Post N°4 Free themed blog: Amazing advances in my career (chemistry, biochemistry or pharmacy)

You have to write a blog post regarding recent or historical advances in your career. Make sure to talk about:

• name and describe the discovery, invention or advance in knowledge or technology
• identify the people behind this advance (scientists, chemists, pharmacists, etc.)
• say when and where it happened
• describe the changes it brought or might bring
• describe one positive and one negative consequence
• give your personal opinion about this advancement.
• upload a picture.

SAMPLE:

I'd like to talk to you about matches. Yes, these simple objects that help us light the cooker or a cigarette didn't exist until 1826. So imagine how difficult it was to procure fire before that time. John Walker is the name of the pharmacist who discovered matches by accident. He noticed a dried lump on the end of a stick while he was stirring some chemicals. The lump ignited when he tried to scrape it off. He could start a fire by striking the stick anywhere!These were the first friction matches. The chemicals he used were antimony sulphide, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch.
Walker marketed the first friction matches as “Friction Lights” and sold them at his pharmacy. The initial matches were made of cardboard but he soon replaced those with three-inch long hand-cut wooden splints; the matches came in a box equipped with a piece of sandpaper for striking. Walker's friction match revolutionised the production, application and the portability of fire because, before matches, producing fire was a slow process and you needed an appropiate space to make one. But now you could carry your matches anywhere and have an easy and quick way to light a fire, instead of using a fire-drill which is very slow and laborious.

The first matches could be pretty dangerous. First of all because they could easily self-ignite and second, they were made from dangerous chemical compounds like white phosphorus.
Replacements for white phosphorus matches were safety matches that were devised Swede Gustaf Erik Pasch and Johan Edvard Lundström. By utilizing red phosphorus only on the igniting surface, the matches itself were made perfectly safe for environment and health.

I think that matches are a great invention. They are cheap, easy to use and pretty safe, although some brands aren't so good and the match breaks or little chips of lighted sulphur jump out and can burn your clothes. Another bad thing is that they can't get wet or they'll be useless. All in all, matches are very useful in your every day life. I wouldn't know what to do without them.