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There is no doubt that scientist have contributed greatly to the continued development of the present society. Some of the things that we enjoy today such as electricity are innovations of someone who dedicated his life. Unlike other professions, scientists are well known for giving up everything else to research as well as innovation. Persecution and death threats could not stop them from making the breakthroughs they made. In a bid to celebrate breakthroughs in technology and research, this article aims to highlight some of the most influential scientists of all times.

1. Aristotle

Aristotle is well known as the greatest philosopher of his time. He had wide knowledge regarding different disciplines something that has been managed only by a few scientists. His contribution ranges from physics, zoology, biology, politics, ethics and logic amongst others. Contributions made by Aristotle can still be felt in the present age despite having lived hundreds of years ago. It was because of him that we now understand science and matter applicably.

2. Isaac Newton

Probably considered as one of the greatest scientist of his time. Just like Aristotle, Isaac Newton was well versed in different subject areas such as mathematics, physics and natural philosophy amongst others. Isaac Newton is best known for his contribution in attempting and managing to explain gravitational law as well as the three laws of motion. High school math and science courses still use his  cradle to explain motions and movements.

3. Galileo Galilei

Up-to-date, Galileo Galilei is still considered as having made the greatest contribution to science. He continued to make discoveries that are still being used in the present age, despite being persecuted by the church for what he believed in. Not only was he a physicist but also an astronomer as well as a philosopher. His contributions to science include creation of telescope and first two laws of motions. It was only in the early 2000s that Pope John Paul II recognized Galilei’s work as legit, after approximately 400 years of denial by the Roman Catholic Church.

4. Charles Robert Darwin

Coming in at number four is Charles Darwin even though there are those who dispute to him having been a scientist in the first place. His contributions were major on origin of man. He is also known to have traveled extensively around the world so as to prove his theories. His work on the survival of fittest has sparked eugenics movements as well as Social Darwinist research. It now helps explain convergent and divergent evolution.

5. Albert Einstein

Looking at the past of Albert Einstein nobody would not have thought that a boy who could not talk till he attained the age of three and had to wait till he was eight years of age to read could be one of the greatest scientists of all time. In spite of all the hurdles that faced him, he managed to win noble peace prize for the contributions he made in physics.

Some great things happen by accident as if not all of the good things in life are really meant to be such. There are those discoveries in modern times that happened not by design but by a certain twist of fate. Here is our list of top 10 greatest accidental discoveries of the modern time.

1. Penicillin
All of us are familiar at how the oversight committed by Alexander Fleming redefined the course of history. Though he may not be credited largely for the development of the first generation of antibiotics; his small contribution in the development of penicillin paved the way for its eventual emergence as the critical treatment protocol during World War II.

2. Microwave

It was during 1945 while Lebaron Spencer was deep into his research on the development of magnetrons as a critical component of the radar system that he accidentally stumbled on the alternative function of his device. It was during one of those tests that Spencer noticed that the chocolate bar inside his pocket melted. It was the first ever act of microwave cooking in modern history.

3. Ice Cream Cones

The discovery of the ubiquitous ice cream was just a result of unplanned encounter which totally changed the course of modern history. Before the advent of the cones, ice creams were originally served on regular dishes. It was during the 1904 World’s Fair that one of the stall operators selling ice cream was forced to improvise after running out of serving dishes for his best selling ice cream. He then forged an agreement with the seller of Zalabia and bought his entire stocks. The seller of the ice cream used this item as the serving vessel and it ushered the birth of ice cream cones.

4. Champagne

Contrary to popular belief, the champagne is a product developed by accident by Dom Pierre Perignon. The original intention of the father of champagne was to formulate a drink that has no bubbles as these are associated to poor wines. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, Dom Pierre Perignon ended with a drink that was heavy with bubbles. This paved the way for the introduction of champagne in France.

5. Post-It

This may be dismissed by some as non-essential. However, a lot of people disagree with this hackneyed attitude towards Post-It. This small but significant discovery was an accidental result of the collaboration between a low key scientist and a churchgoer.

Let us have a look at the top 10 modern technology misconceptions and make the proper clarification to dispel these unfounded notions about these things.

1. The Web refers to the Internet
This misconception tops our A list of technological falsehoods. Actually, the Web would not function without the Internet. The Internet is the application that enables the existence of the Web.

2. Planes dump their wastes while airborne
Planes do not dump their waste material while on flight. This is impossible as doing so would have catastrophic results.

3. The first video game created was Pong
Computers are older that many of us think and there was another game that was created 20 years before Pong was introduced by Atari. It was named OXO and was played on a computer named EDSAC.

4. The Autobahn was created by Adolf Hitler
Contrary to popular belief, the Autobahn was not created by Adolf Hitler. The concept of the Autobahn was developed by Konrad Adenauer who was the Cologne mayor in 1931 a full 2 years before Hitler assumed the Chancellorship of Germany.

5. Apple Macs are not affected by computer viruses
Macs may not be as vulnerable to most computer viruses but there are some viruses that can affect them. There are Macro viruses that can affect MS Excel and Word documents and these can also harm Mac computers.