In 1876, Edison began work to improve the microphone for telephones (at that time called a "transmitter") by developing a carbon microphone, which consists of two metal plates separated by granules of carbon that would change resistance with the pressure of sound waves. A steady direct current is passed between the plates through the granules and the varying resistance results in a modulation of the current, creating a varying electric current that reproduces the varying pressure of the sound wave. Thomas Edison has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, television shows, comics and video games. His prolific inventing helped make him an icon, and he has made appearances in popular culture during his lifetime down to the present day. Edison is also portrayed in popular culture as an adversary of Nikola Tesla. [156] People who worked for Edison Scientific American. Munn & Company. July 13, 1878. p.21. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021 . Retrieved June 7, 2021. In the first public demonstration of his incandescent lightbulb, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison lights up a street in Menlo Park, New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company ran special trains to Menlo Park on the day of the demonstration in response to public enthusiasm over the event.

Edison's last breath is reportedly contained in a test tube at The Henry Ford museum near Detroit. Ford reportedly convinced Charles Edison to seal a test tube of air in the inventor's room shortly after his death, as a memento. [118] A plaster death mask and casts of Edison's hands were also made. [119] Mina died in 1947. History of Edison Motion Pictures". Archived from the original on December 8, 2010 . Retrieved October 14, 2007.Thomas Edison". Greater Sudbury Heritage Museums. Archived from the original on September 10, 2010 . Retrieved December 30, 2007. On January 19, 1883, the first standardized incandescent electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Roselle, New Jersey. In 1983, the United States Congress, pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 140 (Public Law 97–198), designated February 11, Edison's birthday, as National Inventor's Day. [154] When it was built, the West Orange lab complex was probably one of the largest in the world. But the factory buildings surrounding it were much larger. Here Edison could not only make new inventions, but manufacture them to sell to the world.

Charles Edison (1890–1969), Governor of New Jersey (1941–1944), who took over his father's company and experimental laboratories upon his father's death. [128] Gabriela: This was an innovative way of getting input from all different sources and keeping roles fluid. But having access to these new ways of thinking wasn't enough to compete with other science teams. The shared workspace at Menlo Park allowed the divergent thinking to become shared thinking, As historian Paul Israel points out: Lighting A Revolution: 19th Century Promotion". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013 . Retrieved July 23, 2013.Shulman, Seth (1999). Owning the Future. Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 158–160. ISBN 9780395841754. Samuel Insull – started in 1881, rose to become VP of General Electric (1892) then President of Chicago Edison

Edison was labeled an atheist for those remarks, and although he did not allow himself to be drawn into the controversy publicly, he clarified himself in a private letter:a b "Edison Comes Out Unqalifiedly for Suffrage". Passaic Daily News. October 7, 1915. p.12. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021 . Retrieved August 2, 2021– via Newspapers.com.

Gabriela: In exchange, the competitive Edison gave his team a challenge by stating in a number of newspapers that he would light up a square mile of Manhattan with incandescent light. Any day now. But progress had been slow. There was mounting pressure and a growing sense of frustration from the public at large and especially from Edison's investors. Thomas Edison's Greatest Invention". atlantic.com. October 13, 2019. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019 . Retrieved October 17, 2019. Edison's Companies – The Edison Papers". Archived from the original on October 8, 2013 . Retrieved December 30, 2016. Baldwin, Neil. 2001. Edison: Inventing the century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 97–98.Gabriela: Not only had Edison broken a large problem into smaller parts and assigned different people to those parts, the team itself was in a constant process of reiteration. Try something, maybe make it better or maybe fail and try it again. As historian Robert Friedel puts it: