Louis Pasteur- germ theory 1861

Spontanious generation

• the theory for the cause of disease that most scientists believd in before the germ theory
• they thought that diseases cause germs (not germs cause diseases)

The discovery

• 1861 pasteur discovered that germs were the cause of disease- the germ theory
• he was asked by a french alcohol company to investigate why the sugar beet used in fementation of alcohol turned sour after a while
• he suggested it was caused by germs in the air
• to prove this he carried out a experiment:

             - he sterilised some water and placed it in a swan neck flask to stop it having any contsct with the air- after some time this water stayed pure and germ free

             -  he also sterilised some more water but left it in a beaker with contact to the…