Read the excerpt given below and answer the question.

French scientist Henri Becquerel was working on phosphorescent materials, which glow in the dark after exposure to light. He believed that sunlight was the reason that the crystal would burn its image on a photographic plate. On a stormy day in 1896, he decided to leave it for few days and resume his experiments later. A few days later, he took his crystal out of a darkened drawer. He noticed that the image burned on the plate was ‘fogged’ which meant that the crystal had still emitted rays, despite the lack of sunlight.

What does the above excerpt illustrate about science?

The correct option is Scientific discovery can be serendipitous.

Explanation:

The term serendipity refers to the occurrence of finding valuable or agreeable things by chance or unexpected accident in a happy or beneficial way.

In the given excerpt, Henri Becquerel intended to test if sunlight caused phosphorescent materials to emit rays that could burn an image onto a photographic plate. Due to overcast/stormy weather, he stored his experiment in a dark drawer, expecting no reaction without sunlight. However, upon checking the plate, he unexpectedly discovered that the image was still fogged, demonstrating that the rays were emitted spontaneously without any exposure to sunlight. This accidental observation led to the landmark discovery of radioactivity.

Therefore, the passage clearly illustrates that scientific discoveries can often be serendipitous—arising from unexpected observations during planned experiments.