Discoveries and inventions have allowed us to gain knowledge about the world around us and make many aspects of life easier and safer. People who design machines, devices or ways of doing things that solve a problem are called inventors. The scope for discovery and invention in many cases is limited only by a person’s imagination. Discoveries and inventions usually come about as a result of an inquiring mind – a person sees a problem or need and creates a way to deal with it. Some discoveries and inventions happen by accident, however most are as a result of 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration!
Activity Famous scientists SL
Make a list of the names of any famous scientists that you have heard of. Do you know what they are famous for? Compare your list with the rest of the class.
6.1 Accidental discovery Some important discoveries happen by accident, such as the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming. In 1928 Alexander Fleming, an English doctor,
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returned from holidays to find that a Petri dish in his laboratory had bacteria growing on one side and an unknown fungus growing on the other side. He noticed that the bacteria around the fungus had died and that bacteria did not grow close to the fungus. Fleming was intrigued and spent a long time investigating the properties of this strange fungus. We now know this fungus as Penicillium notatum. It produces a special chemical that kills and prevents the growth of bacteria. This chemical is the antibiotic penicillin. Fleming
Fig. 1 The Penicillium culture is at the centre of the Petri dish. The colonies of bacteria nearest to it are dying.
