The accidental discoveries of radiation

 Humans are not perfect; mistakes and accidents are bound to happen. Despite our desire for perfection, humans are not machines are not capable of performing tasks accurately every time. Humans are also incapable of predicting every possible outcome for a situation, leading to unexpected results. In fields of science, accidents tend to be seen as unfavorable, as accidents during research or in a lab can be harmful or dangerous to participants or researchers. While the term accident is often seen as negative, many inventions and advances in science were discovered unintentionally. An example of an accidental scientific discovery can be seen in the history of radiation.

In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen was experimenting with a cathode ray generator to see if cathode rays could pass through glass. While he was turning on the generator, he noticed that the tube was producing light despite the tube being covered in black paper. The light was being projected onto a nearby screen that had been coated in a barium solution (Columbia Surgery, n.d.). Röntgen saw this glow as a nuisance, instead of a scientific marvel, and he attempted to block the light by covering or moving the screen. While attempting to rid himself of this annoyance, Röntgen placed his hand between the screen and the cathode-ray tube, and was shocked to see the skeletal structure of his own hand. Röntgen had accidentally discovered X-rays, and after a few more experiments, the first photograph using X-rays was taken of Röntgen’s wife’s hand. For this discovery, Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in physics in 1901 (Columbia Surgery, n.d.).

Coincidentally, the accidental discovery of X-rays lad to another accidental discovery. In 1896, Antoine Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, was investigating the recent discovery of X-rays made by his college Wilhelm Röntgen (Long, 2011). When Röntgen discovered X-rays, the cathode-ray tube emitted light through phosphorescence, meaning light was emitted without heat or combustion. Becquerel decided to investigate the link between phosphorescence and X-rays by using uranium salts which he received from his father. Before taking leave for the winter, Becquerel accidentally left the salts on a glass plate covered with dark paper. When he returned, Becquerel discovered that an image had been burned into the glass, giving it a foggy appearance. After further experimentation, he discovered that the uranium material was producing rays that caused the change to the glass (Brown, 2022). Becquerel’s research was continued by his doctoral student, Marie Curie, and her husband, Pierre. Marie Curie would eventually name this discovery “radioactivity” (Nobel Prize Outreach AB, 2022). In 1903, Becquerel was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in physics, while Marie and Pierre Curie received the other half (Mirion Technologies, 2015).

As stated previously, accidental scientific discoveries can be negative or positive, and sadly the next accidental discovery was would end in tragedy. Marie Curie continued her work researching radioactivity. In 1911, Curie received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering radium and polonium. While conducting here research, Curie handled radioactive materials in very unsafe ways, though they were not known to be unsafe at the time. Marie Curie was known to carry bottles of radium in her pockets, and would observe the bottles glowing with her husband, Pierre. In 1934, Marie died for aplastic anemia due to her exposure to radioactive materials (Mirion Technologies, 2018). Marie was not the only person to pass due to radiation poisoning. Curie’s discovery of radium led to it being used as paint due to its wondrous glow. In 1916, many women were hired by the U.S. Radium Corporation to paint radium onto watch faces. These women, now known as the radium girls, would lick the ends of their paint brushes to give them a fine point. Many of these women became horribly sick, resulting in some to pass five years after starting their painting jobs. While the official discovery of radiation poisoning wouldn’t be made until 1945, Curie and the radium girls unexpectedly and accidentally discovered the effects of radiation exposure (Watts, 2018).

X-rays and radioactivity are significant discoveries for science and medicine. Due to this importance, it may be difficult for some to believe that these discoveries were accidental. Accidental discoveries, especially discoveries as grand as radiation, are more common than most people are willing to admit, though modern advancements in science and research procedures have reduced these numbers. So what factors lead to these kinds of accidental discoveries? Based on the cases of Wilhelm Röntgen, Antoine Henri Becquerel, and Marie Curie, I believe these discoveries were supported by the lack of restrictions, open communications, research diversity, and lack of human knowledge.

