these projects, Edison allowed his
experimenters pursue divergent solutions different
aspects the system, thus encouraging range creative
responses.3
the selected material into porous carbon electrodes which were
then placed test tube filled with the electrolyte, thus
forming small battery.^ Following this strategy, Edison and
his staff investigated several different electrochemical
combinations from 1899 1904, and this research program is
. Eventually, Edison gathered these different ideas
and shaped them into coherent and successful invention.
Likewise with the phonograph 1888 and 1889, Edison and
his experimenters did not systematically modify each component
in orderly sequence but rather experimented simultaneously
with record cylinders, recorders, reproducers, and duplicating
7
techniques. S
summarized Table 1. For instance, with the electric light
project, Edison and his men moved easily from working the
lamp the dynamo the meter; designed coherent system,
in part, because his team worked all fronts once.
This table shows that taking this time-consuming,
step-by-step approach analyzing each component the
battery, Edison was organizing his research new way.
In contrast this free-wheeling and divergent approach,
. In
particular, was dividing the project into new set of
tasks. Previously, Edison had used teams experimenters to
pursue simultaneously several different solutions a
technological challenge
