Page 72 - SST Class 05

the lens. You can see even those particles or creatures which are otherwise not visible
to the naked eye, like bacteria or microbes. Just put a drop of water under the lens, and
you will be amazed at what all you can see in it.

Scientists, researchers and doctors use it to examine different things very closely;
through it they examine samples of blood, urine, sputum and stool to look for germs
which cause the disease. This helps them know the exact cause of a disease; this helps
them treat a patient.

Many of our scientific inventions have taken place by chance, the microscope is one of
them. Once in Holland, an optician was working with his lenses. By chance, he put one
lens behind the other. Suddenly, a fly flew behind these lenses. He was amazed to see
that the fly could be seen many times bigger. He applied this idea to make a toy, called
fleaglass . This toy grew popular with the children.

Galileo , a great scientist about 400 years ago, happened to see the fleaglass. He was
impressed by its technique.
He decided to use this
technique to invent the

microscope. Ever since, this
device is in use in medical
science. Today, different
types of microscopes are
Galileo A microscope An X-ray machine
used.

X-ray Machine

A doctor sometimes needs to look at the bones and organs within our body to find out
an illness or deformity. An X-ray machine helps her do it. She examines an X-ray
report to detect the deformities or cracks of bones and malfunctioning of other body
parts within the body. This technique is widely used in modern medical science.

Like the stethoscope, the X-ray machine was also invented by chance. Wilhelm
Roentgen , a professor, in 1896, was working in his laboratory. In an experiment, he
passed electricity through a glass tube. Some chemicals were kept in bottles across the
glass tube. He observed that some of those chemicals glowed when electricity was
passed. This gave him an idea. He called these rays of electricity as X-rays. This gave

him an idea to make an X-ray machine.

Other Instruments

All over the world, scientists are continuously working to invent newer appliances,
methods and medicines. These discoveries and inventions have changed the world of
medicine like never before. At present, a large variety of appliances are used in this

72 Contemporary Social Science-5