Accidents During Scientific Experiments That Led to Discoveries

Accidents During Scientific Experiments That Led to Discoveries

Falling fruit on Newton's head as he sat under an apple tree was a coincidence that made him wonder why any heavier object was rapidly approaching the earth and thus the theory of gravity and one of the most important discoveries came.

Similarly, in the world of science, there are many inventions and discoveries based on an accident. In the nineteenth century, during various scientific experiments, such accidental events took place which paved the way for discoveries.

The use of nitroglycerin was common until the 19th century. This was in 1833, when Alfred Noble was considering possible ways to prevent nitroglycerin from exploding accidentally.

It is known that one day during the deliberations and experiments, a can of nitroglycerin leaked and the discharge was absorbed into the non-combustible wood chips. When the sawdust dried, Alfred Nobel showed it fire and it exploded according to its characteristics.

This minor accident led to the invention of safe and controlled dynamite to replace nitroglycerin for local and military needs.

It was 1839 when chemist Charles Goodair prepared a mixture of rubber, sulfur and lead in the laboratory and it suddenly slipped from his hand and fell on the fire stove. This minor accident opened a new avenue of discovery and invention.

Chemist Charles Goodair observed that the mixture, instead of melting, took on a solid form with a hard outer surface and a soft inner surface. It accidentally became the world's first vulcanizing tire and proved to be very useful and useful for the automobile industry.

Alexander Fleming began work to control the influenza virus in 1928, during which time he had to take a two-week leave. When he returned after the holidays, he found that the laboratory tray in which he had cultured the bacteria had a fungus on it, and a study revealed that the fungus had stopped the bacteria from growing.

After this observation and experiment, Alexander Fleming further worked on the nature of the fungus and discovered penicillin-like and the era of antibiotics began.