All these great discoveries happened by accident? Introduction The world of radiation and atomic power sprang from an unexpected observation of the element radium. When a footballer curves a free kick around the wall, she is using a physical force that popped into Newton's mind when observing a tennis match one day (though it was later named the Magnus effect). And phosphorous was discovered by an alchemist who thought he was distilling gold out of urine! 1 Many great scientific discoveries seem to have been stumbled over rather than carefully planned – but that's what makes top scientists different. The rest of us might brush off the inexplicable and focus on the task in hand. But a scientist's nose for the unusual and restless imagination allow revolutionary ideas to blossom. A mountaineer heading for the top of Mt Everest could try just walking in a straight line – but the attempt would surely fail. The best way to the top actually involves lots of detours and exploration. Creating a new technology is the same: You have to map out unknown areas of science along the way and many of these new areas offer some pretty tasty bonuses in their own right!