The inventions of scientists were later used as weapons. Correspondent: Man-made disasters
IN memorable days During battles, most people remember the fallen soldiers, the people who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defend their country. Of course they deserve respect! However, the scientists and inventors who created the devices to protect these soldiers are usually forgotten. Discover the stories of six scientists whose work kept the war going even as the scientists themselves wanted to stop it.
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, inventor and engineer. He spoke five languages fluently by the age of 17! These days he is best known as the creator Nobel Prize with a special reward for peace - for those who during previous year can achieve the greatest good for humanity. The description of the award was contained in Nobel's will. Pushed him to create the award own discovery- the greatest humanist created dynamite. In 1867 he patented his invention - dynamite, which was more stable than nitroglycerin, which killed younger brother scientist, Emil. Nobel hoped that by adding stabilizers to nitroglycerin, he could stop the war rather than start it. He believed that his factory would end the feuds faster than the politicians. At a moment when any army can destroy another in a few seconds, every civilized nation will choose not to start hostilities! This was the opinion of Nobel, who soon had to regret his mistake. Armies quickly realized the potential of dynamite, and it soon caused many deaths. When a French newspaper mistakenly published Nobel's obituary, it was headlined "The Merchant of Death is Dead." His obituary stated that he had invented a way to kill people with maximum speed. Nobel was shocked and decided to change the way people would remember him. That's why he came up with the peace award.
Arthur Galston
Galston is a botanist who has dedicated his career to improving plant growth. He created a substance that accelerated the flowering of soybeans, but in large quantities destroyed them. Arthur did not imagine that the developers biological weapons use his find to destroy people. The weapon was called "Agent Orange" and was used during the Vietnam War. As a result, many thousands of children were born with serious health problems, and adults also suffered. Galston regretted his invention so much that he protested against the use of such weapons and got them banned in 1971. Nevertheless, he never managed to get rid of remorse.
Mikhail Kalashnikov
All Kalashnikov dreamed of was the security of his country. To do this, he enlisted in the army, where he heard about complaints from other soldiers about inconvenient rifles. Kalashnikov developed best model. To this day it is one of the most effective types weapons, such a simple and cheap machine gun that in many countries it can be bought for pennies. Unfortunately, these advantages are extremely attractive to terrorist groups. As a result, Kalashnikov repeatedly noted that he suffered from the results of his invention, because he could not foresee the destructive scale of such weapons.
Kamran Loughman
The development of pepper spray was inspired by the best of motives. It was originally invented for postmen to scare away dogs. Seeing the effectiveness of the product, the FBI decided to use it as a weapon. Kamran Loghman invented a substance based on the molecules that cause the burning sensation in chili peppers. The result is a burning sensation five times stronger than that of the hot pepper in the world. Logman thought that his invention would be a means of defense - but as a result, it was used against peaceful Protestants, which shocked the scientist. He was tormented even by the thought that his weapon would be used against people who simply wanted to express their opinions, peaceful students participating in rallies. About this use during the creation process pepper spray he didn't think.
Orville Wright
The Wright brothers created the world's first airplane. Both of them tried to ensure maximum flight safety and never thought that their find would become a weapon. Orville lived to see the First World War and saw what his invention led to. He realized that it was airplanes that made war a real horror. Then World War II began, and airplanes turned out to be an even more powerful weapon. After his invention caused terrible destruction, he admitted that he and his brother were wrong when they dreamed of bringing peace to the earth - they created a crushing force that killed thousands of people.
Robert Oppenheimer
Everyone knows that Einstein regretted inventing the atomic bomb. But he was not directly involved in its creation. But Robert Oppenheimer was. The talented physicist helped to reach new heights in the study of atomic movements. When World War II began, he decided to create an atomic bomb to stop hostilities. He worked with leading physicists on his project, focusing on neutron chain reactions that would form the basis for a bomb. The result was Trinity, the first hydrogen bomb. It exploded with a power of 18 thousand tons of TNT. Realizing the scale of the invention, Oppenheimer advocated the creation international control atomic energy. He spoke out against development atomic bombs. IN last years Throughout his life, he became completely disillusioned with his work and was never able to forget the destructive effect to which it led.