“Lack of restrictions” refers to the procedures and regulations surrounding academic research. The researchers discussed in this paper were able to experiment and use materials as they saw fit; there were little to no regulations regarding how their research should be conducted. Codes of ethics and regulations, such as the principles in the Belmont Report, were not well accept until the mid-1900s. While the lack of restrictions can lead to harm, it also allowed researchers to investigate topics as they saw fit, leading to “pursuits of passion” and the promotion of creativity in the scientific space (UC Merced, 2022).

Open communications and the exchanging of ideas can promote further research. Röntgen, Becquerel, and Curie were knowledgeable of each other's work, resulting in the continual research on radiation. This can also be observered with research today as members of academia can easily exchange ideas and converse through modern communication platforms. Allowing researchers to exchange information and ideas promotes new research to be conducted and for findings to be shared with other members of academia. Diversity in research can also lead to unexpected discoveries. Individuals with different demographics can present new ideas that lead to scientific discovery, weather they’re accidental or intentional. While women could enter academia in the late-1800s and early-1900s, options were still limited for women, and it was even more challenging to exchange ideas between individuals of different races. Promoting diversity in research and academia can generate new ideas and academic developments (Lewis, 2019).

Finally, the accidental discovery of x-rays and radiation were influenced by the lack of knowledge of the researchers. These discoveries were made due to the researchers being unaware of certain areas they were researching. For example, Becquerel and Curie had just discovered radiation and would not possess the knowledge to correlate Curie’s poor health to the radiation they were researching. As science progresses, we will discover practices or theories that are incorrect, such as the idea that cigarettes were healthy, which was disproven in the late 1960s. Humans being unaware of certain phenomena and the reasons behind them allows for intentional and unintentional discoveries to be made. The lack of information possessed by early researchers does not mean they were unintelligent people, rather they were open to learn more and research new ideas to expand upon their existing knowledge and further their scientific pursuits.

Accidents are bound to happen. Weather is stubbing your toe or discovering radiation, accidents are a part of the human experience and help us to learn more about ourselves and the world around us. While accidents and mistakes can be harmful, they are not inherently negative and can result in personal or societal betterment. To better promote scientific discovery, inventions, and academic developments, accidental discoveries and creations should not be labeled as a negative event and should be further research to confirm the findings and possible usages; however, safety and ethics should still be at the forefront as a potential scientific advancement is not a satisfactory explanation for harmful and unethical behavior or conduct. 

References

Brown, H. (2022). 5 best accidental inventions. Famous Scientists. https://www.famousscientists.org/5-best-accidental-inventions/

Columbia Surgery. (n.d.). History of medicine: X-ray imaging. https://columbiasurgery.org/news/2015/09/17/history-medicine-dr-roentgen-s-accidental-x-rays#:~:text=Wilhelm%20Roentgen%2C%20Professor%20of%20Physics,rays%20could%20pass%20through%20glass.

Lewis, J. J. (2019, March 24). A brief history of women in higher education. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-women-higher-ed-4129738

Long, T. (2011, March 1). March 1, 1896: All aglow. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2011/03/0301becquerel-discovers-radioactivity/

Mirion Technologies. (2015, April 5). The history of radiation. https://www.mirion.com/learning-center/radiation-safety-basics/the-history-of-radiation

Mirion Technologies. (2018, June 22). Marie curie discovered radium, but endangered herself. instadose. https://www.instadose.com/blog/marie-curie-discovered-radium-but-endangered-herself#:~:text=It%20is%20indisputable%20that%20Marie,radium%20in%20her%20coat%20pocket.

Nobel Prize Outreach AB. (2022). Henri Becquerel – Facts. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/becquerel/biographical/

UC Merced. (2022). Ethical guidelines, federal regulations and state statutes. https://rci.ucmerced.edu/irb/resources/ethical-guidelines-regulations-and-statutes

Watts, S. (2018, March 23). From marie curie to the demon core: When radiation kills. Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/from-marie-curie-to-the-demon-core-when-radiation-kills