Some discoveries are made by chance and without much effort.

There are discoveries that researchers pore over for years, or even decades. And some are done by chance and without much effort. These latter will be discussed below:

Sir Fleming (1881 - 1955) - British bacteriologist. He discovered lysozyme (an antibacterial enzyme produced by the human body) and for the first time isolated penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum - historically the first antibiotic. (iwm.org.uk)

21 Penicillin

The medical breakthrough penicillin was accidentally discovered by Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming (pictured above) when he returned from vacation to notice that the bacteria had been killed by an unknown strain of fungus.

20 Microwave radiation

One day, Percy Spencer, an engineer working for Raytheon, noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket melted after he walked in front of a magnetron (a microwave-generating electron tube). A few years later, he put his observation into practice by giving the world the microwave oven.

19 Velcro fasteners

The sticky properties of burdock prompted the Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral to create a textile fastener that operates on a similar principle in 1941. Having examined burdock flowers under a microscope, consisting of microhooks, all that remained for him was to make the second half of the Velcro - microloops.

18 Teflon

In an attempt to replace the then-dangerous coolants in refrigerators with something more suitable and less dangerous, DuPont scientist Roy Plunket invented a surface that was resistant to high temperatures and chemicals - Teflon.

17 Vulcanized rubber

In the 1830s, rubber's inability to withstand extreme temperatures led many to retire the material altogether. However, Charles Goodyear did not give up hopes of creating new tires. And his own clumsiness helped him in this: he simply dropped the sample on the stove and, lo and behold, it did not catch fire.

16 Coca-Cola

John Pemberton was not a businessman. He just wanted to find a cure for migraines. The recipe was simple: coca leaves and cola nuts. But his assistant accidentally mixed these two ingredients with soda - and Coca-Cola was born.

15 Radioactivity

In 1896, French scientist Henri Becrel was working on an experiment where an enriched uranium crystal burned an image onto a photographic plate using sunlight... or so he thought at the time. One cloudy day, he decided to postpone the experiment until better weather, and put everything he needed in a dresser drawer. A few days later, Henri discovered that the uranium crystal was still emitting rays and “fogged” the plate with them.

14 Corn flakes

Keith Kellogg helped his brother, who worked at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. One day, while preparing bread from cornmeal, they had to go away. The dough was spoiled and had lumps, but they still decided to bake bread from it. Those same lumps turned out crispy and became a real hit among the patients of the sanatorium.

13 Saccharin

Konstantin Fahlberg, a scientist at Johns Hopkins University, accidentally took some components of the experiment home. At dinner, he noticed that the bread was unusually sweet, despite the fact that it contained no sugar. Then Fahlberg realized that it was bread from the laboratory.

12 Pacemaker

Wilson Greatbatch, while developing a device to record animal heartbeats at Cornell University, mistakenly used the wrong transistor. Turning on the device, he realized that the impulses it emitted were very reminiscent of the rhythm of the human heart.

11 Modern anesthesia

For a long time, alcohol was the most famous and preferred anesthesia by doctors. But in the early 19th century, doctors discovered that ether and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) temporarily relieved pain.

10 Chewing gum for hands

During World War II, while trying to create a replacement for synthetic rubber, James Wright accidentally spilled boric acid into silicone oil. The result was a strange, stringy substance with no obvious uses. In 1950, Peter Hodgson saw the potential of this strange polymer as a children's toy, better known in America as Silly Putty.

9 Slinky Spring

In 1943, engineer Richard James, who served in the Navy, tried to develop a spring that would be able to stabilize sensitive instruments on ships. When she accidentally dropped one of her springs and began to “step”, Richard came up with the idea for a wonderful Slinky toy.

8 Potato chips

Chef George Croom invented potato chips in 1853, literally to spite one of his demanding customers. When this discerning customer once again sent him back fried potatoes with the wording “not crispy enough,” George Croom cut the potatoes as thin as he could, fried them in oil and salted them well. This is how potato chips were born.

7 Fireworks

It's no secret that fireworks were invented about 2000 years ago in China. According to legend, charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter were accidentally mixed in a bamboo tube to produce this beautiful effect.

6 Soft plasticine Play-Doh

Plasticine was invented completely by accident in 1955 by Joseph and Noah McVicker in a futile attempt to make a wallpaper cleaner. Later, such plasticine began to be produced as a children's educational toy by the Rainbow Craft company.

5 Superglue

In 1942, Dr. Harry Coover regrettably came to the conclusion that cyanoacrylate, his discovery, was of no use. This substance stuck tightly to everything it touched.

4 Chocolate chip cookies

The story goes that the owner of the Toll House Inn home-cooking restaurant, Mrs. Wakefield, was making chocolate chip cookies when she suddenly ran out of cocoa powder. She replaced it with pieces of regular chocolate, naively believing that they would melt and mix with the dough. And it's good that she was wrong.

3 Fruit ice

In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Iperson left a cup of soda on his porch. The night turned out to be cold, the temperature below zero did its job. After 2 decades, fruit ice has become known to many people.

2 Stainless steel

For thousands of years, metallurgists have wondered what to add to a steel alloy to make it resistant to rust. Many years have passed in searches with varying success. And in 1922, Harry Brearley noticed in experiments that one of the samples had not lost its shine. The same sample of an alloy of steel and chromium.

1 Plastic

In 1907, Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland set out to find a replacement for shellac. By experimenting with formaldehyde, phenol and their heating temperature and mixing them with wood flour, asbestos, and shale dust, he invented plastic - a plastic material, at the same time quite hard and heat-resistant. The name “plastic” itself came later, but we bet there’s something made from it within arm’s reach right now next to you.

Sources:

Natalya Ladchenko, 10th grade, MAOU Secondary School No. 11, Kaliningrad, 2013

Abstract on physics

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Annotation.

Abstract "Accidental discovery."
Nomination “The Amazing is Nearby”.

10 “A” class MAOU secondary school No. 11

In this essay, we have broadly covered the topic affecting laws and discoveries, in particular accidental discoveries in physics, and their connection with the future of man. This topic seemed very interesting to us, because the accidents that led to the great discoveries of scientists happen to us every day.
We have shown that laws, including the laws of physics, play an extremely important role in nature. And they highlighted the important thing that the laws of nature make our Universe knowable, subject to the power of the human mind.

They also talked about what a discovery is and tried to more specifically describe the classification of physics discoveries.

Then, they described all the discoveries with examples.

Having dwelled on random discoveries, we spoke more specifically about their significance in the life of mankind, about their history and authors.
To give you a more complete picture of how unexpected discoveries happened and what they mean now, we turned to legends, refutations of discoveries, poetry and biographies of authors.

Today, when studying physics, this topic is relevant and interesting for research. In the course of studying the accidents of discoveries, it became clear that sometimes we owe a breakthrough in science to an error that has crept into calculations and scientific experiments, or to not the most pleasant character traits of scientists, for example, negligence and carelessness. So or not, you can judge after reading the work.

Municipal autonomous educational institution of the city of Kaliningrad, secondary school No. 11.

Abstract on physics:

"Accidental discoveries in physics"

In the “Amazing Nearby” category

Students of class 10 "A".
Head: Bibikova I.N.

year 2012

Introduction………………………………………………………....3 pp.

Classification of discoveries………………………………….....3 p.

Accidental discoveries………………………………………………………..... 5 pp.

The law of universal gravitation………………………………… 5 pages.

Law of buoyancy of bodies…………………………………………..11 p.

Animal electricity……………………………………...15 p.