By making discoveries and creating inventions, engineers and scientists, as a rule, strive to benefit humanity. However, sometimes what starts with good intentions actually ends in the suffering of millions of people.
Alfred Nobel: dynamite
Nobel was an outstanding Swedish chemist, inventor and engineer. Already at the age of 17, he spoke 5 languages fluently. Today he is known as the creator of the Nobel Prize - an award for those who have brought the greatest benefit to humanity during the year. Nobel came up with the idea for the award thanks to his own invention - dynamite, which was patented in 1867.
While developing explosives, Nobel sought to create a more stable form of nitroglycerin, which at one time killed the inventor's younger brother. Nobel believed that his brainchild would put an end to the war.
“Perhaps my factories will stop wars before politicians do. When two army corps can destroy each other in an instant, everyone the developed countries They will grow cold with horror and disband their armies,” Nobel dreamed.
However, in practice, the military quickly appreciated the capabilities of dynamite and gladly adopted it. Dynamite killed so many people that one French newspaper reported the inventor's death as a joyful event:
“Le marchand de la mort est mort (The Merchant of Death is Dead),” the publication announced.
Nobel was very worried that his brainchild caused the death of a huge number of people. That's why he handed over most legacy for the establishment of the Peace Prize.
Arthur Galston: Agent Orange
Arthur Galston was an American botanist who was looking for methods to accelerate the growth of valuable crops. The scientist was engaged in the synthesis of dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, a substance that accelerates the fruiting of soybeans. However, Galston's colleagues used his work to create chemical weapons. The chemical they created was called Agent Orange and was used during the Vietnam War to destroy enemy crops. The substance turned out to be effective. As it turned out later, Agent Orange was the cause of birth defects in hundreds of thousands of children and health problems in huge amount adults.
Galston protested against this use of his development. The scientist fought to ban Agent Orange from 1965 to 1971, when the chemical was finally withdrawn from circulation.
Galston did not consider himself to blame for the consequences of the use of the substance, because he did not make the decision to use Agent Orange in the war.
“When doing science, you don’t know how the fruits of your creativity will be used. Any discovery is neutral from a moral point of view. People can use it for both good and destructive purposes. It's not science's fault," Galston said in an interview. The New York Times.
Mikhail Kalashnikov: AK-47
All Kalashnikov wanted was to defend his country. With this thought he went to military service. More than once the future inventor had to hear complaints from his comrades about the unreliable and dangerous to use rifles that were in service with Soviet army. Combining his interest in weapons and engineering talent, Kalashnikov created his main brainchild - an assault rifle called the AK-47.
"This is the most popular and effective firearms in the world. Its design is so simple that in many countries the machine costs less than a live chicken,” writes the Washington Post.
The Kalashnikov assault rifle is cheap to produce, lightweight, durable and suitable for use in any climatic conditions. Having been awarded the title of Hero of Russia, Kalashnikov was proud of his services to the country all his life.
Unfortunately, many terrorist groups have started making artisanal AK-47s. The discovery of weapons in the service of criminals upset the inventor.
“I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it's being used by terrorists. If I had a choice, I would prefer to invent some useful device for farmers, for example, a lawn mower,” Kalashnikov told The Guardian.
Of the one hundred million AK-47s produced by 2009, half were manufactured clandestinely. The creator of the machine was so depressed by this fact that he wrote a letter to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“My mental pain is unbearable. I struggle with the question: If my rifle kills people, am I responsible for their deaths?” - Kalashnikov asked the Patriarch.
The church absolved the inventor of blame and thanked him for his service, and six months later Kalashnikov died.
