the wizard of menlo park be deeply responsible for many thing we take for grant in 2007 represent even if he do not invent them without rival or assistant and he give birth to the electric light and the phonograph and the motion picture camera and the electric car battery and the electric power grid ( possibly his most important but least recalled invention ) and the pre fabricate house and and innovation to the telephone and telegraph and as well a the ticker tape machine and an early voting machine . the total number of patent be over 1 and 000 far more than any other american inventor . but edison be a ruthless business competitor . he frequently have vast legal fight over the precedence of his invention over rival . the best example be the telephone and where he be one of seven or eight rival with claim against alexander graham bell . actually edison invention here be not the central idea that bell and gray have come up with independently of each other in 1876 and but an improvement on the sound quality of the phone receiver and transmitter that bell do not develop . still it be part of the huge 1888 supreme court decision that be the long u. s. supreme court decision ( a single volume of their report . ) write by chief justice morrison waite which and by the way and kill the poor chief justice from overwork within week of complete it . in 1886 edison find an equally ruthless competitor in the area of electric power grid for large city . this be george westinghouse and inventor of the railroad air break . westinghouse firm have get the assistance of a new inventor and and former edison assistant and nicola tesla . tesla develop alternate current and which be a rival system to edison direct current . edison system be basically a straight circuit system of electricity . tesla system allow the current to be switch from one circuit to another actually it be a good and and more efficient system . but edison be determine to break this rival by a publicity campaign . it start with electric power line . edison early on have his line put underground and so that they would not be endanger by weather condition . but westinghouse be force to have his line out in the open like telephone line . when there be several accidental death by repair linemen on westinghouse line ( in particular one incident where the repairman be burn alive in front of hundred of horrified onlooker in manhattan business district ) and edison start insist that a. c. current be far more dangerous that d. c. one result of all this be edison help some subsidiary inventor with get westinghouse a. c. generator and dynamo for an electric chair . edison himself always deny that he invent the electric chair and but he help several less figure along the way for the complete story read mark essig edison and the electric chair ( new york represent walker and company and 2003 ) . edison experiment himself with cat and dog ( experiment he be glad to show the public ) . in the long run and despite assist in the invention of a new method of execution and edison fail to dislodge the public support of alternate current . but he never stop try . in 1903 he have an opportunity to combine his campaign against westinghouse and a. c. with his invention of the motion picture camera . he assist in put down a well know public elephant ( topsy ) who have kill several men . he do so by electrocute the poor beast with a. c. but the entire killing be on film and one can view it to this day . it be a pitiful look film whatever poor topsy have do it be a poor beast not a machiavellian murderer . the moment we see the explosion of electricity spark that show the death of the elephant and we be aware it will soon be over and but the sudden collapse of topsy be still an unpleasant sight to view . the film leave a bad flavor in the mouth of modern movie audience . yet and sad to say and it probably make a profit for edison his description of the film in his catalog of film show real pride in his accomplishment here . in 1903 it may have be excite entertainment for many american watch it . one be glad that more people be appal by it today sometimes one can sense the human race have improve a little bit .