Skip to main content

The casual invention that saves lives in accidents

This casual invention was what is commonly known as a "Serendipity." You know, those unexpected discoveries where the scientist, without knowing very well how, finds a finding when in fact he intended something very different.This was what it happened to Edouard Benedictus, a French chemist who in 1903 brought us something essential in our day to day: laminated glass .

Do you want to discover with us as he did? Excellent, but first we will put on the seat belt...

The glass that fell to the ground and did not break

The casual invention that saves lives in accidents

Edouard Benedictus

Edouard Benedictus , was, as every day, working in his laboratory.He was a chemist and inventor, a French inventor who was doing experiments with cellulose nitrate that morning.The fact that a glass flask fell on the floor was nothing new or unusual, but our French chemist ran out of breath to see that despite if it had broken, the flask had not become anis .That is, not a single piece of glass had been detached from the original shape of the container.It was perfectly attached.

How could it be? that was simply fascinating, so much so that the inventor's mind began to set in motion the gears of ingenuity in search of some kind of practical applicability to that event.Although, of course, the first thing was to understand how it had happened.He made a small setback.mentally and I remember that the flask was covered inside by a nitrocellulose solution. A material that within a few seconds had evaporated without a trace, but nevertheless, it had been enough to apply a layer of protection to the glass preventing it from fragmenting.Wonderful, no doubt…

The application of laminated glass

The casual invention that saves lives in accidents

Car window with laminated glass

It may surprise you, but it was many years before Edouard Benedictus gave his glass the applicability that we all know.Soon the First burst World War , and his invention was infinitely practical in the eye glasses of gas masks.Thus, serious injuries were avoided in that sensitive part of the face.

The truth is that It was not until the French inventor witnessed a serious traffic accident , when the light was turned on and he understood how he could use his unbreakable crystal.In that accident a girl had suffered serious facial injuries after the car's front glass exploded against it, disfiguring it.It should do something, something useful with its unbreakable glass...

His subsequent invention was to join two sheets glass with the same nitrocellulose solution as usual, in this way, the automotive world would avoid one of the most frequent risks at that time.In the first part of the 20th century , half of people who died in traffic accidents were precisely because of the impact of the frontal crystals on their bodies.Something really tragic.

The casual invention that saves lives in accidents

In 1939 laminated glass was already widely used.They called it" the indestructible safety glass ", and it was the Dagenham Ford Motor Company , in England, the first to market it.So if you know, every time you get in the car, remember that French chemist, Mr.Edouard Benedictus, that one day and accidentally, he brought us an essential resource that protects thousands of people in their traffic accidents every day.

If you liked this article, you would surely be interested in knowing "the woman who invented the turn signal and the brake light." or "The father that unintentionally invented the tire »

Image: Kyle May, F Mira, Cedric Lange

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What happens inside a black hole? The distressing possibilities

SPOILER ALERT! In a recent movie- Interstellar , 2014– an astronaut played by Matthew McConaughey and a rectangular robot fall into a black hole and survive to tell it.This movie featured a fancy scientific advice, such as the physical Kip Thorne , involved in the discovery of gravitational waves caused by the interaction of two black holes, but that did not prevent them from being too benign and fanciful when describing what could happen to you within a black hole. What happens inside a Black Hole? The distressing possibilities Black holes are points in the universe where the force of gravity is so intense that not even light can escape them.They can be the result of the collapse of red stars or the way in which Some galaxies are structured.This phenomenon was one of the predictions of the theory of relativity in the early twentieth century, with key contributions in the sixties and seventies, by physicists such as Stephen Hawking, and with a discovery in the new millenni...

Are we all connected?

Today, in Science Daily Online we bring you a phenomenon that seems recent, but has actually been studied for over 100 years.Do you want to know what it is? Theory of the Six Degrees of Separation confirms that any individual on our planet is connected to another with a set/chain of acquaintances with no more than 5 points of union or links.Based on this theory, only 6 steps separate us from another person on Earth.Six levels or degrees. The initial idea arose in 1929 by the writer Frigyes Karinth , in a story called Chains . Only 6 levels separate us from a stranger Later, in 1967, Stanley Milgran , a well-known sociologist, investigated this phenomenon with an experiment to prove the theory.To do this, American inhabitants of the Central part participated-West of America , c on the objective of delivering a package to a stranger in the city of Massachusetts, located thousands of kilometers away.The idea was to provide data such as the name, general location and lo...

5 indications that a child is a victim of bullying

In all countries of the world and in all ages children and young people have been victims of bullying .Luckily, as now, society is never aware of this problem and there are numerous organisms that have been created to fight against that problem.However, it is sometimes difficult to know that our children or young people are suffering from this torture.We hope to help you with these 5 indicative of that a child is a victim of bullying. 5 indications that a child is a victim of bullying 1.Reluctance to go to school for Tomorrow It is one of the signs that there is a problem.The reluctance in the morning to wake up and leave to go to school may indicate that you are being a victim of bullying.It is usually accompanied by excuses such as headaches or tummy and is especially noticeable on Mondays already that you have to abandon the security you had at home at the weekend.Teenagers don't excuse themselves, they just don't go. 2.Loss or change of friends ...

