Accidental inventions in Science

A scientific invention refers to a new device that helps people or solves a problem. The wheel was a scientific invention created in ancient times. It helped people transport goods to markets and other places. A scientific invention differs from a discovery; with a scientific discovery, scientists become aware of something they did not know before. For example, when the Curiosity rover landed on Mars in 2012, a scientific discovery was made. Scientists learned that water was once on the planet. Occasionally, a discovery leads to an invention, as was the case in 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered how to create an X-ray. His discovery led to the invention of many types of X-ray machines. Accidental scientific inventions sometimes occur. Occasionally, the accidental invention is more important than the original object that the scientist planned to create.

Background

Scientists can take different approaches when planning an invention. They may jot down notes or sketches or experiment using trial and error. Most often, they collaborate with others. Co-inventors may be named on patents, which gives them the legal right to their idea. Many important scientific inventions have been made throughout history. The ancient Romans made the first nail by casting and shaping metal. Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, invented the first printing press in 1445. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, and Thomas Edison invented the first lighting system, which included a light bulb, a generator, and wiring, in 1879. Two men from different German cities—Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler—filed patents for the automobile on the same day in 1886. Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with inventing and building the first motor-operated airplane in 1903.

Overview

Unlike the printing press and the automobile, some beneficial scientific inventions were accidental. In some cases, scientists were trying to create one thing but accidentally created another. In other cases, though, a scientist’s invention was simply by chance. An accidental beneficial discovery or invention is referred to as “serendipity.” Even in this case, however, scientists are given credit for their inventions because they recognized the usefulness of what they had inadvertently created.

The Microwave

The technology behind the microwave oven was invented accidentally. Near the end of World War II in 1945, an engineer named Percy Spencer was attempting to create energy sources for radar equipment. Spencer was unable to do this. However, when he was using a cavity magnetron device, he noticed that a candy bar in his pocket had melted. Making the connection, he realized that the microwaves that were coming from the device had caused the molecules in the candy bar to create heat and melt.

Spencer ran more tests. He wanted the see what effect microwaves had on other types of food, such as eggs and popcorn. His tests all showed the same results—microwaves quickly cooked food. Most historians credit Spencer with inventing the first microwave oven in 1947, which was known as the Radarange. The new cooking device weighed about 750 pounds and cost more than $2,000, so it was not exactly practical for household use. However, by the late 1960s, more economical and compact Radaranges had been produced. These smaller microwaves eventually became household staples.

Rubber Vulcanization

Rubber is a natural substance that comes from trees and has been used by civilizations since ancient times. However, in 1839, Charles Goodyear was experimenting with India rubber recipes to try and improve his inventions. During his experiments, he accidentally invented the process of vulcanizing rubber. Goodyear had imagined that rubber could be more useful if some of its natural properties were altered. The difficulty was that he did not quite know how to accomplish this.

There needed to be a method to make the rubber more temperature-resistant and prevent it from freezing or melting so easily. He tried adding all types of additives to his rubber mix and eventually tried adding some sulfur. When it accidentally spilled on a hot stove, the results were astounding. He had expected it to melt into a mess, but instead it turned into a durable leather-like substance that resisted heat and freezing. It also turned out to be elastic and waterproof, which was perfect for many applications. Vulcanized rubber became a standard material used in all sorts of manufactured products, including vehicle tires.

Teflon

Roy Plunkett, a scientist at Dupont, accidentally invented Teflon in 1938. Plunkett was trying to invent a safer refrigerant to use in refrigerators. The refrigerant used at the time was made of sulfur dioxide, ammonia, and propane. It sickened people who worked in the food industry and those who had refrigerators in their homes. As an alternative, Plunkett produced about one hundred pounds of tetrafluoroethylene gas (TFE) and stored it in small containers before chlorinating it. However, when he opened the containers, the gas was gone. In its place was a white power. Plunkett performed tests on the power and found that it was heat-resistant and slippery—most other substances would not stick to it. The chemical was first used in the automotive industry and later named Teflon. In the 1960s, industries began using Teflon to make non-stick cookware.

The Pacemaker

A pacemaker is an internal device that helps a person’s heart function properly. In 1956, Wilson Greatbatch, an adjunct engineering professor at the University of Buffalo, was using an oscilloscope, a device used to listen to the heart. Greatbatch mistakenly put the wrong transistor in the device and found that instead of recording heart sounds, it gave off an electrical impulse like a heartbeat. While a kind of pacemaker existed at the time, it was large and caused dizziness, blackouts, and even death.

Two years later, Greatbatch shared his invention with William Chardack, a surgeon at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Buffalo, New York. They began working together and first tested the new pacemaker on dogs. They made some changes and in 1957 began testing it on people. The pacemaker allowed many individuals with heart problems to lead normal lives without having to worry about the side-effects caused by the first pacemaker. By 1961, about one hundred people were using the device. In the twenty-first century, about three million people have pacemakers, which are similar to the one Greatbatch invented.