Orville Wright: airplane
Everyone has heard about how Orville and Wilbur Wright invented and built the first airplane, and then took it into the air. Having spent their entire lives advocating the use of aviation for peaceful purposes, the Wrights did not expect to see the fruits of their creativity used as weapons.
The brothers sold aircraft to the US Army, but believed that the winged vehicles would only be used by the military to observe the enemy. Survivor of the First world war Orville realized the destruction brought by the use of military aircraft.
“The airplane has made the war so terrible that I do not believe any country would want to start a conflict again,” he wrote to the Aircraft Industry Council.
“The airplane, which made the possibilities of destruction limitless, effectively became a guarantee of peace,” said Orville Wright, speaking on radio five years later.
However, after seeing the consequences of aerial bombing during World War II, Wright finally realized that aviation had only increased the number dead people and regretted his invention.
“We wanted to create something that would ensure peace on Earth. But we were wrong,” Wright said in his dying interview.
Robert Oppenheimer: atomic bomb
It is well known that Einstein regretted his participation in the creation of the atomic bomb. However, the theoretical physicist did not directly participate in the design and construction of super-powerful weapons.
During the Second World War, another scientist, Julius Robert Oppenheimer, realized that the creation of an atomic bomb could end the military confrontation. While working at the Los Alamos laboratory, Oppenheimer studied chain reactions fast neutrons necessary for an atomic explosion.
Realizing how much terrible force possesses nuclear weapons, Oppenheimer began to insist on the introduction of international control over the use of atomic energy. As a result, the physicist was appointed chairman of the General advisory committee Atomic Energy Commission.
Oppenheimer strongly protested against the production of more and more atomic bombs, but due to the scientist's contacts with the Communists, the government doubted his trustworthiness. As a result, Oppenheimer had to curtail his anti-nuclear campaign. The use of atomic bombs and the threat of nuclear war depressed the scientist until the end of his days.
Oct 1, 2017 Gennady
History knows many facts when important and useful inventions, which were created with the best intentions, did not fulfill their purpose. In our review of 10 things, the creators of which tried to improve the world, but as a result caused damage to the environment and the death of a huge number of people.
1. Cyclone-B
Fritz Haber - Jewish scientist, Nobel Prize winner, who created a cheap nitrogen fertilizer that became chemical weapons Germans in the First World War. His invention, which was used as an insecticide to fumigate granaries, killed more than 1.2 million people. Zyklon-B was also used in gas chambers during the Holocaust.
2. Agent Orange
Arthur Galston developed a chemical fertilizer that accelerated the growth of soybeans and made it possible to grow varieties with a short growing season. Unfortunately, at high concentrations, this substance destroyed vegetation. Therefore, it was also used as a herbicide. Subsequently, 77 million liters of Agent Orange were sprayed over Vietnam, resulting in 400,000 deaths and 500,000 children with birth defects.
3. Gatling gun
Richard Jordan Gatling developed the Gatling gun after noticing that most of those killed during the American civil war died from disease, not from wounds. In 1877 he wrote: “The idea occurred to me that if a weapon could be invented that could fire at the speed of 100 people, then there would be no need for large armies. Such a weapon would also reduce the duration of battles and therefore reduce the risk of disease." However, as a result, the Gatling gun was most successfully used to expand European colonial empires and mercilessly mow down aborigines armed with primitive weapons.
4. TNT
Joseph Wilbrand was a German chemist who invented TNT in 1863 and intended to use it as a yellow dye. Before 1902 destructive force TNT was unknown. Trinitrotoluene began to be used as explosive during the First and Second World Wars.
5. Leaded gasoline
Thomas Midgley discovered that freon could be used as a safe refrigerant in place of highly toxic refrigerants such as ammonia. This led to severe damage to the Earth's ozone layer. Another of his famous ideas was adding tetraethyl lead to gasoline to prevent “accidental explosions.” However, it has caused health problems for people around the world and led to a number of deaths from lead poisoning. Milgley is considered the person who "had more influence on the atmosphere than any other organism in Earth's history."
