It is amazing how many scientific discoveries were accidental. The history of science is packed with accidental discoveries (Peters, 1999, para. 4). Science is the “knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation” (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2014). Accidental is defined as “happening in a way that is not planned or intended” (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2014). Discovery is “the act of finding or learning something for the first time” (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2014). In 1754, Horace Walpole, an English author, coined the term serendipity to mean “[t]he faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident” (Farlex, Inc., 2014). Since then the term serendipity has been used many times to describe accidental discoveries. Accidental discoveries in science play a role in adding to the learning process from one discovery to the next discovery like building blocks. In many cases they led to awesome advances in medicine. Accidental discoveries have led to the advancement of scientific knowledge worldwide.
Here are eight accidental discoveries that played significant roles in the history of science. A British surgeon and scientist named Edward Jenner, had heard that a person who contracted cowpox did not get the smallpox disease. In 1796, he experimented with applying samples from cowpox sores to a boy who had not had smallpox (Krock, 2001, para. 7). The child was sick for a few days and was well again shortly (Krock, 2001). A couple months later Jenner inoculated the boy with the smallpox virus (Krock, 2001). The boy did not contract smallpox which led to the development of the first vaccine and the science of immunity (Krock, 2001). Although the medical and scientific ...
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The first modern periodic table wasn’t published until the middle of the twentieth century. Dr. Glenn Seaborg discovered plutonium in 1940 - this lead to the detection of all of the transuranic elements from 94 to 102. Because of his work, Dr....
"Welding Processes, Welding Faults, Defects & Discontinuities For NDT Technicians Part 3." Hera.org. Hera, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. .
"Amazon." Encyclopædia Briticanna. Ed. The Editors of The Encyclopædia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
DNA was cracked! They solved the DNA three-dimensional structure at Cambridge, England and were ready to show the first model to their colleagues by March 7th, 1953. They learned how genes worked and how inherited features are passed down from one generation to the next. Their discovery was included in Matt Ridley’s book called Genome. People knew that heredity also affected animals and plants as it does humans. Having red hair or blue eyes gets passed on from one generation to the next one.
It is also interesting to know just how many medical breakthroughs came about by accident. It allows people to realize that, although it should be handled with the utmost care, cut of the edge research is not always cut and dry. This book teaches that it takes true intellect to take what seems like a failure or an accident and instead of abandoning it, reflecting on what has truly happened. Students as well as current researchers should read, study, and take inspiration from this book. It has a lot to teach other than simply the surface of the history of the discoveries it
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Margaret Fuller (American Author and Educator)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. .
So one major investment in the 1920's to science was Medicine. In 1921 two Canadian scientists made a medicine called Insulin. Insulin helped people suffering from diabetes which made the world a healthier place. Then in 1928 Alexander Fleming found a mold that could kill certain types of bacteria. This mold became...
Scientific discovery brought about as much questioning as it did answers. The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei invented the improved telescope that gave man the capability to peer into the heavens1. Seeing the universe in this new light caused men to awaken to a new sense of being. Finding that seeing the way our universe was laid out was different than what was originally conceived caused major impact in society. Galileo’s findings caused him to battle with the powerful Catholic Church, a decision that ultimately led to his downfall. Scientific discovery in gravity and the laws
Many scientists that make inventions learn from them and are able to discover what they did wrong and mend it. In the article, “A Series of Quotations about Error and Discovery,” Samuel Smiles said, “We learn from failure much more than we do from success. We often discover what will do by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” These wise words explain how we make progress in our inventions. Samuel says that our knowledge grows as we make mistakes and that knowledge guides us into making inventions and discoveries. Those errors give us an understanding of what we should not do next time and improve from our mistakes. We are able to move forward in our inventions because we discover what we will not do the next time. These errors cause advancement to our inventions, so that is why they are a major part to making discoveries and inventions. As Thomas Edison once said, “Mistakes are not to lead to brilliant inventions, but to teach a scientist how to do better next
"Burton, Sir Richard Francis." Microsoft Encarta. Funk and Wagnall's Inc. Copyright 1995 Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Copyright 1993.
The book’s main thesis statement and author’s main point was all focus on how, what, and why the seventeen changed the course of history and still continue in effect. The author is trying to tell us that not only human interaction alters the history, but it also involved chemistry and science: 17 unique molecules. These molecules provided the foundation for early exploration, and made possible many voyages of discovery successful. Spurred advances in many different fields of study and great knowledge poured into the world by the discovery of these molecules; they determined the world we live in right now. Some great historical shifts can result from even a change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous differences in the properties of a substance. Like the failure of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, because of the button that French soldiers...
Galileo used this great invention to report astronomical facts such as the moon is cover with craters instead of being smooth, the Milky Way is composed of millions of stars, and Jupiter have four moons. Perhaps the most famous discovery is the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is not the center of the universe (even though he was discredited at the time).
Sasaki, Tomoaki. "Study for TIG-MIG Hybrid Welding Process - Springer." Linked.springer.com. Springer, 01 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
.... Lister had the work of Pasteur and Crooks from which to form his own hypothesis. Ignaz Semmelweis drew his assumption from pure scientific observation and experimentation. Although I do feel that Semmelweis has not received the recognition he deserves, I still believe that all three men, Semmelweis, Pasteur and Lister, were revolutionary scientists whose world-changing discoveries will not soon be forgotten.
"MIG Welding—The Basics and Then Some." - TheFabricator.com. N.p., 13 July 2004. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.