How to deal with someone suffering from anxiety: keys

Hi Science Daily Online ! Before reading the article we would like you to know a new way to discover our curious world, through Youtube ! We have a channel that we would love to be a part of.You can subscribe and meet him here-> YouTube Science Daily Online! Does anyone close to you suffer anxiety? But not that kind of normal anxiety that we feel when we have an appointment or when we have to talk to our boss, we mean an anxiety disorder; that mental disorder that causes the person to suffer from an abnormal fear and anguish frequently. If so, these keys to dealing with someone suffering from anxiety will be very useful. How to deal with someone suffering from anxiety: keys Suffering anxiety is a rather complicated disorder that modifies a person's life completely. Anxiety causes the chemistry of the brain to change and the person sees things in a negative way, in addition, this disorder is characterized by the affected person suffers from frequent anxiety atta...

Cariaco: an amazing oceanic grave

There are numerous sea graves in the oceans of the world, abysses thousands of meters deep rarely visited by man, surpassed all by the Mariana Trench, in the Pacific Ocean , in the that is the deepest chasm of all, Challenger, with more than eleven kilometers. Those of the Atlantic are not as spectacular, and among them, that of Cariaco , in the The Caribbean Sea, would not be particularly noticeable, if not for a small detail: it is the only permanent anoxic basin in the world located in the open sea. The anoxic basins The Cariaco Trench is located on the eastern coast of Venezuela, west of the Araya Peninsula , between Cumana and the Margarita Island , and reaches a maximum depth of 1,400 meters, and after the Black Sea is the second largest anoxic basin in the world. Ruins of the castle of Araya, in the peninsula of the same name It is said that a basin is anoxic when after a certain depth there is no oxygen dissolved in the water, which dramatically reduces the p...

4 kinds of lice you should know | Have you heard of them?

These annoying insects, parasitize all kinds of birds and mammals producing in their victims an unbearable itching. These animals usually spend their entire life cycle in the same host, since they are young (nits) until they die, to unless they are eliminated before .Their life usually lasts about 30 days, from when they leave the egg until they die.During this article we will show you the kinds of lice you should know, among the more than 3,000 varieties that exist.All these, divided into two orders: the suckers and the chewers. Surely in your childhood you have heard about them or some of your companions suffered from this plague at school, they are tremendously contagious, so should not be exposed to them.Also, despite having countless home remedies to make them disappear, they always cling tightly to the scalp so it is very difficult to eradicate them.The best thing is always to go to the doctor or veterinarian in case your petis infected. Discover all kinds of lice before you...

5 curiosities about snot

In Science Daily Online we talk to you once about 10 unpleasant things about the human body, this time we want to introduce you 5 curiosities about snot. 1.We produce almost 1 liter of mucus a day We produce almost 1 liter of mucus a day , being able to reach a liter and a half.Although it sounds horrible to produce so much mucus, it is actually very important for our body. Its function is to protect the surfaces of some parts of our body, such as the throat, lungs or digestive system, preventing them from drying out and cracking, according to Neil L.Kao, an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. 2.Mucophagia is actually healthy Mucophagia is, as you may have already sensed with a grimace of disgust, eating the snot .Apparently, although disturbing, if it is healthy because it can help your immune system .This was investigated by Scott Napper, professor of Biochemistry of the University of Saskatc hewan (Canada). Actually, although it s...

Can you sweat blood? Discover Hematohidrosis, a strange disease

Did you know that you can sweat blood? Although it sounds too strange to be true, it is, and it is a physiological response of the body.Do you want to find out more? Stay with us! Can you sweat blood? Discover Hematohidrosis This strange disease is known as Hematohidrosis, and is also known as blood sweat , although in certain cases instead of sweat the fluid can flow out the eyes, in the form of tears. This medical phenomenon has nothing to do with witchcraft or some dark origin.The body of the person can sweat blood without any kind of wound, as a response to the extreme stress , being at its peak. Evidence of this disease dates back to the third century , where in The scriptures of that time described this rare event.The Bible also mentions that the nights before his execution, Jesus sweated blood, and that can generate more stress than knowing that one is going to die? Weigh Since this problem dates back to ancient times, even when 2012 came, science had not yet...

How bulletproof vests work?

An incredible invention of the human being was created to deal with another terrible invention of the same human being.What do we mean? Bulletproof vests. Do you know how they work? Don't worry, let's check it out! Bulletproof vests: How do they work? Bulletproof vests they are often used by those who are dedicated to security, and are intended to protect the body from receiving projectiles. Its origins may be traced back to the times in which armor and shields were used as protection .However, today's bulletproof vest is designed and designed to disperse the energy of a projectile and keep the user to a minimum or completely cancel them. Some are made of steel panels, a material that can be really strong and resistant, but which can also be too annoying and heavy to use.In this sense, by di It is easy to believe, ammunition has been created capable of penetrating iron , so over time they have had to create more and better versions of these protective vests...

6 things you don't know about your nose

The nose performs important breathing tasks and is the main part of the sense of smell, usually we do not have much in mind, only when we have a cold problem or because it is ugly in the face where it is located., in this entry of Science Daily Online, we present the best curiosities about the nose.Don't miss them! The nose, that great unknown 1.The way Sneezing can have a genetic origin The way each individual sneezes is unique and can become a differentiating characteristic.The way to sneeze is not only a biological issue, it can also be inherited.It is common for people who belong to the same family to have a similar sneeze. 2.Grows down When we turn 10, A person's nose has already reached its conclusive form.Instead, it continues to grow in the next 7 years.But if you are a woman. Over time, the nose grows and falls due to gravity and because the collagen breaks down gradually. 3.Segrega liquid Every 20 minutes, the nose produces a sticky fluid that...