Previous attempts to make a light bulb used a low resistance filament. This didn’t work as well as planned because very large amounts of current were required to run these bulbs. Edison had a separate idea from everyone else. He decided to try and use a very high resistance filament but with just a little bit of current. This idea agrees with Ohm’s law, which states that Voltage= Current X Resistance. The Voltage output is the same with a low resistance and high current. The lower current allowed him to use thinner copper wire. This helped out with the total cost of Edison’s lighting system, not only was he able to use less copper wire but the amount of current was less as well. The next problem for him to get rid of was if one light went out all the lights would go out. To fix this problem he used parallel circuits instead of just series. This also allowed people in houses to turn on just one light instead of having to turn on all the lights in the house.
September 17, 2008 at 1:05 pm |
I believe that this is a great mix of both the most technically accomplished and complete and the most understandable for non-specialist readers. You explain in great detail what ohm’s law is and what it does by breaking down the formula. You also explain Edison’s thinking for the light bulb and what he had to do.
September 17, 2008 at 1:14 pm |
I vote for best for general audiences.
I believe that you went into a lot of basic detail but missed a little bit on the more extra stuff that a more technically aware audience would of wanted.
September 17, 2008 at 1:17 pm |
This i think is the best technical because it shows the law and how to break it down. Also it gives you the best over veiw over how Edison would have used it and how he used it in his exsperiments.
September 17, 2008 at 1:23 pm |
I vote this one for combination of both most technically accomplished and most understandable for the general reader. This briefly explains Ohm’s Law and how Edison incorporated into his work. This also explains why Edison wanted to use parallel circuits instead of series circuits.