During the 50 years of Elihu Thomson, one of America’s fore most prolific inventors, who had been granted 696 patents by the US patent office on his inventions ranging from generators, electric welding machines, arc lights, to x-ray tubes. Of all of his inventions, the recording wattmeter was nearest and dearest to his heart. The wattmeter is an instrument used for measuring the amount of electricity used in s or on businesses premises . Thomson and Edwin Houston join together to build one of the first electrical companies. Thompson compatriot and friend Edwin Houston was a professor of science. As a matter of fact, Elihu Thomson was lighting the streets of Kansas City Missouri with his system a good six months before Thomas Edison opened his first power station in New York where he lit up street light, shops and other businesses premises. Eventually the two stations along others would be merged under the one name of General Electric. The unification of the Thomson-Houston and Edison General Electric companies brought much progress within the electric companies. General Electrics even had outlets in Europe and South America. Although Thomson was the first set up an electric system, it was Thomas Edison who was the first to invent the phonograph in 1877. The Scientific American Journal editors, were amongst the first eye witness of the Thomas Edison’s newest creation. They were rather somewhat apprehensive as to what Edison's new fandangled machinery was about. However, RCA’s manufacturer and a member of the corporation Westinghouse, was the first to get a commercial broadcasting license. Thomas Edison did not have any interest in radio broadcasting, he was more into his phonograph. |
