दिव्याच्या शोधामागचे दिव्य Divyachya Shodhamagche Divya (The Greatness Behind the Discovery of the Bulb)

वसंत ऋतूत सुट्टी घालवण्यासाठी एडिसन मित्रांसह एका खेडेगावात गेला. सूर्यग्रहणामुळे भर दिवसा अंधार पसरला, तेव्हा एडिसन विचारात गढला होता. त्याला स्वस्त व सामान्य माणसालाही उपयोगी पडेल असा प्रकाश देणारा दिवा शोधण्याची कल्पना सुचली. मित्रांनी याची थट्टा केली, पण एडिसनने हे आव्हान स्वीकारले.

During the spring, Thomas Edison went with friends to a mountain village to spend a few days' holiday. A solar eclipse occurred at the time, plunging broad daylight into darkness. While his friends chatted merrily, Edison seemed lost in thought. When a friend asked him about it, Edison explained he was thinking of inventing something cheap that would give light and be useful to the common person in daily life. His friends laughed it off, but since pursuing an idea once it struck him was Edison's hallmark, he took up this challenge seriously.

याआधी सर हंफ्रे डेव्हींनी कार्बनच्या तुकड्यांपासून एक दिवा तयार केला होता, पण तो खर्चीक होता आणि त्यातून विषारी वायू निघे. एडिसनला मात्र स्वस्त, दीर्घकाळ टिकणारा व सुरक्षित असा दिवा हवा होता.

Though Edison accepted the challenge, the task was far from simple. Earlier attempts at artificial lighting had already been made - Sir Humphry Davy had created a lamp for use in mines, with carbon pieces attached to the ends of wires, producing a dazzling light when brought close together. But producing this light was expensive, and it also released dangerous toxic fumes. Edison wanted a light that would last long, cost little, not be too intense, and carry no risk of toxic gas - and it was this problem that occupied his mind.

एडिसनने प्लेटिनम वापरून पाहिले, पण ते महाग होते. एकदा पंख्याच्या बांबूकडे लक्ष जाताच त्याने बांबूपासून कार्बन तयार करता येईल का, याचा विचार केला. त्याच्या सहकाऱ्यांनी आफ्रिकेत हिंस्र प्राणी व मलेरियाशी सामना करत सहा हजार प्रकारचे बांबू गोळा केले. एडिसनचे चहा-जेवण-झोप सर्व प्रयोगशाळेतच होत असे.

Edison first tried platinum, achieving some success, but it proved too costly to be practical. One summer day, fanning himself, his eye fell on the bamboo stick of the fan, and it struck him whether carbon could be made from bamboo. To find the right variety, Edison's associates travelled thousands of miles on foot across Africa, constantly battling wild animals and malaria, and Edison, spending money lavishly, gathered six thousand varieties of bamboo. During these experiments, Edison's tea, meals and sleep all happened at his laboratory desk - grabbing a bite standing up when hungry, dozing off sitting down when tired. Yet whenever he found a moment's leisure, he would take his associates fishing by the sea or to musical performances, returning to work once refreshed.

एडिसनने प्रत्येक प्रयोगाची पद्धतशीर नोंद वहीत ठेवली - दोनशे वह्यांत चाळीस हजार पाने भरली गेली! टीकाकारांनी हे 'फुकट' म्हटले, पण एडिसनने उत्तर दिले की फसलेल्या प्रयोगांमुळे नंतरच्या संशोधकांचा वेळ वाचतो. दहा-बारा वर्षांच्या अथक प्रयत्नांनंतर टंगस्टन धातूचा प्रयोग यशस्वी झाला.

At first every idea seemed promising, but each experiment revealed its flaws. Edison kept a systematic record of every experiment and its results in notebooks - his two hundred notebooks eventually ran to forty thousand pages. Some critics said all this effort was wasted, since most entries recorded failed experiments. Edison responded pointedly that failed experiments were never wasted, because they spared future researchers from repeating the same trials, saving them time and effort. After ten to twelve years of relentless experimentation, the tungsten filament finally proved successful.

शोध जगाला दाखवण्यासाठी एडिसनने आपल्या घराभोवती मोठा मांडव उभारून विविध आकाराचे-रंगाचे दिवे लावले. २१ ऑक्टोबर १८७९ रोजी ही रोषणाई पाहायला संपूर्ण गाव जमले आणि बातमी जगभर पसरली. पन्नास वर्षांनंतर अमेरिकेने हा दिवस मोठा उत्सव म्हणून साजरा केला.

Once this crucial discovery was made, Edison found a way to announce it to the world - he erected a massive canopy around his house at Menlo Park and arranged a dazzling display of lights of every shape and size, in trees, bushes, the yard, and the terrace, ranging from pea-sized to pumpkin-sized bulbs. On 21 October 1879, the whole village turned out to see this spectacle, and newspapers carried the news around the world. Later, on 21 October 1929, when this invention's fiftieth anniversary arrived, the whole of America celebrated it as a grand festival - the President of the United States honoured Edison, and the postal department issued special stamps bearing an image of the bulb.