Brownian motion……………………………………………………17 p.

Radioactivity…………………………………………………………….18 p.

Unforeseen discoveries in everyday life………20 pp.

Microwave oven……………………………………………22 pages.

Appendix………………………………………………………24 pages.

List of references……………………………25 pages.

Nature laws - the skeleton of the universe. They serve as support for it, give it shape, and tie it together. All together they embody a breathtaking and majestic picture of our world. However, perhaps most importantly, the laws of nature make our Universe knowable, subject to the power of the human mind. In an era when we stop believing in our ability to control the things around us, they remind us that even the most complex systems obey simple laws that the average person can understand.
The range of objects in the universe is incredibly wide - from stars thirty times the mass of the sun to microorganisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye. These objects and their interactions constitute what we call the material world. In principle, each object could exist according to its own set of laws, but such a Universe would be chaotic and difficult to understand, although logically it is possible. And the fact that we do not live in such a chaotic universe was largely a consequence of the existence of the laws of nature.

But how do laws come about? What leads a person to realize a new pattern, to create a new invention, to discover something completely unfamiliar, etc.? It's definitely a revelation. A discovery can be made in the process of observing nature - the first step towards science, during an experiment, experience, calculations, or even... by accident! We'll start with what discovery is.

Discovery and establishment of previously unknown objectively existing patterns, properties and phenomena of the material world, introducing fundamental changes in the level of cognition. A discovery is a scientific proposition that represents a solution to a cognitive problem and is novel on a global scale. Scientific guesses and hypotheses should be distinguished from discovery. The establishment of a single fact (also sometimes called a discovery), including geographical, archaeological, paleontological, mineral deposits, as well as a situation in the field of social sciences, is not recognized as a discovery.

Classification of scientific discoveries.
There are discoveries:

Repeated (including simultaneous).

Predicted.

Unforeseen (random).

Premature.

Lagging ones.

Unfortunately, this classification does not include one very important section - errors that became discoveries.

There is a certain category foreseen discoveries. Their appearance is associated with the high predictive power of the new paradigm, which was used for their forecasts by those who made them. Foreseen discoveries include the discovery of the satellites of Uranus, the discovery of noble gases, based on the predictions of the periodic table of elements developed by Mendeleev, he predicted them based on the periodic law. The discovery of Pluto, the discovery of radio waves based on Maxwell's prediction of the existence of another wave, also falls into this category.

On the other hand, there are very interestingunforeseen, or as they are also called random discoveries. Their description came as a complete surprise to the scientific community. This is the discovery of X-rays, electric current, electron... The discovery of radioactivity by A. Becquerel in 1896 could not have been foreseen, because... the immutable truth about the indivisibility of the atom dominated.

Finally, there are the so-called lagging discoveries, they were not implemented for a random reason, although the scientific community was ready to do so. The reason may be a delay in theoretical justification. Telescopes were used already in the 13th century, but it took 4 centuries to use 4 pairs of glasses instead of one pair of glasses and thus create a telescope.
The delay is associated with the nature of the technical property. Thus, the first laser started working only in 1960, although theoretically lasers could have been created immediately after the appearance of Einstein’s work on the quantum theory of stimulated emission.
Brownian motion is a very late discovery. It was made using a magnifying glass, although 200 years have passed since the microscope was invented in 1608.

In addition to the above discoveries, there are discoveries repeated. In the history of science, most of the fundamental discoveries related to the solution of fundamental problems were made by several scientists who, working in different countries, came to the same results. In science, repeated discoveries are studied. R. Merton and E. Barber. They analyzed 264 historically recorded cases of reopening. Most of the 179 are binary, 51 are ternary, 17 are quaternary, 6 are quinary, 8 are hexenary.

Of particular interest are casessimultaneous discoveries,that is, those cases when the discoverers were literally hours apart. These include the Theory of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin and Wallace.

Premature discoveries.Such discoveries occur when the scientific community is unprepared to accept a given discovery and denies it or does not notice it. Without understanding of the discovery by the scientific community, it cannot be used in applied research and then in technology. These include oxygen, Mendel's theory.

Random discoveries.

From historical data it becomes clear: some discoveries and inventions are the result of painstaking work by several scientists at once, other scientific discoveries were made completely by accident, or, on the contrary, the hypotheses of the discoveries were kept for many years.
If we talk about random discoveries, it is enough to recall the well-known apple that fell on Newton’s bright head, after which he discovered universal gravitation. Archimedes' bath prompted him to discover the law regarding the buoyant force of bodies immersed in a liquid. And Alexander Fleming, who accidentally came across mold, developed penicillin. It also happens that we owe a breakthrough in science to an error that has crept into calculations and scientific experiments, or to not the most pleasant character traits of scientists, for example, negligence and carelessness.

There are many coincidences in people's lives, which they take advantage of, receive a certain pleasure and do not even imagine that they need to thank His Majesty chance for this joy.

Let us dwell on a topic affecting random discoveries in the field of physics. We did a little research on discoveries that have changed our lives to some extent, such as Archimedes' principle, microwave oven, radioactivity, x-rays, and many others. Let us not forget that these discoveries were not planned. There are a huge number of such random discoveries. How does such a discovery occur? What skills and knowledge do you need to have? Or are attention to detail and curiosity the keys to success? To answer these questions, we decided to look at the history of accidental discoveries. They turned out to be exciting and educational.

Let's start with the most famous unexpected discovery.

Law of Gravity.
When we hear the phrase “accidental discovery,” most of us come to the same thought. Of course, we remember the well-knownNewton's apple.
More precisely, the famous story is that one day, while walking in the garden, Newton saw an apple fall from a branch (or an apple fell on the scientist’s head) and this prompted him to discover the law of universal gravitation.

This story has an interesting history. It is not surprising that many historians of science and scientists have tried to determine whether it is true. After all, for many it seems just a myth. Even today, with all the latest technologies and abilities in the field of science, it is difficult to judge the degree of authenticity of this story. Let's try to reason that in this accident there is still room for the scientist's thoughts to be prepared.
It is not difficult to assume that even before Newton, apples fell on the heads of a huge number of people, and from this they only got bumps. After all, none of them thought about why apples fall to the ground and are attracted to it. Or I thought about it, but did not bring my thoughts to a logical conclusion. In my opinion, Newton discovered an important law, firstly, because he was Newton, and secondly, because he constantly thought about what forces make celestial bodies move and at the same time be in balance.
One of Newton's predecessors in the field of physics and mathematics, Blaise Pascal, expressed the idea that only prepared people make accidental discoveries. It is safe to say that a person whose head is not occupied with solving any task or problem is unlikely to make an accidental discovery about it. Perhaps Isaac Newton, if he had been a simple farmer and family man, would not have pondered why the apple fell, but only witnessed this very undiscovered law of gravity, like many others before that. Perhaps if he were an artist, he would take a brush and paint a picture. But he was a physicist, and was looking for answers to his questions. Therefore, he discovered the law. Dwelling on this, we can conclude that chance, which is also called luck or fortune, comes only to those who look for it and who are constantly ready to make the most of the chance given to them.

Let us pay attention to the proof of this case and the supporters of this idea.

