4. Gunpowder
People have always been curious about ways to make themselves immortal, especially the Tang Dynasty. While they were looking for materials to use in order to create a potion that will give permanent life, the Chinese alchemists of this dynasty discovered by accident something called saltpeter, which is the most important ingredient for creating gunpowder.
They started experimenting with their new discovery and combined the saltpeter with sulfur and charcoal. After a few experiments, the end result was actually gunpowder, and not an immortality elixir. The Chinese used this new substance for fireworks, but gunpowder was also utilized in wars.
One of the most effective ways they used gunpowder in wars was against the Mongols, which happened during the Song Dynasty. Ironically, the Chinese alchemists from the Tang Dynasty were planning on creating a potion for eternal life, but they ended up inventing the main ingredient for death.
5. Radio astronomy
In 1932, Karl G. Jansky, an engineer who worked at Bell Labs in the United States of America was examining interferences that were occurring in transatlantic radio transmissions. While he was doing that, he discovered that the source of the static was actually a fixed direction in the sky. He was amazed by the idea that radio waves were slowly coming from across the sky.
6. X-rays
In 1985, a physicist named Wilhelm Röntgen found out that particular electromagnetic rays were able to form images on fluorescent plates. After that, he discovered that they had the ability to pass through flesh more easily than through bone structure.
When he discovered what we know today as X-rays, Wilhelm Röntgen was actually investigating something else, which were the cathode rays from a Crookes tube. He wrapped the tubes in black cardboard so that they wouldn’t interfere with the visible light. In order to do this, he also used a fluorescent screen, that was painted with barium platinocyanide.
When the scientist looked at what he did, he saw a faint green glow that was coming from the screen. He also noticed that there were several invisible rays that were coming from the tube, and were passing through the cardboard. As a result, the screen was glowing. He kept analyzing everything and came to the conclusion that these rays were also able to pass through the papers and the books that were placed on his desk.
Intrigued, the scientist started to study these unknown rays, and he called them ”X”, due to the lack of information about them. Two months after making this discovery, he published a paper entitled “On a new kind of ray: A preliminary communication”. Wilhelm Röntgen submitted his essay to Würzburg’s Physical-Medical Society journal.
After he did his research, the scientist found that X-rays can be used as part of a medical process when he took a picture of his wife’s hand and a photographic plate formed because of the X-rays. This photograph is the first picture of a human body part using X-rays. When the woman saw the final result, she didn’t like it, and she said that she saw her own death.
TAKEAWAY
Accidents are normal for everyone, regardless of the domain of activity. There are times when good things come out of them, such as the examples mentioned above, which can give people hope that every single detail can lead to a bigger picture.
What do you think about these discoveries that happened by accident? Which one of them do you think is the most important? Don’t forget to tell us your opinion in the comment section down below!
