Game Changing Ideas

 Topic Analysis

            Throughout the history of mankind inventions have been a way for us as humans to evolve and make things better, easier to perform, and provide just general innovation for a particular reasoning of advancement. While this is what researchers and inventors look forward to happening with their inventions sometimes the things they end up creating are by accident, but end up to become key inventions in the history of mankind. There are countless inventions that come to mind that happened out of accident that we use everyday such as sticky notes and penicillin, but there are so many different inventions that also fall under this umbrella that can be considered.

            One of those inventions that came by accident was the creation of the cardiac pacemaker. The pacemaker was created by the inventor, John Hopps, back in 1941. Though the pacemaker ended up being the final product of the research that Hopps was conducting that was not his original intentions. In the accidental creation of the pacemaker Hopps was originally working on research on hypothermia. The research that was being conducted was on the effects of different radio frequencies on the heating of pasteurized beer (Krueger, 2010). Where the accidental portion of the creation of the pacemaker comes into play has to do with Hopps dedication with the project with radio frequencies taking him to the Banting Institute in 1949. While at the Banting Institute Hopps observed cardiac surgeon Wilfred Bigelow and his research colleague John Callaghan using hypothermia to be able to slow down the heart enough that would enable the pair to perform open heart surgery. During this time observing the two it was determined that the problem with this method was how to be able to induce cardiac contractions while the body is in a state of hypothermia (Bains, Chatur, Ladhar, etc., 2017). Using the experiment that he had been working on with radio frequencies in order to reheat beer Hopps was able to develop a series of experiments that would allow the heart to contract repetitively over a prolonged period of time which lead to the introduction and invention of the pacemaker for cardiac induced stimulation. The original pacemaker made its prototype appearance in 1950 andva using the premise of the radio waves that Hopps had been working on it ended up resembling a small table radio from the time that with the use of vacuum tubes to generate the pulses that would be needed for the heart to pump as it should and it was powered by the use of a regular household current which meant that extra power would not be needed for it to function as it properly should.

            While the pacemaker is a relatively known accidental invention of sorts there are other inventions that were created by accident that are not as well known as the pacemaker. One such invention is the creation of Teflon. Teflon for those who may not be familiar with its use is a synthetic based polymer that is used in a variety of different daily things such as nonstick cooking material all the way down to nail polish. With these number of uses for one invention it would make it seem that this invention was made on purpose but this is not the case to be made. The invention of this very useful polymer was invented by accident by the inventor Roy Plunkett. The start of this invention happened back in 1938 back in the DuPont Company’s Jackson Laboratory when while working with and researching refrigerant and the various uses that in the end there was a white powder, polytetrafluoroethylene, that was created from the gas (Greenwald, 2019). The creation and finding of this powdery substance came from the synthesizing of various of new forms of refrigerant in order to find a new non-toxic alternative to commonly used refrigerants at the time such as sulfur dioxide and ammonia. The process of this experiment consisted of pressurizing containers of TFE gas, tetrafluorethylene, and in the process they created a waxy powdery substance that would eventually come to be known as Teflon. By running tests on the powder that had been created there were four key properties that were discovered that made so many of the uses of Teflon possible today. Those four properties that come to define Teflon are that it is extremely slippery, non-corrosive, chemically stable and it has an extremely high melting point (Hiskey, 2015). Starting with the 1960s Teflon began to be used for various applications outside of the military and industrial industries and this set the way for the creation of certain stain repellants, various hair products, different lubricants, among the more well known uses of the Teflon product.

            As can be seen with these two different accidental inventions as a researcher and inventors because you are working on a particular project for a particular purpose it does not mean that the end result or byproduct is not something that could reshape the way of mankind. As can be seen with penicillin the next wave of advancements can come into to place by accident and help shape something such as the creation of a new renewable and sustainable energy source or even the cure for cancer.

References

Bains, P., Chatur, S., Ignaszewski, M., Ladhar, S., & Bennett, M. (2017). John Hopps and the pacemaker: A history and detailed overview of devices, indications, and complications | British Columbia Medical Journal. BC Medical Journal, 59(1), 22–28. https://bcmj.org/articles/john-hopps-and-pacemaker-history-and-detailed-overview-devices-indications-and

Greenwald, M. (2019, May 23). 30 Life-Changing Inventions That Were Totally Accidental. Best Life. https://bestlifeonline.com/accidental-inventions/

Hiskey, D. (2015, April 1). Teflon was Invented by Accident. Today I Found Out. http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/08/teflon-was-invented-by-accident/

Krueger, A. (2010, November 16). 15 Life-Changing Inventions That Were Created By Mistake. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/these-10-inventions-were-made-by-mistake-2010-11

 

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