User:Spacepotato/Examples of original research in Wikipedia

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This page documents a series of edits which appear to constitute misrepresentation of sources, or original research, as it is called in Wikipedia ideology. In these edits, the source mentions a certain process, device, invention, etc. which is used at a given time, and the editor claims that this is the first time the process, etc., was used, although this claim is not found in the source.

As well as being original research, the edits are factually incorrect, as explained below. Also, the same misinformation may be inserted into a number of different articles.

The 7 examples given here cover some 14 different edits, to 5 different articles. In reality however the problem is larger. It affects or has affected at least the following articles:

but it probably exists in many other articles as well.

Example 1[edit]

The source[edit]

The source is a portion of p. 868 in Georges C. Anawati, "Arabic alchemy", in R. Rashed (1996), The Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3, pp. 853-902 and says:

As for the chemical operations indicated by al-Rāzī, they comprise distillation (al-taqṭīr), calcination (al-tasḥwiya), solution (al-taḥlīl), evaporation (tabkhīr), crystallization (al-tabalwur), sublimation (al-tas`īd), filtration (al-tarshīḥ), amalgamation (al-talghīm), ceration (al-tashmī`), this last consisting of converting the substance into a thick paste or fusible solid.

The edits[edit]

Al-Razi invented the following chemical processes in the 9th century: ...(omitted)...

Al-Razi invented the following chemical processes in the 9th century: ...(omitted)...

  • This edit, [3], adds similar material to Timeline of historic inventions. The inventions are claimed to have occurred in the first millennium AD. Again, the Anawati reference has been used.

...(omitted)...

...(omitted)...

...(omitted)...

What is the difference between the source and the edits?[edit]

The edits say that these processes were invented by Al-Razi (Rhazes), or by "Arabic chemists". The source makes no such claim. (The editor has also mistakenly treated the description of ceration found in the source as a separate process from ceration.)

Is the claim in the edits true?[edit]

No. Solution and sublimation, at least, were known by the Hellenistic period:

The Greek chemical treatises contain some interesting practical information...(omitted)...The operations are fusion, calcination, solution, filtration, crystallization, sublimation and especially distillation...(omitted)... methods of heating include the open fire, lamps, and the sand and water baths. Nearly all this practical knowledge has been ascribed by older writers on the history of chemistry to the Arabs, who really derived it from the very source we are now considering. (p. 23, James Riddick Partington, A short history of chemistry, 3rd ed., Courier Dover Publications, 1989, ISBN 0486659771.)

One of the leading Alexandrian alchemists, Zosimus, who lived in the fourth century A.D., was clearly skilled in laboratory manipulations. He was a practical alchemist who knew a lot about distillation, sublimation (converting a solid directly into a vapor by heating it), filtration, the use of furnaces, and more. (pp. 5–6, Trevor Harvey Levere, Transforming matter: a history of chemistry from alchemy to the buckyball, JHU Press, 2001, ISBN 0801866103.)

They were not invented by Al-Razi, or by "Arabic chemists".

Example 2[edit]

The source[edit]

It is the paper P-Type Conduction in Mg-Doped GaN Treated with Low-Energy Electron Beam Irradiation (LEEBI), by Amano et al., in the Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 28 (1989), pp. L2112-L2114, doi:10.1143/JJAP.28.L2112. I will not quote the entire paper here, but the abstract says:

Distinct p-type conduction is realized with Mg-doped GaN by the low-energy electron-beam irradiation (LEEBI) treatment, and the properties of the GaN p-n junction LED are reported for the first time. It was found that the LEEBI treatment drastically lowers the resistivity and remarkably enhances the PL efficiency of MOVPE-grown Mg-doped GaN. The Hall effect measurement of this Mg-doped GaN treated with LEEBI at room temperature showed that the hole concentration is ∼2·1016cm-3, the hole mobility is ∼8 cm2/V·s and the resistivity is ∼35 Ω·cm. The p-n junction LED using Mg-doped GaN treated with LEEBI as the p-type material showed strong near-band-edge emission due to the hole injection from the p-layer to the n-layer at room temperature.

The edits[edit]

Gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a very hard material commonly used in bright LEDs since the 1990s. It was discovered by Isamu Akasaki in 1989.

...(omitted)...

p–n junction
A junction formed by combining P-type and N-type semiconductors together in very close contact. It was invented by Isamu Akasaki in 1989.