S.I. Vavilov, in his excellent biography of Newton, writes that this story is apparently reliable and is not a legend. In his reasoning, he refers to the testimony of Stuckley, a close acquaintance of Newton.
This is what his friend William Steckley, who visited Newton on April 15, 1725 in London, says in “Memoirs of the Life of Isaac Newton”: “Since it was hot, we drank afternoon tea in the garden, in the shade of spreading apple trees. It was just the two of us. Between Among other things, he (Newton) told me that in the same exact situation the idea of ​​gravity first came to his mind. It was caused by the fall of an apple, when he was sitting, lost in thought. Why does the apple always fall vertically, he thought to himself, why not. to the side, but always towards the center of the Earth. There must be an attractive force in matter, concentrated in the center of the Earth. If matter pulls other matter in this way, then it must exist.

proportionality to its quantity. Therefore, the apple attracts the Earth just as the Earth attracts the apple. There must, therefore, be a force similar to that which we call gravity, extending throughout the entire universe.”

Obviously, these reflections on gravity date back to 1665 or 1666, when, due to an outbreak of plague in London, Newton was forced to live in the countryside. The following entry was found in Newton’s papers regarding the “plague years”: “... at this time I was at the height of my inventive powers and thought about mathematics and philosophy more than ever since.”

Stucklay's testimony was little known (Stackley's memoirs were published only in 1936), but the famous French writer Voltaire, in a book published in 1738 and dedicated to the first popular presentation of Newton's ideas, gives a similar story. At the same time, he refers to the testimony of Katharina Barton, Newton’s niece and companion, who lived next to him for 30 years. Her husband, John Conduit, who worked as an assistant to Newton, wrote in his memoirs, based on the story of the scientist himself: “In 1666, Newton was forced to return from Cambridge to his estate Woolsthorpe for some time, since there was a plague epidemic in London. When he Once he was relaxing in the garden, and at the sight of a falling apple, the idea occurred to him that the force of gravity is not limited to the surface of the Earth, but extends much further. Why not to the Moon? Only 20 years later (in 1687) were published. Mathematical principles of natural philosophy", where Newton proved that the Moon is held in its orbit by the same gravitational force under the influence of which bodies fall to the surface of the Earth.

This story quickly gained popularity, but raised doubts among many.

The great Russian teacher K.D. Ushinsky, on the contrary, saw a deep meaning in the story of the apple. Contrasting Newton with so-called secular people, he wrote:

“It took the genius of Newton to suddenly be surprised that an apple fell to the ground. All-knowing people of the world are not surprised by such “vulgarities”. They even consider surprise at such ordinary events a sign of a petty, childish, not yet formed practical mind, although at the same time they themselves are often surprised at actual vulgarities.”
In the journal "Modern Physics" (English "Contemporary Physics") for 1998, the Englishman Keesing, a teacher at the University of York, who is interested in the history and philosophy of science, published an article "The History of Newton's Apple Tree." Keesing is of the opinion that the legendary apple tree was the only one in Newton’s garden, and provides stories and drawings with its images. The legendary tree outlived Newton by almost a hundred years and died in 1820 during a severe thunderstorm. A chair made from it is kept in England, in a private collection. This discovery, perhaps truly an accident, has served as a muse for some poets.

The Soviet poet Kaisyn Kuliev conveyed his thoughts in poetic form. He wrote a small, wise poem “Living in Wonder”:
"Great creations are born

Is it because sometimes somewhere

Ordinary phenomena are surprising

Scientists, artists, poets."

Let me give you a few more examples of how the story of the apple was reflected in fiction.

Newton's compatriot, the great English poet Byron, in his poem Don Juan, begins canto ten with the following two stanzas:
“It happened that the apple fell and broke

Newton's deep thoughts

And they say (I won’t answer

For the sages' guesses and teachings),

He found in this a way to prove

The force of gravity is very clear.

With the fall, therefore, only he is the apple

Was able to cope with Adam's times.

* * *

We fell from apples, but this fruit

He raised up the wretched human race again

(If the given episode is true).

Newton's road

Suffering was relieved by heavy oppression;

Since then, many discoveries have been made,

And, sure enough, we will go to the moon someday,

(Thanks to the couples *), let us guide the way.”

Translation by I. Kozlov. In the original "steam engine".

Vladimir Alekseevich Soloukhin, a prominent representative of village prose, somewhat unexpectedly wrote on the same topic in the poem “Apple”:

"I am convinced that Isaac Newton

The apple that opened

To him the law of gravity,

That he is his

Ultimately, he ate it.”

Finally, Mark Twain gave the whole episode a humorous twist. In the story “When I Served as a Secretary” he writes:

“What is glory? A creation of chance! Sir Isaac Newton discovered that apples fall to the ground - honestly, such trifling discoveries were made by millions of people before him. But Newton had influential parents, and they inflated this trivial incident into an extraordinary event, and the simpletons took up their cry. And then in an instant Newton became famous.”
As was written above, this case had and still has many opponents who do not believe that the apple led the scientist to the discovery of the law. Many people have doubts about this hypothesis. After the publication of Voltaire’s book in 1738, dedicated to the first popular presentation of Newton’s ideas, controversy arose about whether it really was so? It was believed that this was another invention of Voltaire, who was considered one of the wittiest people of his time. There were people who were even outraged by this story. Among the latter was the great mathematician Gauss. He said:

“The apple story is too simple; whether the apple fell or not is the same; but I do not understand how one can suppose that this incident could hasten or retard such a discovery. It probably went like this: one day a stupid and impudent man came to Newton and asked him how he could achieve such a great discovery. Newton, seeing what kind of creature was standing in front of him, and wanting to get rid of him, replied that an apple fell on his nose, and this completely satisfied the curiosity of that gentleman.”

Here is another refutation of this case by historians, for whom the gap between the date of the fall of the apple and the discovery of the law itself has suspiciously stretched out.
An apple fell on Newton.

This is more likely a fiction, the historian is sure. - Although, after the memoirs of Newton’s friend Stekeley, who allegedly said from Newton’s own words that he was inspired by the law of universal gravitation by an apple falling from an apple tree, this tree in the scientist’s garden was a museum exhibit for almost a century. But another friend of Newton's, Pemberton, doubted the possibility of such an event. According to legend, the falling apple event occurred in 1666. However, Newton discovered his law much later.

Biographers of the great physicist claim: if the fruit fell on the genius, it was only in 1726, when he was already 84 years old, that is, a year before his death. One of his biographers, Richard Westfall, notes: “The date itself does not disprove the veracity of the episode. But, given Newton’s age, it is somehow doubtful that he clearly remembered the conclusions drawn then, especially since in his writings he presented a completely different story.”

He composed the tale of the falling apple for his beloved niece Katherine Conduit, in order to popularly explain to the girl the essence of the law that made him famous. For the arrogant physicist, Katerina was the only one in the family to whom he treated with warmth, and the only woman he ever approached (according to biographers, the scientist never knew physical intimacy with a woman). Even Voltaire wrote: “In my youth I thought that Newton owed his successes to his own merits... Nothing of the sort: fluxions (used in solving equations) and universal gravitation would have been useless without this lovely niece.”

So did an apple fall on his head? Perhaps Newton told his legend to Voltaire’s niece as a fairy tale, she passed it on to her uncle, and no one was going to doubt the words of Voltaire himself, his authority was quite high.

Another guess on this matter goes like this: A year before his death, Isaac Newton began to tell his friends and relatives an anecdotal story about an apple. Nobody took her seriously, except for Newton’s niece Katerina Conduit, who spread this myth.
It is difficult to know whether this was a myth or an anecdotal story of Newton's niece, or indeed the likely sequence of events that led the physicist to the discovery of the law of universal gravitation. Newton's life and the history of his discoveries have become the subject of close attention of scientists and historians. However, there are many contradictions in Newton's biographies; This is probably due to the fact that Newton himself was a very secretive and even suspicious person. And there were not so frequent moments in his life when he revealed his true face, his structure of thoughts, his passions. Scientists are still trying to recreate his life and, most importantly, his work from surviving papers, letters, and memories, but, as one of the English researchers of Newton’s work noted, “this is largely the work of a detective.”

