Nobel did however try to contribute to
peace through his death. In his
testament, he declared that his wealth
would be invested into a foundation
where the interest rate would go to
people who made improvements for the
humanity every year. The categories are
t h e f o l l o w i n g : l i t e ra t u r e , p hy s i c s ,
chemistry, physiology or medicine and
peace work. The Nobel Prize is handed
out every year on December the 10th,
which was the day that Nobel died and is
now called “Nobeldagen” in Swedish
calendars.
So Nobel was a great man for Swedish
science, and also the world, with his
dynamite. But he was not alone. In fact,
the list of Swedish scientists is long. But
another person who has influenced the
world greatly with his invention was Rune
Elmqvist. Elmqvist was the first
successful inventor of the pacemaker. If
you don’t know what a pacemaker is, it’s
a device that keeps your heart beating in
the right rhythm. A heart that doesn’t do
that can go too fast and suddenly stop, or
go too slow and can’t get all the blood
out to the necessary places. In 1958
Elmqvist and a heart surgeon called Åke
Senning performed the first pacemaker
operation. It was a huge breakthrough in
cardiac surgery, and even though it
wasn’t a huge success in the beginning, it
proved to be a vital piece in the puzzle
called survival. The pacemaker has now
been refined and is still one of the most
effective ways to treat a heart that’s
beating uneven.
These two scientists made a great impact
on the world and their inventions still
matters ‘til this day. But are there any
discoveries from Sweden that will matter
and make a difference in the future? To
answer our own question – yes, there
are. For example, we have a large
!
amount of universities and colleges that
focus on science and entrepreneurship.
One of our most productive colleges in
these matters is the KTH, Kungliga
Tekniska Högskolan (The Royal Institute
of Technology) which has made many
new discoveries. One of these discoveries
is the MyFC PowerTrekks, which is a
charger for smartphones. The special
thing about this charger is that it’s the
first one that can run on water and air.
It’s activated by ordinary water –such as
seawater and fresh water – and is based
on micro fuel cell technology. The water
doesn’t even have to be clean. This
invention has a great relevance to today’s
society, and also to the future, because of
our over-usage of electricity. If people
started using this instead of the normal
charger, which is plugged into a socket,
perhaps we could minimize the risk of
pollution. The device is intended for
people who travel, live in remote areas of
the world, outdoor enthusiasts and aid
workers. The technology has already
been sold to some of the largest
economic countries in the world, so the
idea already exists in the market.
Perhaps Sweden isn’t famous for its
scientific performances; perhaps most
people identify Sweden with ABBA or
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or being blonde.
Maybe that’s a stamp we’re never going
to get rid of. But perhaps we should be
recognized for our scientific revolutions.
These performances, made by scientists
and entrepreneurs, have made a great
impact on the world and its development
– both in science, environmental
resources, but also in the humanitarian
situation (through the Nobel Prize).
Swedish science has proved to be a force
to be reckoned with in the world. And
there’s no way it’s stopping now.