Existing comment:
Metallurgical Laboratory (closed to the public) -- Building 4:
Metals were vital to Thomas Edison – from iron, copper, and various alloys used in new inventions to gold for plating phonograph record molds. Here in the metallurgical laboratory, workers collected, assayed, and evaluated the metals used for Edison's projects.
In the 1890s Edison employees experimented with the magnetic extraction of iron from low-grade ore. But by 1900, discovery of high-grade ore deposits dashed Edison's hopes of making a profit from milling New Jersey's low-grade ores. After losing millions, Edison stated, "Well, it's all gone, but we had a . . . good time spending it!"
Later, Building 4 was put to non-metallurgical uses. Experiments in sound recording and phonograph record supplication were conducted in this building before 1903. By 1912 much of the experimental work concentrated on the diamond disc phonograph. |