Perhaps Newton’s secrecy and his reluctance to let strangers into his creative laboratory gave rise to the legend of the falling apple. However, based on the proposed materials, the following conclusions can still be drawn:

What was certain about the apple story?
That after graduating from college and receiving his bachelor's degree, Newton left Cambridge in the fall of 1665 for his home in Woolsthorpe. Cause? The plague epidemic that swept through England - in the village there is still less chance of becoming infected. It is now difficult to judge how necessary this measure was from a medical point of view; in any case, she was not superfluous. Although Newton was apparently in excellent health, in his old age he

retained his thick hair, did not wear glasses and lost only one tooth - but who knows how the history of physics would have turned out if Newton had remained in the city.

What else happened? There was undoubtedly also a garden at the house, and in the garden there was an apple tree, and it was autumn, and at this time of year, apples, as you know, often spontaneously fall to the ground. Newton also had a habit of walking in the garden and thinking about the problems that worried him at that moment; he himself did not hide this: “I constantly keep the subject of my research in my mind and patiently wait until the first glimpse gradually turns into a full and brilliant light.” . True, if we assume that it was at that time that the glimmer of a new law illuminated him (and we can now assume so: in 1965 Newton’s letters were published, in one of which he directly speaks about this), then the expectation of “full brilliant light” It took quite a long time - twenty years. Because the law of universal gravitation was published only in 1687. Moreover, it is interesting that this publication was not made on Newton’s initiative; he was literally forced to express his views by his colleague at the Royal Society, Edmond Halley, one of the youngest and most gifted “virtuosos” - that’s what people who were “sophisticated in the sciences” were called at that time. Under his pressure, Newton began to write his famous “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.” First, he sent Halley a relatively small treatise “On Motion.” So, perhaps, if Halley had not made Newton present his conclusions, the world would not have heard this law 20 years later, but much later, or heard it from another scientist.

Newton received worldwide fame during his lifetime; he understood that everything he created was not the final victory of reason over the forces of nature, for knowledge of the world is endless. Newton died on March 20, 1727 at the age of 84. Shortly before his death, Newton said: “I don’t know what I may seem to the world, but to myself I seem only like a boy playing on the shore, amusing myself by finding from time to time a pebble more colorful than usual, or a beautiful shell, while while the great ocean of truth spreads out before me unexplored.” ,,.

Law of buoyancy of bodies.

Another example of an accidental discovery is the discovery Archimedes' law . The well-known “Eureka!” belongs to his discovery. But more on that later. To begin with, let's dwell on who Archimedes is and why he is famous.

Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician, physicist and engineer from Syracuse. He made many discoveries in geometry. He laid the foundations of mechanics and hydrostatics, and was the author of a number of important inventions. Already during the life of Archimedes, legends were created around his name, the reason for which was his

amazing inventions that had a stunning effect on their contemporaries.

It is enough to just glance at the “know-how” of Archimedes to understand how far this man was ahead of his time and what our world could have become if high technology had been adopted in antiquity as quickly as it is today. Archimedes specialized in mathematics and geometry - two of the most important sciences underlying technological progress. The revolutionary nature of his research is evidenced by the fact that historians consider Archimedes one of the three greatest mathematicians of mankind. (The other two are Newton and Gauss)

If we are asked which discovery of Archimedes is the most important, we will begin to sort through - for example, his famous: “Give me a fulcrum, and I will turn the Earth over.” Or the burning of the Roman fleet with mirrors. Or the definition of pi. Or the basics of integral calculus. Or a screw. But we will still not be completely right. All the discoveries and inventions of Archimedes are extremely important for humanity. Because they gave a powerful impetus to the development of mathematics and physics, especially a number of branches of mechanics. But here's something else interesting to notice. Archimedes himself considered his highest achievement to be the determination of how the volumes of a cylinder, sphere and cone relate. Why? He explained simply. Because these are ideal figures. And it is important for us to know the relationships between ideal figures and their properties, so that the principles contained in them can be brought into our far from ideal world.
"Eureka!" Who among us has not heard this famous exclamation? “Eureka!”, that is, found, Archimedes exclaimed when he figured out how to find out the authenticity of the gold of the king’s crown. And this law was discovered again by chance:
There is a well-known story about how Archimedes was able to determine whether the crown of King Hiero was made of pure gold or whether the jeweler mixed a significant amount of silver into it. The specific gravity of gold was known, but the difficulty was to accurately determine the volume of the crown: after all, it had an irregular shape.

Archimedes pondered this problem all the time. One day he was taking a bath, and then a brilliant idea came to his mind: by immersing the crown in water, you can determine its volume by measuring the volume of water displaced by it. According to legend, Archimedes jumped naked into the street shouting “Eureka!”, i.e. “Found it!” And indeed at that moment the fundamental law of hydrostatics was discovered.

But how did he determine the quality of the crown? To do this, Archimedes made two ingots: one of gold, the other of silver, each of the same weight as the crown. Then he put them one by one in a vessel with water and noted how much its level had risen. Having lowered the crown into the vessel, Archimedes established that its volume exceeded the volume of the ingot. Thus the master’s dishonesty was proven.

Now Archimedes' law sounds like this:

A body immersed in a liquid (or gas) is subject to a buoyancy force equal to the weight of the liquid (or gas) displaced by this body. The force is called the Archimedes force.
But what was the cause of this accident: Archimedes himself, the crown, the weight of gold of which had to be determined, or the bathroom in which Archimedes was in? Although, it could be all together. Is it possible that Archimedes was led to his discovery only by chance? Or is the very preparation of the scientist involved in this to find a solution to this issue at any time? We can turn to Pascal's expression that accidental discoveries are made only by prepared people. So, if he had simply taken a bath, without thinking about the king’s crown, he would hardly have paid attention to the fact that the weight of his body was displacing water from the bath. But he was Archimedes to notice this. It was probably he who was ordered to discover the fundamental law of hydrostatics. If you think about it, you can conclude that some chain of obligatory events leads to the accidental discovery of laws. It turns out that these same random discoveries are not so random. Archimedes had to take a bath to accidentally discover the law. And before he accepted it, his thoughts should have been occupied with the problem of the weight of gold. And at the same time, one must be mandatory for the other. But it cannot be said that he would not have been able to resolve the issue if he had not taken a bath. But if there was no need to calculate the mass of gold in the crown, Archimedes would not have rushed to discover this law. He would just take a bath.
This is the complex mechanism of our, so to speak, accidental discovery. A lot of reasons led to this very accident. And finally, under ideal conditions for the discovery of this law (it’s easy to notice how the water rises when a body is immersed, we all saw this process) a prepared person, in our example Archimedes, simply grasped this thought in time.

However, many doubt that the discovery of the law was exactly that way. There is a refutation to this. It sounds like this: in reality, the water displaced by Archimedes does not say anything about the famous buoyancy force, since the method described in the myth only allows one to measure the volume. This myth was propagated by Vitruvius, and no one else reported the story.

Be that as it may, we know that there was Archimedes, there was Archimedes’ bath and there was the king’s crown. Unfortunately, no one can draw unambiguous conclusions, therefore, we will call the accidental discovery of Archimedes a legend. Whether it is true or not, everyone can decide for themselves.

