The twentieth century is the period of significance in the history of science. Most of the modern scientific technology and equipment are derived from the inventions and developments made in the twentieth century. Also, prior to the twentieth century, most of the scientific technologies and knowledge was not in existence. It was in the twentieth century when thre was the advancement of scientific discoveries, inventions, and development. Prior to the twentieth century, people had no clues on the harmful effects of various drugs such as marijuana and heroin. There was no way of preventing or eradicating dangerous viruses and plagues, such as smallpox. Diseases were a serious issue as no antibiotics existed, and equipment and techniques of diagnosing disease were not available. Breakthrough in the twentieth century tremendously lowered mortality rates and increased life expectancy ( Cassidy, (n.d.). Advances in physics also made ramifications in the world by making it possible to develop atomic bombs and radiocarbon dating, for example. The field of physics and medicine also expanded with new disciplines such as quantum mechanics. The twentieth century is no doubt the period of significance in the history of science, especially in the fields of medicine and physics, because of the inventions that are still helpful to date.
20 th Century Medicine
The twentieth century was surely the period of medicine as far as the history of science is concerned, given the milestones and remarkable breakthroughs that were made during that period. Modern medicine picks its origin during the early twentieth century. Deadly diseases were discovered and treated or prevented through the invention of preventative, diagnostic, and treatment techniques and equipment invented or discovered within the century. New medical equipment such as computerized tomography for diagnosing disease conditions such as cancer first came in during the twentieth ( Cooter & Pickstone, 2016) . The health risks of harmful substances such as tobacco, among others, were discovered. Prior to the twentieth century, various diseases could easily infect and kill people within short or longer periods. There were simply no ways of preventing most of the bacterial and viral infections before this time. The discovery of antibiotics, which was made possible through the discovery of the penicillin, was a massive breakthrough for the treatment of several bacterial diseases, including venereal disease ( Cassidy, (n.d.) . Drugs of various kinds and for various health conditions such as depression were made available later in the century. There were far more discoveries and breakthroughs in the field of medicine during the twentieth century as compared to any other period in history.
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Diseases such as polio and smallpox had terrorized the world for centuries. Smallpox could clear massive pollutions whenever it broke out, and nothing could be done to treat or prevent it before the twentieth century. Polio vaccine, alongside many other vaccines for common diseases such as influenza and measles, was discovered, thereby significantly lowering global mortality rates for the first time. The discovery of the smallpox vaccine eradicated the virus and brought an end to centuries of suffering and deaths by smallpox.
In a publication by the World Health Assembly (1959), progress and plans of eradicating smallpox are documented. The document was written after or during the twelfth World health Assembly as noted in its upper part. According to the information in the material, at that particular time, tremendous effort had been made in the fight against smallpox and its eradication. However, as noted in the document, the disease was still prevalent in many parts of the world, including South East Asia and Africa. The virus could thus be exported back to western countries where it had already been eradicated. The eradication program, as noted in the document involved vaccination of eighty percent of the population within a period of four to five years. It is pointed out in the report that there was enough scientific and technological information on the production of the smallpox vaccine. The goal of the organization, as noted, was to eradicate the virus globally through the development of eradication programs in various countries and the collection of information on the progress of the program.
The seriousness shown by the World Health Assembly of the twentieth century in the fight to eradicate smallpox indicates just how dangerous the disease was and the importance of the smallpox vaccine. Many other vaccines were discovered to prevent other dangerous diseases such as measles, rubella, tetanus, chickenpox, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, among others. Alexander Fleming, through his discovery of the penicillin, opened the way for the development and manufacture of antibiotics. There were finally drugs for deadly diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea ( Cassidy, (n.d.) . The introduction and use of clinical trials in medicine during this period contributed to the vast discovery of many antibiotics. Malaria, a dangerous disease that still kills thousands of people annually, became treatable in the twentieth century with the development of its medicine.
Tobacco smoking has existed for many centuries, and many people still like to smoke even the knowledge of the dangers smoking poses to their health. In the early twentieth century, tobacco companies expanded their business and made lots of money at the expense of the public’s ignorance. Through advertisements, the companies promoted their business and reached many consumers. A lot of cases of lung cancer, among other types of cancer were reported later in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1950s, research linked lung cancer, among other deadly cancers and health conditions, to tobacco smoking. Before this time, people smoked without any clues about the harm to which they subjected their health. This discovery helped reduce the number of smokers and ultimately decreased the mortality rates due to smoking (Cooter & Pickstone, 2016). Other drugs found to be highly dangerous and highly addictive in the twentieth century included crack or cocaine and heroin.
X-rays became vital in the diagnosis of a large number of diseases. It was also commonly used to identify and diagnose bone fractures. Physicians used X-rays in the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers. Later in the 1960s, other technological equipment in the field of medicine, such as computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, were invented. Such inventions improved public health in profound ways. New methods of surgery, such as heart surgery, were developed during this century, which significantly lowered the risk of death and complications involved (Glyantsev et al., 2017). Tissue and organ transplant became a clinical reality in the century owing to the invention and development of tissue typing techniques as well as the discovery and development of immunosuppressive drugs.
Other significant breakthroughs such as the development of medical insulin had been made earlier in the century, thereby tremendously raising the life expectancy of people with diabetes. Cassidy (n.d.) discusses that most of the modern knowledge and techniques in the various fields of medicine, such as serology, derive from twentieth-century medicine. For instance, blood typing was developed during the century, and blood banking and transfusion made widely available and safe. Contraceptives also came about in the twentieth century and were widely used by women and girls, thereby tremendously reducing population growth in the industrialized countries. Many other breakthroughs came about during the twentieth century, which actively took medicine to another level. Kidney dialysis, for instance, became a reality during this time, which gave hope to those with kidney disease or kidney failure problems.