Matches

A British pharmacist named John Walker inadvertently invented matches in 1826. Walker was stirring chemicals when he noticed a dry lump on the end of his mixing stick. When he tried to scrape it off, it sparked. Walker created more of the “friction lights” and began selling them at his pharmacy. He at first made matches out of cardboard but later switched to wood. He sold the matches in a box with sandpaper that was used for striking. Walker never patented his invention because he wanted to help people, not to get rich. Soon, though, many others stole his idea and began profiting from it.

Plastic

The first synthetic (not organic) plastic was accidentally invented in 1907 by a scientist named Leo Hendrik Baekeland, who had immigrated to the United States from Belgium in 1863. Baekeland had previously invented Velox, a photographic printing paper that could be developed using artificial lighting. In 1899, Baekeland sold the rights to Velox to Kodak for a million dollars.

After this, he set up his own laboratory in New York. There he attempted to invent a replacement for shellac, which was used to make varnish. Baekeland combined formaldehyde and phenol (which comes from coal) and heated the mixture. While he did not create a replacement for shellac, he created a plastic that did not melt when it was heated. He called the plastic Bakelite and started a company to produce it. He received about four hundred patents for products made from his accidental invention.

Post-Its

A Post-It is a small piece of a paper with a sticky strip on the back. Post-Its serve many purposes. People use them to record phone numbers, jot down messages, and make to-do lists. They even use them as bookmarks. Post-Its were invented in 1968 by a 3M scientist named Spencer Silver. Silver was trying to create a strong adhesive but accidentally developed a light adhesive that could be easily removed. However, finding a use for this adhesive proved to be difficult. Silver spent five years working with others at 3M to find a use for his new product. Another 3M employee tried using the adhesive on the back of bookmarks to keep them from falling out of books. When he did this, though, he realized that the adhesive would be more useful on small pieces of paper that people could use to post notes. Stores in the United States began selling Post-Its in 1980. The product became extremely popular and was soon available in many sizes and colors.

Smart Dust

Smart dust refers to tiny particles that work as sensors that collect data. Smart dust was invented in 2003 by a graduate chemistry student named Jamie Link who was working on a silicon chip at the University of California, San Diego. When the chip shattered, she and her professor realized that tiny parts of it were still sending signals. Link won a cash prize for her invention, which researchers believe has great potential. It may be able to attack and destroy harmful tumors in the human body. It may also be used to monitor crops to determine if they need water, fertilizer, or pesticides.

Artificial Sweetener

A chemist at Johns Hopkins University accidentally invented Saccharin, an artificial sweetener, in 1879. Ira Remsen was developing coal tar derivatives, or by-products. He returned home for dinner one day but forgot to wash his hands. When he took a bite of bread, he noticed that it tasted very sweet. He realized that the sweetness had come from the chemicals he had been working with. He returned to his lab and tasted each chemical he had been working with. He found the sweet one in a beaker filled with sulfobenzoic acid, phosphorus chloride, and ammonia. It became known as Saccharin, the world’s first artificial sweetener.

Safety Glass

Safety glass, also called smart glass, is laminated glass that does not melt or shatter. It is used to make car windshields, windows in public buildings, safety glasses, along with many other products. Safety glass was invented accidentally in 1903 by Edouard Benedictus, a French writer, composer, and chemist.

When Benedictus was working in his lab, he dropped a glass flask. However, the glass did not shatter as he had expected it to. It broke but kept its original shape. Benedictus discovered that the flask contained cellulose nitrate, a liquid plastic. This led him to develop safety glass, a type of shatterproof glass.

Safety glass was first used in World War I to make the lenses in gas masks. After this, auto manufacturers began using it in windshields.

Velcro

In 1941, Georges de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, found burrs attached to his pants while he was hiking. He examined the burrs, noting that their hooks would attach to anything that was shaped like a loop. He became determined to find a way to make a product that worked like burrs and loops. Mestral toured fabric manufacturing plants in Europe. Some workers at these plants were not optimistic about being able to replicate the burr and loop. While making the loop was easy, manufacturing a hook was complicated. Mestral eventually found a manufacturing plant that was combining tough nylon and cotton—just the kind of fabric he had been looking for. He used the material to create small hooks that could be attached to a separate cloth with loops. He received a patent for his work in 1955 and took a loan for $150,000 to work on the project. He started a company to make Velcro, a word he created from “velvet” (velvet) and “crochet” (hook).

However, Mestral had trouble selling Velcro until NASA began using it on flight suits in the 1960s. NASA also used it to secure items in zero gravity. By the 1970, Velcro was being used in many products.

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