6. Sarin
Gerhard Schrader was a German chemist specializing in insecticides. He hoped to make progress in the fight against world hunger. But Dr. Schrader is known for accidental discovery nerve gases such as sarin and tabun.
7. Thermonuclear reaction
Sir Marcus Oliphant Lawrence Alvin was the first to discover that heavy hydrogen nuclei could react with each other. This fusion reaction (called nuclear fusion) is the basis hydrogen bomb. Ten years later, American scientist Edward Teller used Oliphant's discovery to build a similar bomb.
8. V2 rockets
Despite Wernher von Braun's passion for astronomy and his dreams that rockets could be used to explore space, the scientist's talents were used to build the Nazi V2 rockets, which caused the deaths of 7,250 military personnel and civilians. About 20,000 workers were involved in the construction, who worked in slave conditions. Later in the USA, a scientist developed a series of intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of delivering several nuclear warheads Worldwide. He then created the Saturn V, the rocket that took people to the moon.
9. Concentration camps
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, built "refugee camps" to provide refuge for civilian families who were forced to leave their homes during the Boer War. However, when Lord Kitchener replaced Roberts as Commander-in-Chief South Africa in 1900, british army introduced new tactics in an attempt to break partisan resistance. As a result, the influx of civilians into the camps has increased dramatically. Kitchener began to literally mercilessly exterminate the partisans. Of the 28,000 Boer men captured as prisoners of war, 25,630 were sent overseas. The vast majority of the Boers remaining in the local camps were women and children. More than 26,000 women and children were condemned to death in these concentration camps.
10. Ecstasy
Anton Kölisch synthesized 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine as a by-product while researching a drug to combat heavy bleeding. His invention was forgotten for 70 years until it became popular in dance clubs in the early 1980s. As a result, ecstasy became a symbol of Rave culture in the late 80s. MDMA has also become one of the four main illegal drugs. Its use killed about 50 people a year in the UK alone. The father of ecstasy himself died during the First World War.
History also knows. But the designers hoped that their creations would make a real breakthrough.
According to one version, the Nobel Prize fund was formed because Alfred Nobel wanted his name to be associated with him, and not with the dynamite he invented. Throughout the history of mankind, many scientists regretted their discoveries, and some simply did not understand that their inventions carried a danger to both environment, and for humans. Let's look at the list of 15 dangerous inventions. We formed it on the basis of the majority opinion, if it were based on Subjective opinion author, then a few more items would be added, for example, serial films and Coca-Cola. So let's get serious.
It will surprise no one that we started our list with nuclear weapons. World countries that have not abandoned it use it as a way to intimidate opponents. However, if one day several countries decide to apply it simultaneously, then the worst scenario is the split of the planet (and this is not a figurative expression), the best is a climate catastrophe, destruction of the ozone layer, the death of all living things.
The next point is again nuclear technology. How often have we heard about the peaceful atom, about how cheap it costs us nuclear power, and that when operating properly, nuclear power plants do not harm the environment. But who can guarantee their uninterrupted operation?
Consequences of the accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which occurred in 1986, are still felt today. Another problem is radioactive waste which we pass on to our descendants by inheritance.
Another weapon mass destruction, suggesting the use toxic properties some substances that produce a toxic effect. We know how destructive this is from history textbooks (used during world wars) and from news stories (modern civil wars).
In the 40s of the twentieth century, the development of chemical fertilizers began; a few decades later they began mass production. Of course it is effective and quick way increase the amount of food that is constantly in short supply for the entire population of the planet.
But phosphorus, nitrogen and other fertilizers harm flora, fauna, incl. negatively affect people's health and contribute to the occurrence of serious diseases.
One more chemical, which helps to increase the yield while preserving it, are pesticides used to control pests, weeds, plant diseases. They harm the ecosystem as a whole, in particular causing great damage to birds. Can cause allergic reactions and diathesis in humans.
