Making discoveries and creating inventions, engineers and scientists, as a rule, strive to benefit humanity. However, sometimes what begins with good intentions actually ends with the suffering of millions of people. Today we will tell you about five geniuses who greatly regretted their inventions.
Alfred Nobel: dynamite
Nobel was an outstanding Swedish chemist, inventor and engineer. 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 got 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 end the war.
“Perhaps my factories will stop wars before politicians do. When two army corps are able to destroy each other in an instant, all developed countries will grow cold with horror and disband their armies,”Nobel dreamed.
However, in practice, the military quickly appreciated the capabilities of dynamite and happily adopted it for service. Dynamite killed so many people that one French newspaper reported the death of the inventor as a joyous event:
Promotional video:
"Le marchand de la mort est mort (The merchant in death is dead)", - announced the publication.
Nobel was very worried that his brainchild was the cause of the death of a huge number of people. That is why he passed on most of the inheritance for the establishment of the Peace Prize.
Arthur Galston: Agent Orange
Arthur Galston is 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 achievements 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 has proven 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 a huge number of 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 The scientist fought to ban Agent Orange from 1965 to 1971, when the chemical was finally withdrawn from circulation.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 guilty of the consequences of using the substance, because he did not make the decision to use Agent Orange in the war.
“Being engaged in science, you do not know how the fruits of your creativity will be used. Any discovery is morally neutral. People can use it for both good and destructive purposes. It's not science's fault,”Galston told 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 comrades' complaints about the unreliable and dangerous rifles in service with the Soviet Army. Combining interest in weapons and engineering talent, Kalashnikov created his main brainchild - an assault rifle, which was named AK-47.
“This is the most popular and effective firearm in the world. Its design is so simple that in many countries a vending machine is cheaper than a live chicken,”writes the Washington Post.
The Kalashnikov assault rifle is cheap to manufacture, 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 set up handicraft production of the AK-47. The falling of weapons into the service of criminals upset the inventor.
“I am proud of my invention, but I am sad that terrorists are using it. 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 100 million AK-47s produced by 2009, half were manufactured underground. The creator of the automaton was so depressed by this fact that he wrote a letter to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“My heartache is unbearable. I am tormented by the question: if my rifle kills people, am I responsible for their death? - Kalashnikov asked the Patriarch.
The church removed the guilt from the inventor and thanked him for the service, and six months later Kalashnikov died.
Orville Wright: Airplane
Everyone has heard of how Orville and Wilbur Wright invented and built the first airplane, and then took off in the air. As a lifelong advocate of the peaceful use of aviation, 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 aircraft would be used by the military only to monitor the enemy. A World War I survivor, Orville realized the devastation caused by the use of military aircraft.
“The plane made the war so terrible that I don’t believe any country would want to start a conflict again,” he wrote to the Aviation Industry Council.
“The plane, which made the possibilities of destruction limitless, actually became the guarantee of peace,” said Orville Wright, speaking on radio five years later.
However, after seeing the aftermath of aerial bombardments during World War II, Wright finally realized that aviation had only multiplied the death toll and regretted his invention.
“We wanted to create something that will ensure peace on Earth. But we were wrong,”Wright said in his last interview.
Robert Oppenheimer: the atomic bomb
It is well known that Einstein regretted his participation in the creation of the atomic bomb. However, the theoretical physicist was not directly involved in the design and construction of super-powerful weapons.
During World War II, 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 the fast neutron chain reactions required for an atomic explosion.
Realizing how terrible the power of nuclear weapons is, 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 of the Atomic Energy Commission.
Oppenheimer vigorously protested against the production of more and more atomic bombs, but because of the scientist's contacts with the Communists, the government doubted his reliability. As a result, Oppenheimer had to curtail anti-nuclear agitation. The use of atomic bombs and the threat of nuclear war depressed the scientist until the end of his days.
ALEX KUDRIN