Great but great inventions

Scientific inventions are an integral part of human development.In it, it is impossible not to mention the inventions that its birth comes from a mistake, an unintended achievement or an accident.

Here are 10 of these inventions as noted by Discovery news site .

1. Penicillin

Penicillin is considered one of the inventions thanks to the most famous 'occupational accident' of the 20th century.

One day in 1928, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming forgot to clean up his workplace before going on holiday. When he returned, he discovered a strange mold on some cultures. Even stranger, the bacteria don't seem to grow on those batches of bacteria.

In 1940, scientists at Oxford University successfully separated penicillin and developed it into the first human antibiotic.

So far, penicillin is still the most commonly used antibiotic.

2. Pacemaker

American engineer Wilson Greatbatch created a pacemaker in one mistake.

When Wilson was trying to create an oscillator to help record the sound of the heartbeat, he made a mistake. However, Wilson still recorded the heartbeat. Since then, he has successfully built a pacemaker with the support of Mr. William Chardack.

The first successful experiment in 1959 helped Wilson become the first in the world to build a pacemaker.

3. Dye

At the age of 18, in a research effort to cure malaria, chemist Brother William Perkin created something that changed the face of fashion and helped fight cancer.

It was in 1856, when Perkin tried to create a kind of artificial security, the result that the young scientist obtained was a black solution.

When observing it, Perkin realized a beautiful color inside. And he found himself creating the first synthetic dye.

This dye is much better than natural dye. Colors are brighter, more vivid, do not fade or fade when washed.

His discovery also became a precursor to a new science. However, the story has not stopped there. German microbiologist Paul Ehrlich used Perkin's dye to explore immunotherapy and chemotherapy in medicine.

4. Radiation

In 1896, French physicist Henri Becquerel was fascinated by two things: natural fluorescence and X-rays.

He conducted a series of experiments to see if natural fluorescing minerals produce X-rays when they are exposed to the sun. However, Henri Becquerel conducted experiments in the winter and for a week, the sky was overcast. So he put the devices together in a drawer and waited for the sunny day.

One day when he returned to work, Henri recognized the uranium stones he had placed in the drawer that had printed its mark on a photograph without exposure to sunlight. Henri worked with Marie, Pierre Curie and discovered that it was radioactive.

5. Plastic

In 1907, shellac was used as an insulating material in the Western electronics industry. Therefore, this industry always has to spend large sums of money to import this material from Southeast Asia.

In such a situation, Belgian chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland thought he could earn a big profit if a new material replaced shellac was produced. However, his experiments created a material that did not change shape under high temperature. Baekeland thinks it can be used in making records. But, more than what he wanted, the material he found had thousands of different uses. Now plastic can be found everywhere.

6. Rubber vulcanization

American scientist Charles Goodyear has spent a decade of his life looking for ways to make rubber easier to use and resistant to heat and cold. However, his research failed. Until one day, he accidentally dumped a mixture of rubber, sulfur and lead into a hot oven. Under high temperature, the rubber melted but not destroyed. When the process ended, Goodyear found the mixture hardened but still useful.

From his discovery, countless vulcanized rubber products were born and used everywhere.

7. Non-sticking agent

American chemist Roy Plunkett in the process of researching to find a new form of CFC (chlorofluorocarbon), which is used in refrigeration technology, said that if possible, a compound called TFE reacts with a Hydrochloric acid, he can produce the desired refrigerant. Therefore, Plunkett cooled TFE, compressed it in a small box for him to use when needed.

After a while, he opened the box to get TFE mixed with hydrochloric acid, there was nothing left in the box. Frustrated and angry, he removed the lid of the box and shook it. It was then that he spotted a fine white powder. Plunkett experimented and found that it has good heat resistance and anti-sticking effect.

With this invention, Plunkett was granted a patent in 1941. The new substance was named Teflon in 1944.

8. Coke

There are many foods that have been born in random cases, but perhaps no food has a special and secret history like Coke.

The John Pemberton pharmacist in Atlanta (USA) in an effort to cure headaches mixed different ingredients and create a drink. And this drink, after 8 years sold in pharmacies, has become a popular drink all over the world. So far, the recipe for this drink is still a secret.

9. Smart dust

When American student Jamie Link was working on a doctorate in chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, one of the chips she was handling exploded. Later, Link discovered that small pieces of the chip still acted as sensors.

What she called this 'smart dust' helped her to win the top prize of the university inventor competition in 2003. These tiny sensor devices can be used to filter water. drink or sea water, detect dangerous biological and chemical agents in the air, and even locate and destroy cancer cells in the body.

10. Sugar chemistry

In 1879, Russian-German chemist Constantin Fahlberg was studying applications for coal tar in the laboratory of the famous scientist when it was Ira Remsen. When he returned home to have dinner with his wife and forgot to wash his hands, he noticed a strange sweetness from the dish that day.

He asked his wife and she said nothing else. Later, he discovered that sweetness came from chemical derivatives that he spilled on his hands.

The next day, he went to the lab and continued to study the derivative and discovered saccharin (a sugar), an invention that he was granted a patent in 1880.

Today, saccharin is commonly used in many low-calorie and sugar-free products.