Scientist, distinguished teacher and poet Mark Lvovsky wrote a poem dedicated to the famous case of science with a scientist.

Archimedes' Law

Archimedes discovered the law

Once he was washing himself in the bath,

Water poured onto the floor,

He guessed it then.

Force acts on the body

That's how nature wanted it,

The ball flies like an airplane

What doesn't sink, floats!

And in the water the load will become lighter,

And he will stop drowning,

Oceans along the Earth,

The ships are conquering!

All historians of Rome describe in great detail the defense of the city of Syracuse during the Second Punic War. They say that it was Archimedes who led it and inspired the Syracusans. And he was seen on all the walls. They talk about his amazing machines, with the help of which the Greeks defeated the Romans, and for a long time they did not dare to attack the city. The following verse adequately describes the moment of the death of Archimedes, during that very Punic War:

K.Ankundinov. Death of Archimedes.

He was thoughtful and calm,

I'm fascinated by the mystery of the circle...

Above him is an ignorant warrior

He swung his robber sword.

The thinker drew with inspiration,

Only a heavy burden squeezed my heart.

“Are my creations going to burn?

Among the ruins of Syracuse?

And Archimedes thought: “Will I sink?

Am I laughing at the enemy?”

With a steady hand he took the compass -

Conducted the last arc.

The dust was already swirling over the road,

That is the path to slavery, to the yoke of chains.

"Kill me, but don't touch me,

O barbarian, these drawings!

Centuries have passed in strings.

The scientific feat has not been forgotten.

Nobody knows who the killer is.

But everyone knows who was killed!

No, not always funny and narrow

The sage, deaf to the affairs of the earth:

Already on the roads in Syracuse

There were Roman ships.

Above the curly mathematician

The soldier raised a short knife,

And he's on a sandbank

I entered the circle into the drawing.

Oh, if only death were a dashing guest -

I was also lucky to meet

Like Archimedes drawing with a cane

At the moment of death - a number!

Animal electricity.

The next discovery is the discovery of electricity inside living organisms. In our table, this is a discovery of an unexpected type, however, the process itself was also not planned and everything happened according to a “chance” familiar to us.
The discovery of electrophysiology belongs to the scientist Luigi Galvani.
L. Galvani was an Italian doctor, anatomist, physiologist and physicist. He is one of the founders of electrophysiology and the study of electricity, the founder of experimental electrophysiology.

This is how what we call an accidental discovery happened...

At the end of 1780, a professor of anatomy in Bologna, Luigi Galvani, was studying in his laboratory the nervous system of dissected frogs, which just yesterday had been croaking in a nearby pond.

It happened quite by chance that in the room where in November 1780 Galvani was studying the nervous system of frogs using preparations, his friend, a physicist, was also working, conducting experiments with electricity. Galvani absent-mindedly placed one of the dissected frogs on the table of the electric machine.

At this time, Galvani's wife entered the room. A terrible picture appeared before her eyes: when there were sparks in an electric machine, the legs of a dead frog, touching an iron object (a scalpel), twitched. Galvani's wife pointed this out to her husband in horror.

Let us follow Galvani in his famous experiments: “I cut up a frog and, without any intention, placed it on a table where an electric machine stood at some distance. By chance, one of my assistants touched the frog’s nerve with the end of a scalpel, and at the same moment the frog’s muscles shuddered as if in convulsions.

Another assistant, who usually helped me in experiments on electricity, noticed that this phenomenon occurred only when a spark was drawn from the conductor of the machine.

Struck by the new phenomenon, I immediately turned my attention to it, although at that moment I was planning something completely different and was completely absorbed in my thoughts. I was filled with an incredible thirst and zeal to explore this and shed light on what was hidden underneath.”

Galvani decided that it was all about electric sparks. To get a stronger effect, he hung several prepared frog legs on copper wires on an iron garden trellis during a thunderstorm. However, lightning - giant electrical discharges - did not in any way affect the behavior of the prepared frogs. What lightning could not do, wind did. When the wind gusted, the frogs swayed on their wires and sometimes touched the iron bars. As soon as this happened, the paws twitched. Galvani, however, attributed the phenomenon to lightning electrical discharges.

In 1786 L. Galvani declared that he had discovered “animal” electricity. The Leyden jar was already known - the first capacitor (1745). A. Volta invented the mentioned electrophoric machine (1775), B. Franklin explained the electrical nature of lightning. The idea of ​​biological electricity was in the air. L. Galvani's message was greeted with immoderate enthusiasm, which he fully shared. In 1791, his main work, “Treatise on the Forces of Electricity in Muscular Contraction,” was published.

Here is another story about how he noticed biological electricity. But it is naturally different from the previous one. This story is something of a curiosity.

The wife of anatomy professor at the University of Bologna Luigi Galvani, who had a cold, like all patients, required care and attention. Doctors prescribed her a “strengthening broth” that included those same frog legs. And so, in the process of preparing frogs for broth, Galvani noticed how the legs moved when they came into contact with an electric machine. Thus he discovered the famous “living electricity” - electric current.
Be that as it may, Galvani pursued in his studies slightly different

goals. He studied the structure of frogs and discovered electrophysiology. Or, even more interesting, he wanted to prepare broth for his wife, to do something useful for her, but he made a discovery useful to all of humanity. And why? In both cases, the frogs' legs accidentally touched an electric machine or some other electrical object. But did everything turn out so randomly and unexpectedly, or again was it an obligatory interconnection of events?...

Brownian motion.

From our table we can see that Brownian motion is a late discovery in physics. But we will dwell on this discovery, since it was also made by accident to some extent.

What is Brownian motion?
Brownian motion is a consequence of the chaotic movement of molecules. The cause of Brownian motion is the thermal movement of molecules of the medium and their collision with a Brownian particle.

This phenomenon was discovered by R. Brown (the discovery was named after him) in 1827, while he was conducting research on plant pollen. During his lifetime, the Scottish botanist Robert Brown, as the best plant expert, received the title “Prince of Botanists.” He made many wonderful discoveries. In 1805, after a four-year expedition to Australia, he brought to England about 4,000 species of Australian plants unknown to scientists and devoted many years to studying them. Described plants brought from Indonesia and Central Africa. He studied plant physiology and for the first time described in detail the nucleus of a plant cell. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences made him an honorary member. But the name of the scientist is now widely known not because of these works.

This is how Brown happened to notice the movement inherent in molecules. It turns out that while trying to work on one thing, Brown noticed something slightly different:

In 1827 Brown conducted research on plant pollen. He was particularly interested in how pollen participates in the process of fertilization. Once he looked under a microscope at elongated cytoplasmic grains isolated from pollen cells of the North American plant Clarkia pulchella, suspended in water. And so, unexpectedly, Brown saw that the smallest solid grains, which could barely be seen in a drop of water, were constantly trembling and constantly moving from place to place. He found that these movements, in his words, “are not associated either with flows in the liquid or with its gradual evaporation, but are inherent in the particles themselves.” At first, Brown even thought that living beings actually fell into the field of the microscope, especially since pollen is the male reproductive cells of plants, but particles from dead plants behaved the same way, even from those dried a hundred years earlier in herbariums.

Then Brown wondered if these were the “elementary molecules of living beings” that the famous French naturalist Georges Buffon (1707–1788), author of the 36-volume Natural History, spoke about. This assumption fell away when Brown began to examine apparently inanimate objects; very small particles of coal, soot and dust from the London air, finely ground inorganic substances: glass, many different minerals.