We all know what harm engines cause us. internal combustion. Thanks to them, there is an increased concentration of heavy metals in the air. The inventor of such an engine is also responsible for the destruction of the ozone layer.
Since we are talking about the thinning of the ozone layer, how can we not recall freon, invented in 1928. This gas was used in refrigeration equipment and perfumes for quite a long time before they realized how dangerous it is for the environment.
Once again, hunger has given rise to a new discovery - genetically modified foods that are more resistant to external influence. However, many scientists agree that this is a “time bomb”; the consequences of their use can be serious diseases and mutations.
The problem is not in the technology itself, but in the fact that again accidents cannot be ruled out, the consequences of which for the environment are catastrophic. For example, in 1978, as a result of an accident on an American tanker, 220 thousand tons of oil were spilled, and the ecology in that area has not recovered to this day.
Toxic fluorine, nitrogen and carbon oxide, sulfur dioxide– all these are by-products of aluminum production by electrolysis. These toxic substances negatively affect vegetation (especially fluoride) and human health (bronchitis and other respiratory diseases develop).
When burned, polyethylene waste releases a toxic substance, and does not decompose in the soil, but contributes to the proliferation of harmful organisms. Draw your own conclusions.
Antibiotics cannot be called harmful; we owe much of our considerable life expectancy to the discovery of penicillin. The dangerous thing is that they are sold without a prescription, and most people consider them a magic pill for everything. In practice, they poison the entire body, harming the functioning of the liver and kidneys. Using them for other purposes may lead to negative consequences.
13. Drugs
14. Alcohol
15. Cigarettes
Let's comment on the last three points in general. Enterprising people build their own super profitable business on human weaknesses. Someone is trying to escape from reality, causing irreparable harm to their body and replenishing the wallets of others. There is no need to say anything more when so much has already been written about it. Warnings are even placed on cigarette packaging; it’s bad that not everyone takes them seriously.
People today are surrounded by many new inventions, but few people think about where they came from and how they affected our lives.
The basis of all world discoveries consists of both useful and funny, unnecessary, and, unfortunately, very dangerous inventions.
This article is about what innovations modern world sooner or later they can destroy humanity.
Nuclear weapon
Today, this type of weapon is concentrated in several countries of the world: Great Britain, Russia, China, France, USA, etc. At one time, Ukraine was the third most powerful country in the world nuclear arsenal, but in 1994 we abandoned it.
Nuclear weapons pose a particular danger to human life all over the planet. If a nuclear war breaks out, everything will be destroyed. So, if the dams of hydraulic structures collapse, there will be a flood; if nuclear power plants collapse, there will be a significant increase in radiation level, contamination of agricultural crops, which will subsequently lead to famine. If nuclear attack will be inflicted in winter, people who can survive will simply die from the cold, since they will have nowhere to live.
The disastrous outcome of the long-term use of nuclear weapons will be the destruction of the ozone layer, which will ultimately have a disastrous effect on all living things.
Thus, nuclear war will not be able to resolve interstate problems, it will simply become the cause of a climate catastrophe (cold weather, massive fires), an increase in cancer rates in surviving people and, in the future, the death of all living things.
Nuclear power
Very topical issue Currently, there is unsafety of nuclear power plants. Many countries around the world are discussing the topic of abandoning this type of energy, because accidents at nuclear power plants always threaten global consequences. environmental disasters. Just take the example of 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which led to the strongest large-scale radioactive contamination territory of Ukraine and Europe, as well as to the disease of thousands of people.
Today the situation with nuclear power plants in Ukraine is deplorable. Nuclear reactors are already old and are not able to operate in normal mode, but power engineers do not want to take this into account and continue to operate as usual. Such actions only increase the likelihood of further accidents.
The only benefit of nuclear energy is that such electricity is cheap. But you can’t escape reality: the longer countries continue to refuse to use nuclear power plants, the more they will produce nuclear waste, which will be dangerous for at least another million years. Nuclear energy also contributes to the greenhouse effect and increased terrorism (after all, nuclear weapons are made with the help of nuclear reactors).
