The Division of Scientists' Right to Invent
Two "Fathers of Radio"
In July 1902, Marconi accompanied the King of Italy on a cruiser visit to Russia. At that time, Popov went to the cruiser to welcome Marconi. He shook Marconi's hand and said, "I congratulate the Father of Radio!" Later, in the lawsuit, the British and Italians used this sentence to confirm that Popov had recognized Marconi's priority in inventing radio.
The Russians did not buy this account, claiming that Popov merely welcomed his guest Marconi in a humble tone, showing Popov's noble character, and saying that Popov had pointed out that Marconi's radio had shortcomings.
In 1908, the Russian government supported the establishment of a special committee to investigate the right to invent radio and sent letters to many foreign scholars for comment. Soon, Russia announced that Popov was the first to invent radio, and that he was the "father of radio."
The British and Italians immediately came out to refute it, arguing that Marconi, though not the first to invent radio, was the first to "walk out" of the laboratory and put radio waves into practical use.
The invention rights lawsuit lasted for three years, and it was not until November 1909 that Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics that year. The Russians could do nothing about this, because in 1906 Popov died of illness, and the Nobel Prize was awarded only to living scientists.
Newton's struggles and regrets
In 1666, the British scientific superstar Newton founded the calculus system.
This invention right is naturally recognized by the world's scientific community. Nine years later, the German scientific superstar Leibniz created the basic principles of calculus, and the methods he discussed, the symbols used, were easier to understand and simpler than Newton's, and were also self-contained.
The calculus founded by Newton and Leibniz takes a very different approach on the surface. Newton combined kinematic ideas in the construction of mathematical physics, and his achievements were slightly higher than Leibniz. As a result, Leibniz exhibited the measure of a superstar, repeatedly emphasizing Newton's exploits in inventing calculus. Newton, by contrast, developed jealousy and manipulated an international commission of inquiry chaired by the British to one-sidedly and unjustly accuse Leibniz in an attempt to prove that he was a plagiarist. The argument between the supporters on both sides was extremely fierce, and both Newton and Leibniz were bitter about it.
Newton also had a dispute with Hooke, also an Englishman, over the discovery of the law of squares of gravitation. The controversy severely affected not only their personal friendship, but also their respective scientific studies, and Newton's book The Law of Squares of Gravitation was not published until Hooke's death.
Interesting few electric lamp inventors
The dispute over the right to invent involves the largest number of people, which is probably the electric lamp. In 1879, Edison lit the world's first electric lamp, and he obtained the patent for the invention of the electric lamp.
Before Edison lit the lights, on December 18, 1878, the famous British scientist Swann presented the carbon filament bulb at the Newcastle Chemical Society, which was put into production two years later.
Carbon filament bulb restoration
The Russians were not far behind in inventing electric lights, and the Russian government claimed that as early as 1873, Ya Ni used incandescent lamps as an experiment to illuminate the streets of Petersburg. Earlier, in 1845, the Russian scientist Borshevsky invented the fluorescent lamp with glowstone.
As a result, the right to invent electric lamps wrote down the names of five scientists in three countries in the history of world science and technology, acknowledging that they were all inventors of electric lights.
Evolution and the good story of fluorine
In the history of science and technology in the world, there are people who have fought lawsuits for the right to invent, but there is no shortage of people who are humble to each other. The founders of the theory of evolution, Darwin and Wallace, were both British and were born in the same era.
While writing the theory of evolution, Darwin received Wallace's article on the same content. Darwin's noble character met Wallace's open-mindedness, and their articles were published. This is a model of seeking truth from facts in the history of science and technology.
In the 19th century, the famous French chemist Frommi discovered the new chemical element "fluorine", he told his proud protégé Moissan about the situation, and worked with him to tackle the problem.
Soon, Moissan found a unique way to release the element "fluorine".
Moissan was so excited that he formally submitted the report to the French Academy of Sciences for approval. The three-member final jury chair sent by the French Academy of Sciences is precisely Frommi.
Many people feel sorry for Fromy, believing that he has studied "fluorine" for most of his life, and when he is about to succeed, he tells the secret to the students and lets the students take advantage. There are also people who worry about Moissan, afraid that it will be difficult to pass the Fromy pass. Who knew that Fromy did not care, he said: "Seeing your students out of blue is better than blue, this is always one of the greatest pleasures of being a teacher!" ”
At the trial, no sooner had Moissan's experiment ended than Fromy stood up and declared the experiment successful. With a smile on his face, he stepped forward to shake hands with his students and congratulate them. Moissan was filled with tears and hugged his mentor tightly. This is a good story left by "fluorine" in the history of science and technology to future generations.