of plants in Fort Myers. Today, this botanic laboratory" has become an the "American Chemical History Museum" as local landmark.

Fig 9. Edison's 73rd birthday with Mina (cited from the Internet)

Edison built a "Glenmont" manor in West Orange, New Jersey, where Mina hosted many celebrities, including President Hoover and Wilson, the king of Sweden and Siam, environmentalists, and those famous musical artists recorded on Edison's phonograph records, and “Henry Ford” (1863 ~1947) who later became a leader of automobile industry. Mina raised the children, managed the large manor, and protected Edison from the distractions and annoyances that might diminish his creativity. Thomas Edison passed away in West Orange, NJ, New Jersey, USA on October 18, 1931, at the age of 84. He was highly respected during his lifetime.

The base materials for electric lamps include ceramics, but the most suitable material for processing is "Phenolic" compound -- commonly known as "Electric Wood" (bakelite). Phenolic resin was first synthesized by German chemist Adolf von Baeyer (1835~1917) in 1872; American chemist Leo Baekeland (1863~1944) improved the production technology of phenolic resin and commercialized it in 1907. In 1910, he established the General Baekeland Company and gave the phenolic resin the trademark name "Bakelite" -- so electric wood is also called "ベークライト".

Bakelite is an “insulated material” necessary for electronic appliances. Because the supply source in Japan was quite unstable at that time -- the price would rise and out of stock whatever they like; consequently, we started making our own bakelite in 1972 to ensure that there would be no shortage of insulating materials for our products. Incredibly, we were producing those insulated materials in “electric leakage” unexpectedly. After research with Professor Yao, it was found that the proportion of "Graphite Additives" was wrong, which caused the conductive phenomenon. Professor Ma, a battery expert, smiled and called it a "Major Discovery".

In 1998, I went to National Cheng Kung University to see Professor Yao for the last time. I showed him the "TranSmart Power Chip" that was as thin as a stamp; Professor Yao was startled, and I explained to him that "The concept was derived from the leakage of electricity in bakelite boards back then." He responded: "This is already beyond the scope of my knowledge." However, we had a consensus that the advanced development of TranSmart Power Chip is a solution to the future energy consumption issue.

Fig 10. Advanced TranSmart Power Chip is a solution

Bakelite's advanced product "Printed Circuit Board" (PC Board) has become a widely used material. The American firm "RCA" that came to Taoyuan to set up a factory during the authoritarian era used discarded PC boards to contaminate groundwater sources, causing the cadmium rice incident and turning the land there into a permanent abandoned farmland in Luzhu, Taoyuan.

Copper wires are used to conduct electricity and are covered with rubber to prevent electric shock. However, burning rubber will produce "Dioxin", which will damage the environment and seriously harm human health. Edison's invention had to be applied those bakelite and copper wire, so that excessive use would definitely harm the human body and ecology.

After the outbreak of World War I, Edison built a factory to produce "Phenolic Compound"(C₇H₆O₂)for industrial, pharmaceutical and military purposes to avoid shortage of raw materials originally imported from Germany. Phenol comes from "coal"; and "Formaldehyde" is a naturally occurring organic compound. In 2011, the US National Toxicology Program declared that "Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen." Formaldehyde aqueous solution, also known as "Formalin", is said to be a material used in ancient Egypt to preserve corpses and make mummies. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that "Formaldehyde is to be a Level 1 carcinogen." Its effects on human health include allergies, irritation of smell, damage to liver and lung function, abnormal immune function, induction of asthma in children, damage to the retina, effects on fertility, and causes memory and intelligence decline in adolescents, among other things.

Edison, who was environmentally aware at the time, discovered the problem of "Phenolic Compounds" after several years of contact and began to try to research alternative raw materials. He expected to find solutions from the “Botany” such as trees and flowers, so every year in October, a large convoy named "The Vagabonds" headed south from West Orange travel to “Fort Myers”. It’s not just family and friends who were traveling with Edison, there were also many work partners and their families.

The families went to warm Florida to spend the winter, and Edison and his colleagues immersed themselves in the botanic laboratory. He once used Leavenworth's Goldenrod to make a rubber substitute. After tens of thousands of experiments, they finally selected "Hemp" for in-depth research. It's pity that Edison's research of "Plant Substitution" came to an end with his death in 1931.

Henry Ford(1863~1947), who worked as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company before starting his own business, later became an automobile king. He was also a key member of Edison's large convoy south to Fort Myers, Florida. Perhaps influenced by his old employer Edison, Ford developed a strong interest in "Plant Research"; and he found the properties of "Soybean" among all kinds of things, and developed materials that could be used in automobiles—except for “Engines, Transmissions, Glass and Tires”, almost all other parts could be made from soybeans—he called "Natural Car". Unfortunately, research was suspended due to the outbreak of World War II.