Chemical fertilizers
The basis for chemical fertilizers was laid in the mid-1930s, but only recently (20th century) did their mass production and use begin.
Today, the most popular and widespread are phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers.
Scientists around the world have differing opinions about the dangers of this type of fertilizer. On the one hand, the planet's population is growing, demanding everything every day large quantity plant and animal food, and the world’s cultivated areas occupy only 15% of the Earth’s surface, and to increase them by fast deadline it is simply impossible without chemical fertilizers. On the other hand, if you use them constantly, the biological cycle of plants is disrupted, which necessarily leads to soil erosion, as well as the destruction of microorganisms and insects in it. Then the gradual death of fish and other animals begins, as fertilizers enter water bodies through groundwater.
Anyway, this one controversial issue must be decided, and immediately. Planting larger crops to get more material resources, will not lead us to good. Chemical fertilizers are a kind of slow weapon for the destruction of the flora and fauna of the planet, as well as the emergence of dangerous diseases.
Internal combustion engine
Environmentalists have long considered internal combustion engines, which are powered by diesel or gasoline fuel, to be one of the worst inventions of mankind.
They emit heavy metals into the atmosphere, which burns atmospheric oxygen, poison people with carbon monoxide, and contribute to the creation of the greenhouse effect (climate warming, drought).
According to World Organization health care, such emissions reduce the duration human life on average for 4 years.
Improper disposal of used oils and engine batteries is slowly poisoning us and our environment.
Freon
Freon was synthesized in 1928 by an American chemist. Since this gas has high thermodynamic properties, it soon became widely used in the production of air conditioners, refrigerators, as well as aerosols and perfumes. Only in the 80s, scientists proved that, when decomposing in the atmosphere with the release of chlorine, freon destroys the ozone layer, and if the gas is heated above 250°C, very toxic products are formed that can be a strong poison.
Polyethylene
Found this material mass application in the production of packaging films, bags, pipes and toys. The danger is that when it is burned, harmful substances are released, and in the ground it does not decompose at all. According to environmental scientists, the number of ocean inhabitants is decreasing by more than 100 thousand units per year due to polyethylene waste.
Also, various unhealthy microorganisms, including yeast and E. coli bacteria, accumulate and multiply intensively on polyethylene. Thus, if you store food for a long time in bags or under a film made of this material, then they not only acquire bad smell and taste, but also lead to inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract and severe poisoning.
Genetically modified organisms
The issue of the safety of GMO products is very relevant today. Much has not been proven, but animal studies are thought provoking.
Proponents of the use of GMOs have been arguing for several decades that such technologies will help humanity cope with the growing problem of hunger, but, as other scientists have found, the use of genetically modified products can cause all kinds of mutations, and new types of allergies and pathologies internal organs, and infertility.
Antibiotics
Today modern man increasingly dependent on medications. There are certainly benefits from medications. But you need to remember and understand that not all pills sold without a doctor's prescription are safe.
There is a widespread belief that by taking an antibiotic, a person will recover faster. But that's not true. The fact is that such drugs only block the proliferation of bacteria or, in best case scenario, kill them, but that’s where their “responsibilities” end.
Antibiotics are very toxic. They poison almost the entire body. First the liver is attacked, then the immune system, kidneys and other organs.
By killing bacteria in the body, antibiotics create so-called evolutionary selection, which is characterized by the emergence of mutant bacteria that were able to survive and adapt.
Conclusion
“Why was all this invented?” - the question is relevant, but, unfortunately, there is no answer yet. On the one hand, there are positive arguments in favor of such inventions, but on the other hand, something that brings evil cannot be used for good. Decision-making on the use of the same nuclear facilities or GMOs is not provided ordinary people. Scientists play with science, with nature. Let's see where this leads in the future.
Palamarchuk Irina