What process did Louis Pasteur develop to kill germs?
1 Answer
Heating to near boiling to kill the bacteria. This process is now called Pasteurization.
Explanation:
Before the experiments of Pasteur and Redi many scientists believed that life came easily and spontaneously from non life.
The first editions of the Origin of Species did not even discuss the issue of how life first came about.
Pasteur's experiments proved that life came from life. That cells always came from other cells.
Pasteur heating flasks of wine to the point that the bacteria were killed. Then closed the tip of the flask so that bacteria from the outside of the flask could not enter. The wine did not spoil and no bacterial growth was observed. A control flask was heated but the flask was not sealed. This flask did spoil and showed the growth of bacteria.
The experiments not only had theorical importance about the origin of life and cell theory it also had practical applications. The wine industry of France benefited greatly from Pasteur's experiments. Children all over the world drink healthy milk because it is pasteurized, in the method invented by Pasteur.