What is the difference between the source and the edits?[edit]

The source reports on the first fabrication of a p-n junction LED in the semiconductor material gallium nitride. The edit makes the much stronger claim that this is the first time a p-n junction of any sort, in any semiconductor material, was made. In addition, it makes the claim that this was the first time gallium nitride was made.

Is the claim in the edits true?[edit]

No. The discovery of the p-n junction is generally credited to Russell Ohl, around 1940 (The origins of the pn junction, M. Riordan and L. Hoddeson, IEEE Spectrum 34, #6 (June 1997), pp. 46–51, doi:10.1109/6.591664.) The junction is an essential part of the bipolar junction transistor, which has been manufactured in quantity since the 1950s. So, the p-n junction was not invented in 1989 by Akasaki.

As for gallium nitride (GaN), it was synthesized in 1932 (Nitrogen compounds of gallium III. Gallic nitride, W. C. Johnson, J. B. Parsons and M. C. Crew, Journal of Physical Chemistry 36 (1932), pp. 2651–2654, doi:10.1021/j150340a015.) So, it was also not invented in 1989 by Akasaki.

Example 3[edit]

The source[edit]

It is the article "A Pioneer in Anaclastics: Ibn Sahl on Burning Mirrors and Lenses", by Roshdi Rashed, in Isis 81, #3 (1990), pp. 464-491. A portion of the source reads:

II. THE PARABOLIC MIRROR
The study of the parabolic mirror had been undertaken long before Ibn Sahl by Diocles, Anthemius of Tralles, "Dtrūms" (author of a treatise on burning mirrors translated into Arabic from a now-lost Greek original), the author of the Bobbio fragment, and al-Kindi.9 It is more than likely that Ibn Sahl was familiar not only with al-Kindi's treatise but with at least a fragment of Anthemius's work, as well as with other Greek writers...(omitted)... Ibn Sahl's study differs from these earlier texts and thus merits close examination.

The edits[edit]

  • The relevant portion of this edit inserts the following text into Glass, using the Isis reference as above:

The refracting parabolic mirror was first described by Ibn Sahl in his On the Burning Instruments in the 10th century, and later described again in Ibn al-Haytham's On Burning Mirrors and Book of Optics (1021).

What is the difference between the source and the edits?[edit]

The source explains that Ibn Sahl was not the first to study the parabolic mirror, and the edits, in direct contradiction to the source, claim that he was. (The editor has also incorrectly called the mirror "refracting" rather than "reflecting".)

Is the claim in the edits true?[edit]

As explained in the source, it is not.

Example 4[edit]

The sources[edit]

One is on p. 3, chapter 1 of Electromagnetics, Robert S. Elliott, pub. McGraw-Hill, and reads:

In the specific field of light, many accomplishments can be credited to Ibn al-Haitham (c.965–c.1039), known to the Western world by the Latin name Alhazen. He was the true physicist of medieval Islam...(omitted)...Alhazen was one of the ablest students of optics of all times and published a seven-volume treatise on this subject which had great celebrity throughout the medieval period and strongly influenced Western thought, notably that of Roger Bacon and Kepler.6 This treatise discussed concave and convex mirrors in both cylindrical and spherical geometries, anticipated Fermat's law of least time, and considered refraction and the magnifying power of lenses.

The other is the article on Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) in Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopaedia, Joseph W. Meri, ed., Routledge, 2006. The relevant portion reads:

Ibn al-Haytham also investigated meteorological aspects related to the rainbow and to the density of the atmosphere, as well as inquiring about the nature of celestial phenomena such as the eclipse, the twilight, and moonlight. In this endeavor, he relied on his accounts of refraction and on catoptrical experimentations with spherical and parabolic mirrors and magnifying lenses.

The edit[edit]

What is the difference between the sources and the edit?[edit]

The edit claims that Alhazen was the first to study cylindrical and spherical mirrors. The sources make no such claim. (The edit is also redundant as it mentions spherical mirrors twice.)

Is the claim in the edit true?[edit]

No. Spherical concave and convex mirrors, at least, were studied by Ptolemy as he analyzed both in his treatise on optics:

This analytic structure is clearly reflected in the organization of Ptolemy's Optics ...(omitted)... In the third and fourth books, Ptolemy undertakes a detailed analysis of reflection, starting with the basic principles by which image-location is determined. After a relatively brief examination of the simplest case, reflection from plane mirrors, Ptolemy progresses to the more complex case of reflection from spherical convex mirrors. He then turns in book 4 to the even more complex case of reflection from spherical concave mirrors, after which he offers a brief discussion of reflection from composite mirrors. (pp. 20–21, in Ptolemy's Theory of Visual Perception: An English Translation of the "Optics" with Introduction and Commentary, A. Mark Smith, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new series, 86, #2 (1996), pp. iii–300.)