Brown's observation was confirmed by other scientists.

Moreover, it must be said that Brown did not have any of the latest microscopes. In his article, he specifically emphasizes that he had ordinary biconvex lenses, which he used for several years. And he goes on to say: “Throughout the entire study I continued to use the same lenses with which I began the work, in order to give more credibility to my statements and to make them as accessible as possible to ordinary observations.”
Brownian motion is considered a very late discovery. It was made using a magnifying glass, although 200 years have passed since the microscope was invented (1608)

As often happens in science, many years later historians discovered that back in 1670, the inventor of the microscope, the Dutchman Antonie Leeuwenhoek, apparently observed a similar phenomenon, but the rarity and imperfection of microscopes, the embryonic state of molecular science at that time did not attract attention to Leeuwenhoek’s observation, therefore the discovery is rightly attributed to Brown, who was the first to study and describe it in detail.

Radioactivity.

Antoine Henri Becquerel was born on December 15, 1852, died on August 25, 1908. He was a French physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and one of the discoverers of radioactivity.

The phenomenon of radioactivity was yet another discovery made by accident. In 1896, the French physicist A. Becquerel, while working on the study of uranium salts, wrapped fluorescent material in an opaque material along with photographic plates.

He discovered that the photographic plates were completely exposed. The scientist continued his research and discovered that all uranium compounds emit radiation. Becquerel's work continued with the discovery of radium in 1898 by Pierre and Marie Curie. The atomic mass of radium is not so different from the mass of uranium, but its radioactivity is a million times higher. The phenomenon of radiation was called radioactivity. In 1903, Becquerel, together with the Curies, received the Nobel Prize in Physics “In recognition of outstanding services expressed in the discovery of spontaneous radioactivity.” This was the beginning of the atomic age.

Another important discovery in physics that falls under the unforeseen category is the discovery of X-rays. Now, after many years of this discovery, X-rays are of great importance to humanity.
The first and most widely known area of ​​application of X-rays is medicine. X-ray images have become a common tool for traumatologists, dentists, and medical specialists in other fields.

Another industry where X-ray equipment is widely used is security. So, at airports, customs and other checkpoints, the principle of using x-rays is almost the same as in modern medicine. The beams are used to detect prohibited items in luggage and other cargo. In recent years, small autonomous devices have appeared that make it possible to detect suspicious objects in crowded places.
Let's talk about the history of the discovery of X-rays.

X-rays were discovered in 1895. The method of their production reveals their electromagnetic nature with particular clarity. The German physicist Roentgen (1845-1923) discovered this type of radiation by accident while studying cathode rays.

Roentgen's observation was as follows. He worked in a darkened room, trying to figure out whether the newly discovered cathode rays (they are still used today - in televisions, fluorescent lamps, etc.) could pass through a vacuum tube or not. By chance, he noticed that a blurry greenish cloud appeared on a chemically cleaned screen several feet away. It was as if a faint flash from a telecoil was reflected in a mirror. He conducted research for seven weeks, practically without leaving the laboratory. It turned out that the glow was caused by direct rays emanating from the cathode ray tube, that the radiation produced a shadow and could not be deflected by a magnet - and much more. It also became clear that human bones cast a denser shadow than the surrounding soft tissue, which is still used in fluoroscopy. And the first X-ray image appeared in 1895 - it was a photo of Madame Roentgen’s hand with a clearly visible gold ring. So for the first time, it was men who saw through women, and not vice versa.

These are the useful random discoveries the Universe has given to humanity!

And this is only a small fraction of useful accidental discoveries and inventions. It’s impossible to tell at one time how many there were. And how much more will there be... But to learn about discoveries that took place in everyday life would also be

Healthy.

Unforeseen discoveries in our daily lives.

Chocolate chip cookies.
One of the most popular types of cookies in the United States is chocolate chip cookies. It was invented in the 1930s when small hotel owner Ruth Wakefield decided to bake butter cookies. The woman broke a chocolate bar and mixed the chocolate pieces into the dough, hoping that the chocolate would melt and give the dough a brown color and a chocolate flavor. However, Wakefield was let down by her ignorance of the laws of physics, and she took out cookies with chocolate chips from the oven.

Sticky notes for notes.
Adhesive papers appeared as a result of an unsuccessful experiment to enhance the durability of glue. In 1968, a 3M research lab employee tried to improve the quality of adhesive tape. He received a dense glue that was not absorbed into the surfaces being glued and was completely useless for the production of adhesive tape. The researcher did not know how to use the new type of glue. Four years later, a colleague of his, who sang in a church choir in his free time, was annoyed that the bookmarks in the book of hymns kept falling out. Then he remembered about glue that could secure paper bookmarks without damaging the pages of the book. Post-it Notes were first released in 1980.

Coca Cola.
1886 Pharmacist John Pemberton is looking for a way to prepare a tonic potion using the cola nut and the coca plant. The mixture tasted very pleasant. He took this syrup to the pharmacy, where it was sold. And Coca-Cola itself appeared by accident. The salesman at the pharmacy confused the taps with regular water and carbonated water and poured the second one. This is how Coca-Cola was born. True, at first it was not very popular. Pemberton's expenses exceeded his income. But now it is drunk in more than two hundred countries around the world.

Garbage bag.
In 1950, inventor Harry Vasilyuk created such a bag. Here is how it was. The city administration approached him with a task: to come up with a way in which garbage would not fall out during the process of being loaded into a garbage collection machine. He had an idea to create a special vacuum cleaner. But someone said: I need a trash bag. And suddenly he realized that he needed to make disposable ones for garbage.

bags, and to save money, make them from polyethylene. And 10 years later, bags for individuals appeared on sale.

Supermarket trolley.
Just like other discoveries in this post, it was discovered by accident in 1936. The inventor of the cart, merchant Sylvan Goldman, began to notice that customers rarely bought large goods, citing the fact that it was difficult to carry them to the checkout. But one day in the store he saw how a customer’s son was rolling a bag of groceries on a typewriter by a string. And then he was enlightened. Initially, he simply attached small wheels to the baskets. But then he attracted a group of designers to create a modern cart. After 11 years, mass production of such carts began. And by the way, thanks to this innovation, a new type of store called a supermarket appeared.

Raisin buns.
In Russia, the delicacy was also created by mistake. This happened in the royal kitchen. The cook was preparing buns, kneading the dough, and accidentally touched a tub of raisins, which fell into the dough. He was very scared; he couldn’t get the raisins out. But the fear did not justify itself. The Emperor really liked the raisin buns, for which the chefs were rewarded.
It is also worth mentioning here the legend described by Moscow expert journalist and writer Vladimir Gilyarovsky, that the raisin bun was invented by the famous baker Ivan Filippov. Governor General Arseny Zakrevsky, who once bought a fresh cod, suddenly discovered a cockroach in it. Filippov, called to the carpet, grabbed the insect and ate it, declaring that the general was mistaken - this was the highlight. Returning to the bakery, Filippov ordered an urgent start to baking raisin buns in order to justify himself to the governor.

Artificial sweeteners

The three most common sugar substitutes were discovered only because scientists forgot to wash their hands. Cyclamate (1937) and aspartame (1965) were by-products of medical research, and saccharin (1879) was accidentally discovered during research on coal tar derivatives.

