I don’t get how we discovered particles and that are so small. What could’ve possibly lead to a discovery of it?
In: Physics
Any time you make a piece of glass that isn’t perfectly flat, you’ve kind of made a lens. The glass distorts, but even a little glass bead or something shaped like a wine glass can magnify a bit.
Given how imaginative and curious some people are, it’s not too surprising that somebody would notice that effect, and start thinking “I wonder how far I can push this”. Some of those people were good with their hands and learned to make lenses.
Telescopes are valuable for explorers and soldiers, so there was economic backing for those, and if you’re making magnifying lenses for a telescope you can also make lenses for looking at small things. Looking at leaves and insects up close is fascinating, so that encouraged people to make better and better lenses, and eventually unlocked microbiology, and that was plenty of incentive to keep going and see what more we could discover.
Latest Answers