Thomas Edison
Short History Of...
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The Life and Times of Edison
In 1876, the U.S. patent office grants a patent to Alexander Graham Bell for his invention of the telephone. As soon as he hears of it, Edison knows that he should have come up with it. Now he fears the telephone will overtake the telegraph altogether. So do Western Union, who set Edison to work on improving Bell's creation. He coats Bell's transmitter with a substance, and discovers it gives a much clearer signal down the phone line. Once he perfects it, it becomes industry standard. But a new idea is obsessing him, recording, and playing back sound. No one has ever come close, but he feels it's within his grasp.
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