Coca Cola

In 1886, doctor and pharmacist John Pemberton tried to prepare a mixture based on an extract from the leaves of the South American coca plant and African cola nuts, which have tonic properties. Pemberton tried the finished

mixture and realized that it tasted good. Pemberton believed that this syrup could help people suffering from fatigue, stress and toothache. The pharmacist took the syrup to the largest pharmacy in the city of Atlanta. The first batches of syrup were sold that same day, at five cents per glass. However, the Coca-Cola drink was created as a result of negligence. By chance, the seller, diluting the syrup, mixed up the taps and poured sparkling water instead of ordinary water. The resulting mixture became Coca-Cola. Initially, this drink was not very successful. During the first year of soda production, Pemberton spent $79.96 on advertising the new drink, but was only able to sell $50 worth of Coca-Cola. Nowadays Coca-Cola is produced and drunk in 200 countries around the world.

13.Teflon

How did the microwave invention come about?

Percy LeBaron Spencer is a scientist, inventor who invented the first microwave oven. He was born on July 9, 1984 in Howland, Maine, USA.

How the microwave was invented.

Spencer invented the microwave cooking device completely by accident. In the Raytheon laboratory in 1946, when he was standing near

magnetron, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation and that the candy that was in his pocket was melting. He was not the first to notice this effect, but others were afraid to conduct experiments, while Spencer was curious and interested in conducting such research.

He placed the corn next to the magnetron and after a certain time it began to crack. Observing this effect, he made a metal box with a magnetron to heat food. This is how Percy Laberon Spencer invented the microwave.

After writing a report on his results, Raytheon patented this discovery in 1946 and began selling microwave ovens for industrial purposes.

In 1967, Raytheon Amana began selling RadarRange home microwave ovens. Spencer received no royalties for his invention, but he was paid a one-time two-dollar allowance from Raytheon, a symbolic payment the company made to all of the company's inventors.

Bibliography.

Http://shkolyaram.narod.ru/interesno3.html

Application.

Random coincidences can not only amuse and surprise. Many scientific discoveries and inventions that have changed our lives were made by accident. This post is about such random discoveries and inventions.

One of the first accidentally discovered laws in physics was Archimedes' law. One day, King Hiero instructed Archimedes to check whether his crown was made of pure gold or whether the jeweler mixed a significant amount of silver into it. Archimedes knew the density of gold and silver, but the difficulty was to accurately determine the volume of the crown: after all, it had an irregular shape. Archimedes pondered this problem all the time. One day he was taking a bath, and then a brilliant idea came to his mind: by immersing the crown in water, you can determine its volume by measuring the volume of water displaced by it. According to legend, Archimedes jumped naked into the street shouting “Eureka!”, i.e. “Found it!” And indeed at that moment the fundamental law of hydrostatics was discovered. But how did he determine the quality of the crown? To do this, Archimedes made two ingots: one of gold, the other of silver, each of the same weight as the crown. Then he put them one by one in a vessel with water and noted how much its level had risen. Having lowered the crown into the vessel, Archimedes established that its volume exceeded the volume of the ingot. Thus the master’s dishonesty was proven.

The phenomenon of radioactivity was yet another discovery made by accident. In 1896, the French physicist A. Becquerel, while working on the study of uranium salts, wrapped fluorescent material in an opaque material along with photographic plates. He discovered that the photographic plates were completely exposed. The scientist continued his research and discovered that all uranium compounds emit radiation.

A little earlier, in 1895, X-rays were discovered. The German physicist Roentgen (1845-1923) discovered this type of radiation by accident while studying cathode rays. Roentgen's observation was as follows. He worked in a darkened room, trying to figure out whether the newly discovered cathode rays (i.e. beams of electrons) could pass through a vacuum tube or not. By chance, he noticed that a blurry greenish cloud appeared on a chemically cleaned screen several feet away. It was as if a faint flash from a telecoil was reflected in a mirror. He conducted research for seven weeks, practically without leaving the laboratory. It turned out that the cause of the glow is direct rays emanating from the cathode ray tube, that the radiation produces a shadow and cannot be deflected by a magnet, and much more. It also became clear that human bones cast a denser shadow than the surrounding soft tissue, which is still used in fluoroscopy. And the first X-ray image appeared in 1895 - it was a photo of Madame Roentgen’s hand with a clearly visible gold ring.

“...Everything that is hidden and unknown, and which no scientific research can discover, will most likely be discovered only by chance by a person who is the most persistent in the search and the most attentive to everything that has even the slightest relation to the subject of the search.” This is what Charles Goodyear said, and he had reason for it. After expeditions to America, Europeans became aware of rubber - a soft and elastic material from which the natives made various objects. In Europe, rubber began to be used to make waterproof clothing and shoes. But pure rubber smelled bad, when heated it became soft and viscous, and at low temperatures it hardened like stone. Goodyear once purchased a rubber life preserver from a store. After that, he improved the valve on this wheel, and went with this invention to a company producing wheels, but the company agent said that if he wanted to get rich, he should invent a way to improve rubber. Goodyear had extremely little knowledge of chemistry, but he seized on this idea and began experiments, trying to mix rubber with various substances. He mixed a variety of substances with rubber resin, from salt to ink, boiled it in a solution of quicklime, etc. He spent four years in futile attempts and got into huge debts. Finally one day he accidentally heated a mixture of rubber and sulfur on the kitchen stove. The result was rubber that was elastic, but at the same time did not freeze in the cold and did not melt in the heat. This allowed Goodyear to pay off all his debts, and the discovery of the rubber vulcanization process became an impetus for the development of industry.

In 1942, at the height of World War II, Harry Coover (pictured), a chemist for the American company Eastman Kodak, led a scientific team that was trying to create a transparent plastic for use in optical sights. In one of the unsuccessful experiments with cyanoacrylates, Coover accidentally touched the sample and suddenly stuck tightly - this experience is now well known to anyone who has ever spilled superglue on their hands or touched surfaces coated with it. Coover later discovered that cyanoacrylates have the unusual property of rapid polymerization - they combine into a sticky mass in the presence of the smallest amount of moisture. Thus, a glue was invented that glues anything very well, without requiring either heat or pressure to activate it.

Teflon was first produced by chemist Roy Plunkett in April 1938. He was looking for a new refrigerant, which he wanted to synthesize from hydrochloric acid and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) gas pumped under pressure into cylinders. To prevent these cylinders from exploding in the laboratory, they were lined with “dry ice” - solid carbon dioxide. But instead of gas, Plunkett found there only white flakes of a paraffin-like substance, incredibly slippery, chemically stable, resistant to heat, water and acids. The material took its place in frying pans later thanks to the French engineer Marc Gregoire, who in 1945 developed a method for applying polytetrafluoroethylene to aluminum surfaces. The Tefal brand is a combination of Teflon and aluminum.

People have been looking for ways to easily make fire for a very long time. In 1826, the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker invented the first truly convenient method - sulfur matches, and he did it completely by accident. One day he was mixing chemicals with a stick, and a dried drop formed at the end of the stick. To remove it, he struck the floor with a stick. Fire broke out! Walker immediately appreciated the practical value of his discovery and began experimenting and then producing matches. One box contained 50 matches and cost 1 shilling. Each box came with a piece of sandpaper folded in half.

In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin while researching influenza. He was not very neat, did not wash laboratory glassware immediately after the experiment and did not throw away flu cultures for 2-3 weeks in a row, accumulating 30-40 cups on his workbench at a time. So, one day he discovered mold in one of the Petri dishes, which, to his surprise, suppressed the culture of staphylococcus bacteria. The mold that infected the crop was a rare species. Most likely, it was brought in from a laboratory located on the floor below, where mold samples taken from the homes of patients suffering from bronchial asthma were grown. Fleming left the cup that would later become famous on the laboratory table and went on vacation. The cold snap that came to London created favorable conditions for the growth of mold, and the subsequent warming created favorable conditions for bacteria. As it turned out later, the coincidence of precisely these circumstances was responsible for the famous discovery - and not only of the 20th century - of penicillin, which saved and is still saving the lives and health of an incredible number of people.

