This investigation has yielded an unanticipated result that reaction of cyanic acid with ammonia gives urea, a noteworthy result in as much as it provides an example of the artificial production of an organic, indeed a so-called animal, substance from inorganic substances.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the significance of synthesizing organic compounds from inorganic materials, marking a milestone in chemistry.
Friedrich Wohler's statement reflects a groundbreaking moment in the field of chemistry, where he discovered that cyanic acid can react with ammonia to produce urea. This result is particularly noteworthy because it demonstrates that organic compounds, typically associated with living organisms, can be artificially created from inorganic substances, challenging the previous belief that organic compounds could only originate from biological sources.
In practice
In a lecture about the history of chemistry, this quote can demonstrate the evolution of scientific understanding.
Development of the space station is as inevitable as the rising of the sun; man has already poked his nose into space and he is not likely to pull it back . . . . There can be no thought of finishing, for aiming at the stars-both literally and figuratively-is the work of generations, and no matter how much progress one makes, there is always the thrill of just beginning.
I’ve spent something like 17 years working on a theory for which there is essentially no direct experimental support.
I don't have an issue with what you do in the church, but I'm going to be up in your face if you're going to knock on my science classroom and tell me they've got to teach what you're teaching in your Sunday school. Because that's when we're going to fight.
As a Christian, but also as a scientist responsible for overseeing the Human Genome Project, one of my concerns has been the limits on applications of our understanding of the genome. Should there be limits? I think there should. I think the public has expressed their concern about ways this information might be misused.
When you look at the light bulb above you, you remember Thomas Alva Edison. When the telephone bell rings, you remember Alexander Graham Bell. Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize. When you see the blue sky, you think of Sir C.V. Raman.
Even though NASA tries to simulate launch, and we practice in simulators, it's not the same - it's not even close to the same.
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