20 th Century Physics
Many discoveries had already been made in physics and the laws of nature already established by the beginning of the twentieth century. During the twentieth century, however, new areas of physics were discovered and expanded, and there was the development of many ideas. One of the most remarkable ideas established during the early stages of the twentieth century was the discipline of quantum mechanics ( Ecker, 2019) . The internal structure was further studied and understood in length. Discoveries were also made in areas such as nuclear reactions and the source of the sun’s energy fully understood. Nuclear fusion and nuclear fission became scientific terms during the century. The expanded knowledge of nuclear reactions led to the development of nuclear weapons and atomic bombs. Tensions in the world created a rush in the development and advancement of physics in industrialized and powerful countries such as the United States, which then led to the development of such deadly weapons. Another massive discovery in the field of physics during the twentieth century was the discovery of radiocarbon dating. The invention made it possible to determine the ages of prehistoric or ancient animals, plants, and other historical objects. Radiocarbon dating was quite useful for archeologists and biologists who researched the origin and nature of humankind.
Libby et al. (1947) in ‘ Radiocarbon From Cosmic Radiation,’ documents the action of cosmic radiation in the formation of radiocarbon. This first-hand document written just after the discovery of radiocarbon dating describes the processes under the formation of radiocarbon, which would be instrumental in the dating of fossils and prehistoric remains of plants of animals. Evolution and the study of the origin of humankind were thus advanced. Fossil remains of early humans, plants, and animals could now be more accurately dated back to their time of existence. The documentation outlines the stages of the process of radiocarbon formation, as well as the predictions and limitations encountered. Radiocarbon dating remains to be quite useful in modern-day, and people still use it in fields such as anthropology and forensic pathology.
Nuclear weapons are probably the most powerful weapons in the world history of wars. The power of nuclear weapons comes from the fission of nuclear of an atom or the fusion reaction of atoms. In either case, the power that comes out is highly destructive, with lasting effects. Discoveries in science and technology led to the industrial developments of western countries, including the US. The race for power also fueled the race for more scientific discoveries. The first and only use of the atomic bomb came about in 1945 in Japan when the United States dropped two fission bombs on two Japanese cities. The drastic effect and the destruction caused by the bombs silenced the world, making it impossible for a similar catastrophe to occur. It is now known that if nations go to war using nuclear weapons, none of the warring countries would win, given the destruction that would be caused by each action.
The atomic bomb or the development of nuclear weapons was made possible through global politics and physics ( Barrett et al., 2016) . Before and during the Second World War, the United States and other allied forces such as the UK and Canada suspected that Germany was developing atomic bombs. A Manhattan Project was then launched in the US to counter the German progress. In the end, no nuclear weapon was ever released by the Nazi Germans or their allies. The action of the US on the Japanese cities showed the world what atomic bombs could do, and since then, no such weapons have been put to use in war. However, later, the Soviet Union started developing atomic bombs leading to the cold war period, which existed for the majority of the second half of the century. The US and the USSR developed even more powerful nuclear weapons, referred to as hydrogen bombs, which react through nuclear fusion ( Barrett et al., 2016) .
Many other breakthroughs in physics came during the twentieth century, most of which changed various aspects of life. The microwave used for warming food, for example, was a discovery of the twentieth century. In the 1970s, scientists accurately determined the measurement for the speed of light. Equipment used in medicine, such as the x-ray, was also invented during this century. Physics became expanded with new specialized disciplines in the scientific discoveries.
Conclusion
The twentieth century as seen from the discussion above, was indeed the century of maximum breakthroughs in the history of science, especially in medicine and physics. One only imagines what the world would have looked like without some of the important discoveries and developments. Without the discovery of antibiotics and vaccines, for example, dangerous diseases, such as smallpox and venereal diseases, would still be a serious problem. The inventions in physics were significant enough to affect the Second World War. Radiocarbon dating made it possible for the accurate dating of prehistoric particles, animals, and plants. In conclusion, when it comes to the history of science in medicine and physics, there is no century better than the twentieth century regarding the most significant breakthroughs in physics and medicine.
References
Barrett, R., Delsanto, P. P., &Tartaglia, A. (2016). Atomic and Nuclear Physics. In Physics: The Ultimate Adventure (pp. 117-135). Springer, Cham.
Cassidy, D. C. (n.d.). A Short History of Physics in the American Century (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine). Harvard University Press.
Cooter, R., &Pickstone, J. (2016). Companion to medicine in the twentieth century . Routledge.
Ecker, G. (2019). Physics Around 1900. In Particles, Fields, Quanta (pp. 7-15). Springer, Cham.
Glyantsev, S. P., Koshelev, A. D., &Kolesnikov, Y. G. (2017). Nikolay NikolayovichBlokhin (1912–1993): Patriarch of 20th century Russian medicine and surgery. Journal of medical biography , 25 (3), 179-186.
LibbyWF , Anderson EC, Weinhouse S , Reid AF, Kirshenbaum AD, Grosse AV. (1947). Radiocarbon From Cosmic Radiation. Science (New York, N.Y.) . 105: 576-7. PMID 17746224 DOI: 10.1126/science.105.2735.576
World Health Assembly, 12. (1959). Smallpox eradication. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/88847