In 1987, European experts began developing a new technical standard for mobile phones. Digital cell phones have appeared - much more convenient and compact than their predecessors, and also working throughout Europe - in full accordance with the spirit of European cooperation and universal harmony. The standard contained a small addition that allowed engineers testing telecommunications equipment to exchange short text messages with each other. However, consumers soon discovered this “Short Messaging Service” (SMS) and, to the great surprise of telephone operators, fell in love with it. And we still send text messages to each other.

History shows that some scientific discoveries, including those that turned the world upside down, were made completely by accident. It is enough to recall Archimedes, who, having immersed himself in a bath, discovered the law, later named after him, about bodies immersed in water and their buoyant force, or Newton, on whom the famous apple fell. And finally, Mendeleev, who saw his table of elements in a dream. Perhaps some of this is an exaggeration, but there are very specific examples showing that in science, too, much depends on chance. Wired magazine collected some of them.

1. Viagra.

As you know, Viagra was originally developed as a remedy for sore throats. Men all over the world should be grateful to the residents of the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil. It was here that a remarkable side effect of the drug was discovered during trials in 1992.

Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann became the first person to taste acid in 1943. He noticed the effect of lysergic acid diethylamide on himself when he was conducting medical research on this substance and its effect on the process of childbirth.

3. X-ray.

In the 19th century, many scientists were interested in the rays that appear as a result of electrons striking a metal target. However, X-ray radiation was discovered by the German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. He exposed various objects to this radiation and, while changing them, accidentally saw a projection of the bones of his own hand appear on the wall.

4. Penicillin.

Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming studied influenza in 1928. One day he noticed how blue-green mold (natural penicillin is produced by mold fungi) growing in one of the Petri dishes killed all the staphylococci present there.

5. Artificial sweeteners.
The three most common sugar substitutes were discovered only because scientists forgot to wash their hands. Cyclamate (1937) and aspartame (1965) were by-products of medical research, and saccharin (1879) was accidentally discovered during research on coal tar derivatives.

6. Microwaves.
Microwave emitters (magnetrons) powered Allied radar during World War II. New applications were discovered in 1946, when a magnetron melted a chocolate bar in the pocket of Percy Spencer, one of the engineers at the American company Raytheon.

7. Brandy.
In the Middle Ages, wine merchants often evaporated the water from the transported drink so that it did not spoil and took up less space. Soon, someone resourceful decided to do without the recovery phase. Thus brandy was born.

8. Vulcanized rubber.
Unvulcanized rubber is very unstable to external influences and smells bad. Charles Goodyear, after whom the Goodyear company was named, discovered the vulcanization process when he accidentally placed a mixture of rubber and sulfur on a hot plate.

9. Potato chips.
Chef George Crum invented the popular snack in 1853. When one of his customers complained that his potatoes were cut too thick, he took the potatoes, cut them into pieces almost as thick as a sheet of paper, and fried them. This is how chips were born.

10. Buns with raisins.
It is also worth mentioning here the legend described by Moscow expert journalist and writer Vladimir Gilyarovsky, that the raisin bun was invented by the famous baker Ivan Filippov. Governor General Arseny Zakrevsky, who once bought a fresh cod, suddenly discovered a cockroach in it. Filippov, called to the carpet, grabbed the insect and ate it, declaring that the general was mistaken - this was the highlight. Returning to the bakery, Filippov ordered an urgent start to baking raisin buns in order to justify himself to the governor.

History knows many accidental discoveries in chemistry. But, as the great Louis Pasteur said: “Accidental discoveries are made only by prepared minds.” So here, random discoveries were not accidental at all, but a reward for long and systematic work!

Safety glass

Unbreakable glass was accidentally invented by the French chemist Edouard Benedictus. One day he conducted a series of experiments with nitrocellulose. One of the flasks with this substance accidentally slipped out of Benedictus’s hands and fell to the floor, but did not break! A curious chemist began to figure out what was going on and it turned out that some time ago there was a collodion solution in this flask. A thin layer of this substance covered the walls of the flask with a durable film. So in 1903, unbreakable glass was accidentally discovered.

Glowing Monk

The famous Soviet chemist Semyon Isaakovich Volfkovich in the 30s of the 20th century. developed new processes for producing phosphate fertilizers. At that time, the properties of phosphorus were still poorly studied and the academician did not take sufficient precautions when working. Gradually, his clothes became so saturated with phosphorus gas that when Wolfkovich returned home in the evening, his clothes emitted a bluish light, instilling otherworldly horror in the townsfolk. This story entered the Moscow chronicles as the legend of the “luminous monk.”

Vulcanized rubber

Natural rubber, despite all its potential advantages, could not find wide practical application. In cold temperatures it became too hard and cracked easily, and in the heat it became sticky and smelly. Many chemists tried to improve the properties of rubber, but only Charles Goodyear succeeded. He added whatever was at hand to the rubber. And then one day, in 1839, quite by accident, rubber and sulfur fell onto a hot furnace, and the result was a substance that we know as rubber. It was devoid of the disadvantages of rubber and had new useful properties. And the name of the inventor was immortalized in the name of the Company that still produces automobile tires - Goodyear Tire & Rubber.

Discovery of chlorine

It is interesting that chlorine was discovered by a man who at that moment was just a pharmacist. This man's name was Karl Wilhelm Scheele. He had amazing intuition. The famous French organic chemist said that Scheele makes a discovery every time he touches something. Scheele's experiment was very simple. He mixed black magnesia and a solution of muric acid in a special retort apparatus. A bubble without air was attached to the neck of the retort and heated. Soon a yellow-green gas with a pungent odor appeared in the bubble. This is how chlorine was discovered.
MnO2 + 4HCl = Cl2 + MnCl2 + 2H2O
For the discovery of chlorine, Scheele was awarded the title of member of the Stockholm Academy of Sciences, although before that he was not a scientist. Scheele was only 32 years old at the time. But chlorine received its name only in 1812. The author of this name was the French chemist Gay-Lussac.

Discovery of bromine

French chemist Antoine Jerome Balard discovered bromine while a laboratory assistant. The salt marsh brine contained sodium bromide. During the experiment, Balar exposed the brine to chlorine. As a result of the interaction reaction, the solution turned yellow. After some time, Balar isolated a dark brown liquid and called it murid. Gay-Lussac later named the new substance bromine. And Balard in 1844 became a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. Before the discovery of bromine, Balar was almost unknown in scientific circles. After the discovery of bromine, Balard became head of the chemistry department at the French College. As the French chemist Charles Gerard said: “It was not Balard who discovered bromine, but bromine that discovered Balard!”

Discovery of iodine

Iodine was discovered by the French chemist and pharmacist Bernard Courtois. Moreover, Courtois’s beloved cat can be considered a co-author of this discovery. One day Bernard Courtois was having lunch in the laboratory. There was a cat sitting on his shoulder. Before this, Courtois prepared bottles with chemical solutions for the future experiment. One bottle contained sodium iodide. The other contained concentrated sulfuric acid. Suddenly the cat jumped to the floor. The bottles broke. Their contents are mixed. Blue-violet vapor was formed, which then settled in the form of crystals. This is how the chemical element iodine was obtained.