Example 5[edit]

The source[edit]

It is an opinion from a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals on the case Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. v. Samsung Electronics. The first three paragraphs of the background, which are most relevant here, read as follows:

SEL is a Japanese company specializing in the research and development of semiconductor technology. SEL engages in no manufacturing and supports its research efforts from revenues from patent licensing. Since 1980, SEL has filed over 5,000 patent applications worldwide and has been awarded approximately 1,500 U.S. and foreign patents. Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki, a solid state physicist and the president and majority shareholder of SEL, is the named inventor or co-inventor on most of SEL’s patents, including the ’636 patent.
Entitled "Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor" ("IGFET"), the ’636 patent claims a non-single crystal silicon thin film transistor ("TFT"), a type of IGFET. Such TFTs can be used to switch the pixels in an active matrix display unit on or off. The TFT includes a source, a drain, a silicon nitride gate insulator, an insulated substrate, and an intrinsic amorphous silicon channel region. The channel region is "sandwiched" between the gate insulator and the insulated substrate. By limiting the level of oxygen, carbon, or nitrogen in the channel region to an amount not exceeding 5 x 1018 atoms/cm3, the claimed invention greatly improves the TFT’s electrical properties and consequently overcomes potential deficiencies, such as hysteresis (blurring).
The application for the ’636 patent was filed on June 7, 1995, and the ’636 patent itself issued on August 6, 1996; SEL alleges a much earlier priority date of May 18, 1984, however. Gerard Ferguson, SEL’s patent attorney, prosecuted the application for the ’636 patent and its ancestor applications, except for a brief period when Dr. Yamazaki revoked his power of attorney because Mr. Ferguson sought to submit certain material prior art references to the PTO.

The edits[edit]

Thin-film transistor
Now primarily used for thin film transistor liquid crystal displays, the thin-film transistor was invented by Shunpei Yamazaki and the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) in Tokyo, in 1984, and a patent for the invention was filed in 1995.

What is the difference between the source and the edits?[edit]

The edits claim that the thin-film transistor (or TFT) was invented at the time given in the case. The source makes no such claim; the patent is claimed to improve "the TFT's electrical properties" and so it is clearly not the first invention of a TFT.

Is the claim in the edits true?[edit]

No. Thin-film transistors date from the 1960s. See The thin film transistor—A late flowering bloom,T. P. Brody, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 31, #11 (November 1984), pp. 1614–1628, at p. 1615, §II; this paper cites An evaporated thin film triode, P. K. Weimer, presented at the IRE-AIEE Solid State Device Research Conf., Stanford University, CA, 1961.

Example 6[edit]

The source[edit]

It is the same page of the Anawati article used before in Example 1, but the portion used is different:

But the interest of al-Rāzī lies particularly in his practical chemistry. His Secretum secretorum gives for the first time a clear division of chemical substances; and he prefers positive laboratory work to theoretical imaginings without basis. From his description of tools it seems that his laboratory was well furnished. He mentions the following.
(a) Tools which serve for melting substances (li-tadhwīb): hearth (kūr), bellows (minfākh aw ziqq), crucible (bawtaqa), the botus barbatus (būt bar būt) of the medieval chemists, ladle (mighrafa aw mil`aqa), tongs (māsik aw kalbatān), scissors (miqṭā`), hammer (mukassir), file (mibrad).
(b) Tools for the preparation of drugs (li-tadbir al-`aqāqīr): the cucurbite and the still with an evacuation tube (qar` aq anbīq dhū-khatm), a receiving matras (qābila), a `blind still' (i.e. without an evacuation tube) (al-anbīq al-a`mā), the aludel (al-uthāl), goblets (qadaḥ), flasks (qārūra, plural qawārīr), rosewater flasks (mā` wardiyya), cauldron (marjal aw tanjīr), earthenware pots varnished on the inside with their lids (qudūr wa makabbāt), water-bath or sand-bath (qadr), oven (al-tannūr which became Athanor in Latin), small cylindrical oven used to heat aludel (mustawqid), funnels, sieves, filters etc.

