1. Microwave oven
microwave oven
The man who invented the microwave oven
The earliest name of microwave oven is "popcorn and hot pocket heater". Its invention was purely accidental and originated from a weapon research and development project. The inventor of microwave oven is Percy Lebaron Spencer, an American self-taught engineer. After the outbreak of World War II, he worked in a company to develop radar technology. This technology sounded like science fiction at that time, but it was actually just a magnetic tube with detection function, which could emit a high-intensity radiation beam.
Obviously, as his friends nicknamed him, Spencer likes sweets. He may also be a strange idolater. One day, when he was doing an experiment in the laboratory, a chocolate bar stuck to his shorts. Spencer noticed that when he ran the magnetron, the chocolate on his trousers melted. Most people may think that his temperature has dropped and the chocolate has melted. Spencer did not judge this matter according to this logical thinking. Instead, he gave a more scientific explanation: invisible radiation "cooked it".
In fact, most military experts present may dream of applying these rays to the battlefield. However, like every inventor in the history of science, Spencer was curious about his discovery and thought it was a novelty. He used this device to beat eggs and bake popcorn.
Spencer continued to experiment with magnetrons. Finally, he put them in a box and put them on the market as a new tool for cooking delicious food. The earliest microwave ovens were about 6 feet (about 1.8 meters) high and weighed 750 pounds (about 340 kilograms), so they had to be cooled with cold water. In the following years, technicians kept shrinking the size of microwave ovens. Today, microwave ovens have become a part of our daily life.
2. Crazy glue
Crazy glue
The invention of all-purpose adhesive dates back to 1942. The inventor, Dr. Harry Coover, worked for Hisman Kodak Company at that time, which is a world-renowned camera and related products company. Dr Coover's job is to isolate a transparent plastic, which makes the weapon aim more accurately. This material was of great use during the Second World War. For a time, Coover was very depressed because this material called cyanoacrylate was too sticky.
Once, Coover threw cyanoacrylate out of the window in a rage, and then continued to sweat for the experiment. At this point, Coover was completely unaware that he had invented one of the most viscous universal adhesives ever. Ironically, Coover's efforts on the sight were in vain, because two American atomic bombs ended the war, and the explosion radiation range of the atomic bombs was so wide that there was no need to aim at them at all.
A few years later, Coover regained his invention and realized the ecstasy of getting it back. Some people think that maybe Coover noticed that the container containing cyanoacrylate was still stuck to the bottom of the trash can, and he tried his best not to take it down, thus discovering the magic of this material. 1958, Coover finally convinced his boss of the market potential of cyanoacrylate, and Kodak soon introduced a glue called "Hysmans 9 10" (Eastman 9 10).
Kodak racked its brains to promote this product, and someone in the company came up with an idea: hanging a car on the street with a crane, which made people mistakenly think that it was the result of using "Hysmans 9 10/0". This trick really works wonders. People call this glue "crazy glue". "Krazy" actually means borrowing the English word "crazy". The early advertising slogan of "Hysmans 9 10" was, "Remember, you can only use it once before it is completely solidified on the pipe!" Today, all-purpose adhesive is still the best-selling product.
3. Vulcanized rubber
vulcanized rubber
It is not as easy as some people think to develop a rubber that is strong enough to withstand street racing and car chasing.
You may not be surprised if you know that the rubber used to make tires was invented by Charles Goodyear. After all, he is the first person on this list whose name is associated with the final invention-because "Coover glue" sounds more like an abominable birth control tool. In the year when the automobile was just invented, it was not as easy as some people thought to develop a rubber that was strong enough to withstand street racing and car chasing.
In fact, if anyone should give up his lifelong dream, it is Goodyear. Goodyear stayed in prison for a while, his friends left one by one, and his children lived a hungry life. Nevertheless, he still pursued his dream tirelessly. This is the 1930s of 19, a turbulent period of hunger and cold. At first, after two years of research on raw rubber, Goodyear still had no results. Due to the pressure of life, he had to lead his family to live in an abandoned factory.
It was in this factory that Goodyear made a major breakthrough: he used acid substances to remove the rough surface of rubber and make it strong and durable. However, after the government bought 150 bags made of this rubber, these bags were no longer sold. Have different degrees of defects. Goodyear is once again in a desperate situation. Finally, 1839, good luck arrival Goodyear.
One day that year, after the calculation equation failed again, the lost Goodyear walked into a grocery store alone. Seeing this unfortunate unkempt man, people stopped to watch and laugh at Goodyear like a novel animal. In a rage, Goodyear punched his fist, and a piece of rubber in his hand just fell into the hot stove. After looking at the charred rubber fragments, Goodyear realized that he had finally found a way to make rubber that was durable and weather-proof. From Goodyear's case, we can deeply understand the meaning of the sentence that failure is the mother of success. Goodyear's "tire empire" was born.
4. Safety glass
safety glass
The inventor of safety glass, Frenchman Edward Benediktus, is a man who knows everything and knows nothing.
Safety glass is a kind of glass used in cars and buildings, which has good performance to ensure personal safety and can be seen almost everywhere. According to common sense, when the safety glass is broken, it will not form sharp-edged particles and the fragments will not splash, so it will not cause harm to people. The inventor of safety glass, Frenchman Edward Benediktus, is a man who knows everything and knows nothing. Before he was lucky enough to invent safety glass, Benidicus was a celebrity with four identities-painter, composer, writer and chemist.
One day, Benediktus, like Inspector Clausio, accidentally knocked an experimental flask off the shelf and heard it make a crisp sound (we can imagine his surprise when he heard the broken sound). Benedictus climbed down the ladder and found that the flask was broken, but it didn't fall apart. After talking to his assistant, Benedictus learned that nitrocellulose had recently been put into the flask. Cellulose nitrate is a kind of adhesive used for breaking glass.
Although Benediktus was aware of his discovery, he never thought it would be so important. After studying a series of terrible car accidents, Benidicus was inspired. He found that the injured in these car accidents were usually scratched by windshield fragments. Then he began to devote himself to research and finally invented Triplex a day later. During World War I, gas masks were based on Benedict's new invention. After discovering the durability of this material, the automobile industry began to manufacture the Triplex windshield.
5. Penicillin (penicillin)
Penicillin (penicillin)
Sir alexander fleming, a biologist famous for his forgetfulness, is one of the greatest inventors in history.
But he is a famous slacker. Before Fleming became famous for inventing penicillin, he occasionally did an experiment. The "material" of this experiment turned out to be that his nose accidentally fell into a glass Petri dish. Six years later, Fleming experimented with a plastic plate full of bacteria again. He left the lab for a holiday without cleaning up the dirty dishes all over the floor.
After returning from vacation, Fleming returned to his laboratory and found that a glass Petri dish he had forgotten was contaminated by mold, so he threw it into a nearby trash can. According to his personal habit, Fleming continued to check whether his experiment was successful after throwing the glass Petri dish into a box full of experimental waste. Perhaps, he has decided to eat the sausage he threw away before.
Finally, he noticed that the mold in the trash can killed the bacteria around him. This mold is the basic form of penicillin, which is undoubtedly the most important discovery in the medical field. Penicillin is an important antibiotic with high efficiency, low toxicity and wide clinical application. Its invention greatly enhanced human's ability to resist bacterial infection, and led to the birth of antibiotic family. Millions of lives have been saved.
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