Fig11. Botanic Lab in Fort Myers

When I was in New York in 1979, I could quickly integrate into the local society through college and church. Some friends noticed that I always read full pages. At that time, there was a semester in two months course in New York. I finished it quickly and wrote the thesis fluently. Those friends with the degrees of Ph.D. suggested that "The current recession is so bad and you have so many resources. Why not stay a few more years to lay a solid foundation and get a Ph.D.." In fact, I had this intention, but when I heard the call from my parents, I rushed back to Taiwan, entered the temptation of "tailor-made" by them, and encountered evildoing.

At the end of 1992, Mrs. Ruth Handler invited me to a Christmas party in Los Angeles, hoping that I would care about the business she founded again. Meanwhile, someone recommend a lumber mill in America that could be used for "Botanic Research" coincidentally. Therefore, during the Lunar New Year of 1993, I took my wife and children to America, planned to resettle them in Seattle and start my career in the United States. Unfortunately, the bad attitude of the U.S. Customs caused the whole family to return to Taiwan. It also delayed the research and development of new energy materials.

The "UN Climate Summit" (COP 26) postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, and held in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021. Representatives from more than 190 countries discussed how to reduce the use of polluting petrochemical raw materials. The initiative of "Total Energy Supply"—also acronym as “TES" advocated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to reduce fossil raw materials year by year while increasing the proportion of bio-based raw materials used.

My "TES Initiative" at the APEC CEO Summit – to replace minerals with plants, replace mines with farms, and develop the "Carbohydrate Economy" (CE) to reduce the "Hydrocarbon Economy" (HE) was widely recognized. The "War of Carbohydrates and Hydrocarbons" that was triggered at that time has evolved to this day and it is clear that the former has won; Its contribution will make the goal of "Net Zero Emissions" (NZE2050) feasible. Therefore, everyone should go to Fort Myers to review Edison’s “Botanic Research” literature.

Edison invented the tungsten electric lamp in 1878 and the DC generator in 1879. His first "Small Power Site" was built on Pearl Street in New York in 1882; on September 4, Edison provided 110 volts of "Direct Current” (DC) to the customers in Manhattan, and the Pearl Street's Small Power Site launched the world's first power transmission system. However, a big war also started at the same time with George Westinghouse, Jr. (1846~1914), who advocated "Alternating Current" (AC). This AC and DC power war involved many participants and resulted in heavy casualties. The final outcome was that Edison lost his wife and lost his reputation, so he had to fade away from the trouble land of New York, and stop his project of small power sites. Since then, the world had become a landscape of “alternating current boosting” and "long-distance transmission", with electricity towers, electric poles and substations. The power generation methods had also changed from water power/ thermal power to radioactive materials, causing a catastrophic disaster that is difficult to deal with.

Recently, many conferences have been held. American Representative read the content of "TES" and responded that "The eStore is an Energy Storage, as well as a small power site and supply station. TES will promote 'supply chain reorganization links' and form a new Industrial chain." Recall that in addition to botanic research, Edison also invested in iron ore research; presumably he had been looking for commonly available raw materials to implement his ideas on electricity applications. If Edison hadn't suffered a major blow, perhaps the near field transmission of "Small Power Sites" and "Community-based Power Supply" had already been achieved from the beginning, the development of the energy world should be very different.

Fig 12. Restart the cultivation and research of "Golden Flower"

Today, when we look back at the deeds of our predecessors, we can review the past and learn the new, and we can speculate on the future path from their footsteps. When most people understand the truth of social responsibility investment, with the "Atypical" processing technology developed over the years, if we can concentrate on research, we may be able to produce a series of "Bio-based" energy products that everyone is affordable within a few years. Opportunities are intertwined. Hoping that the authorities can be prudent this time, do something but not wrongdoing, pay attention to emerging technologies and “Universal Concern” at the same time, and further create an economic society of righteousness to benefit all.

Peter Lichang Kuo, the author created

Taiwan

's Precision Industry in his early years. He was a representative of the APEC CEO Summit and an expert in the third sector. He advocated "anti-corruption (AC)/cashless/e-commerce (E-Com)/ICT/IPR/IIA-TES / Micro-Business (MB)…and etc." to win the international bills and regulations.

References:

Kuo, Lichang (2022). Open the Way for Next Generation IV. Kaohsiung: KSI.