Thomas Edison on solar power

[snopes]

Comment: Is this true?

"I'd put my money on solar energy...I hope we don't have to wait till oil
and coal run out before we tackle that." Thomas Edison, in conversation
with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, March 1931

[Troberg]

Where there even any viable techonlogies for harnessing solar power in 1931?

[Logoboros]

I was suspicious that the notion of running out of oil would have even been very well formulated in the thirties, as well as the term "solar energy" (The OED lets us down in terms of tracking "solar energy" -- it doesn't include it among its collocations for "solar").

But clearly I'm very wrong. This article outlines the history of the development of solar power, and though it doesn't include the Edison quote, it shows the identical sentiment being expressed in the last third of the nineteenth century:

The earliest known record of the direct conversion of solar radiation into mechanical power belongs to Auguste Mouchout, a mathematics instructor at the Lyce de Tours. Mouchout began his solar work in 1860 after expressing grave concerns about his country's dependence on coal. "It would be prudent and wise not to fall asleep regarding this quasi-security," he wrote. "Eventually industry will no longer find in Europe the resources to satisfy its prodigious expansion. Coal will undoubtedly be used up. What will industry do then?" By the following year he was granted the first patent for a motor running on solar power and continued to improve his design until about 1880.

So it sounds entirely plausible that Edison might have said this in 1931.

--Logoboros

[Troberg]

So it sounds entirely plausible that Edison might have said this in 1931.

On the other hand, we have since found new oild deposits and make more efficient use of oil, so what is the relevance even if he said it?

And Nikola Tesla would be considered a wash-out and a might-have-been. Oh, wait...

To be fair, Tesla has been re-evaluated recently and recognized as the brilliant scientist he was. Many of Edison's inventions were actually made by Tesla, for example.

What I find so amazing with Tesla was that he was not locked down into his speciality field. If he needed something outside it, he made brilliant inventions there as well, such as my favourite, the Tesla valvular conduit ( http://patimg2.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=...iew+first+page ).

[ganzfeld]

True quote or not, I think this book is the origin of the story:
Uncommon Friends: Life with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel, and Charles Lindbergh(p. 31)

[Logoboros]

Originally Posted by Troberg

On the other hand, we have since found new oild deposits and make more efficient use of oil, so what is the relevance even if he said it?

Seriously? Unless I'm really misunderstanding your interpretation, this would be like saying an ancient philospher's claim statement that all men die is "irrelevant" because we've added as much as forty years onto the average lifespan since his day!

--Logoboros

[Troberg]

Seriously? Unless I'm really misunderstanding your interpretation, this would be like saying an ancient philospher's claim statement that all men die is "irrelevant" because we've added as much as forty years onto the average lifespan since his day!

Well, at least we've bought ourselves some time. Sometimes, that's enough for something else to come along.

Personally, I still believe that the ultimate power source would be to harness the force of continental drift.

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by snopes

"I'd put my money on solar energy...I hope we don't have to wait till oil
and coal run out before we tackle that." Thomas Edison, in conversation
with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, March 1931

Well, if he put $100 into solar energy in 1931 it would be worth what today? A couple pennies?

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Originally Posted by jimmy101_again

Well, if he put $100 into solar energy in 1931 it would be worth what today? A couple pennies?

Heh. This is Thomas Alva Edison. We'd have a fusion-based energy economy. We'd have a Mars base. We'd have quantum computers.

We'd all have those flying cars that we were supposed to have.

And Nikola Tesla would be considered a wash-out and a might-have-been. Oh, wait...

Silas