By Christopher Murphy CHAPTER 13to spark new ideas, Edison was able to amass a huge portfolio of patents.
According to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Edison held 1,093
successful US patents and well in excess of a thousand patents beyond the
US. The sheer number of patents Edison registered is striking, and proof
that his applied research laboratory had no shortage of ideas. His patents
are available to peruse at Rutgers’ fascinating archive^8 and they individu-
ally represent facets of the process of invention and are a window into a
world filled with fascinating ideas. Collectively they comprise Edison’s true
calling, as a leader and orchestrator of extremely intelligent individuals.
Edison’s talent lay in surrounding himself with highly primed minds,
with whom he could have interesting and wide-ranging discussions, which
sparked new ideas by virtue of dialogue and exchange. Edison filed nu-
merous patents for separate, exploratory ideas that cumulatively lead to
the light bulb he is credited for. In each case, teams of researchers worked
to create and refine, orchestrated by him. Edison showed that successful
ideas are collaborative in nature and a good conductor can deliver great-
ness simply by understanding and harnessing that.
In fact, and contrary to popular opinion, Edison did not invent the first
electric light bulb, but instead invented the first commercially practical
incandescent light. (The words “commercially practical” are guaranteed to
appeal to any self-respecting business person.) Numerous earlier inventors
had devised incandescent lamps, including Alessandro Volta’s demonstra-
tion of a glowing wire in 1800 (over eight decades before Edison’s patent).
These early bulbs suffered from varying flaws — extremely short
life spans, high production costs, and a need for high electric currents —
making them difficult to apply on a large scale commercially. After many
experiments with platinum and other metal filaments, Edison returned
to a carbon filament. It was not until several months after the patent was
granted that Edison and his team discovered a carbonized bamboo fila-
ment that could last over 1,200 hours.