Some important discoveries made by mistake

X-raysX-rays or x-rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths. X-rays have brought about a revolutionary change in the diagnosis of diseases in the medical field. The wavelength of x-rays is not seen as much shorter than ordinary light. Due to its short wavelength, it can easily penetrate any material. In 1895, German physicist William Roentgen discovered this ray. 'Cathode rays' had been discovered long before. But researchers still did not know that it was possible to take pictures of the human skeleton using it. In 1895, William Roentgen was experimenting with cathode rays in a glass tube covered with black paper. His aim was to test whether cathode rays were emitted from the glass. At that time, an interesting incident occurred. He saw that a kind of light beam was visible a few feet away from where he was standing! He thought that the light might be coming out from somewhere in the cardboard. But the experiment showed that the rays were not bursting the cardboard, but rather penetrating the cardboard. Seeing the incident, William Roentgen thought: Why can't the rays that can penetrate the cardboard penetrate the human body? That's what he thought. He conducted the experiment with his wife's hand in front of him, and a history-changing event occurred. For the first time, it was possible to create a photographic image of the human skeleton without cutting it. Mrs. Roentgen was shocked to see the picture of her own skeleton and said, "I feel like I'm seeing death before my eyes!" Since the properties of this invisible ray were unknown, William Roentgen named it X-ray. However, many people also call it "radiation rays" after his name. Penicillin The discovery of penicillin is a milestone in modern medicine. It is the first antibiotic discovered in the world. It protects against infections caused by bacteria. Its inventor was physician and bacteriologist Alexander Fleming. There is an interesting story behind the discovery of penicillin.

Exactly 99 years ago today, in 1921, Alexander Fleming was working in the laboratory of St. Mary's Medical School in England. He had been suffering from a cold for a few days. While working in the laboratory with bacterial cultures, he suddenly sneezed violently. Fleming could not control himself. Before he could remove the set, some mucus from his nose fell onto the set! Seeing that the whole thing was ruined, he put the set aside and started working with a new set. The next day, he entered the laboratory and looked at the set that had been put aside. He thought that he would wash the set and work. But when he picked up the set, he was shocked. Surprisingly, yesterday's microbes were gone! He named the antidote that came out of the body 'lysozyme'. This was many years later. In 1928, Fleming was researching staphylococcus bacteria in a laboratory in London. In the meantime, he suspended his research and went on a trip to Scotland. While leaving, he left the staphylococcus in a glass jar and made a mistake - he left the laboratory window open! Because of this mistake, Alexander Fleming did the most amazing thing in the history of medicine! After two weeks of vacation, Alexander Fleming returned to the laboratory and saw that some grass and leaves from the laboratory garden had flown through the open window in a gust of wind and landed on the plates filled with bacteria. He saw a clear change in the culture of the bacteria on the plates. Fleming understood that there was something in these weeds that caused the change. After testing, it was found that a kind of fungus had grown on the weeds. When those fungi were selectively placed on the bacteria, the bacteria were destroyed! He realized that his research had finally paid off. The scientific name of the fungus was Penicillium notatum. So he named it penicillin. In 1945, Alexander Fleming was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin. Upon receiving the award, he jokingly said, "God should get this award. Because he is the one who made everything connect by chance." Pacemaker A pacemaker is a type of device that controls an irregular heartbeat. The normal human heart rate is 60-90 beats per minute. When the heart rate slows down, a pacemaker is used to normalize it. The invention of this device has saved millions of heart patients around the world from imminent death.