The edits[edit]

In the relevant portion of this edit, the following text is added to Inventions of the Islamic Golden Age, with the Anawati reference as source:

In the relevant portion of this edit, the editor adds similar text to Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam, again with the Anawati reference:

In his Secretum secretorum (Latinized title), Al-Razi (Rhazes) described the following tools that were invented by him and his Muslim predecessors (Calid, Geber and al-Kindi) for melting substances (li-tadhwib): hearth (kur), bellows (minfakh aw ziqq), crucible (bawtaqa), the but bar but (in Arabic) or botus barbatus (in Latin), tongs (masik aq kalbatan), scissors (miqta), hammer (mukassir), file (mibrad).
Al-Razi also described the following tools that were invented by him and his Muslim predecessors for the preparation of drugs (li-tadbir al-aqaqir): cucurbit and still with evacuation tube (qar aq anbiq dhu-khatm), receiving matras (qabila), blind still (without evacuation tube) (al-anbiq al-ama), aludel (al-uthal), goblets (qadah), flasks (qarura or quwarir), rosewater flasks (ma wariyya), cauldron (marjal aw tanjir), earthenware pots varnished on the inside with their lids (qudur aq tanjir), water bath or sand bath (qadr), oven (al-tannur in Arabic, athanor in Latin), small cylindirical oven for heating aludel (mustawqid), funnels, sieves, filters, etc.

In the relevant portion of this edit, to Timeline of historic inventions, the following text is added, again with the Anawati reference:

What is the difference between the source and the edits?[edit]

The edits say that various devices were described for the first time by al-Razi (Rhazes), or that they were invented by Rhazes and "his Muslim predecessors", or that they were invented by various specific persons (Geber, etc.) The source makes no claim that this was the first time these devices were described and does not state who invented them.

Is the claim in the edits true?[edit]

No. As explained in the Partington book quoted in Example 1, the sand bath and water bath date from the Hellenistic period and were described by the alchemists of that time. Also, the cucurbit is a part of the alchemist's still, and the evacuation tube, which for some reason is linked to vacuum tube in the edits above, is simply the tube that transports condensate from the still-head to the receiving flask. These devices were also known and described in pre-Islamic times:

The class of apparatus that interests us most is the distilling apparatus. This is already very far advanced in the writings of MARIA the Jewess who is generally considered to have invented it. It already consists of the three necessary elements, the cucurbit and alembic, a tube for transporting the distillate and vapours and the receiving flask. (p. 21, A short history of the art of distillation: from the beginnings up to the death of Cellier Blumenthal, Robert James Forbes, Brill, 1970, 2nd ed., ISBN 9004006176.)

Finally, in classical antiquity, funnels were known and used for transporting liquids from one vessel to another (p. 352, A dictionary of Roman and Greek antiquities with nearly 2000 engravings on wood from ancient originals illustrative of the industrial arts and social life of the Greeks and Romans, Anthony Rich, 6th rev. ed., Longmans, Green, and co., 1901.)

Example 7[edit]

The source[edit]

It is a web page called The Colouring of Gemstones, The Purifying and Making of Pearls, And Other Useful Recipes. It gives the translation of a medieval manuscript, purported to be by Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber). The relevant portion reads as follows:

Cheese Glue
Recipe 9, fol. 22a, description of cheese glue for all duties: take old cheese that is free from fat in any amount of your liking. Cut it with a knife as thin as possible. Put it in a pot, one layer cheese and one layer salt. Immerse it for a short time with water, then take it out and wash it well with fresh water. Pour water over it and put it on a gentle fire. Be careful that water is not diminished. If it is diminished replenish it until mid-day, until you know that it is fat free. Pour out water from it, and take out the quantity that you need. This is the same as with purified fish glue.
Put it in a luted glass vessel, and boil it in fat-free whey (dawgh دوغ) which is to be filtered before it is poured on the glue. When the glue is dissolved in it < pour it > on a flat stone mortar (sallaya) and pulverize it till you are satisfied by its coarseness or fineness. Use it for whatever purpose you want. Know that this glue does not dissolve at all after its first application. It glues any noble stone, gypsum (qass)[11], clay, rock crystal, or glass. Wash the vessel which contains the glue before it sets, since if it sets it cannot be removed, and any object that is glued with it cannot be separated unless broken.

The edits[edit]

Chemical substances invented by Muslims for use in the chemical industries include:

...(omitted)...

What is the difference between the source and the edits?[edit]

The edits state that Geber invented cheese glue. The source makes no claim for originality as it simply translates the recipe found in the manuscript.

Is the claim in the edits true?[edit]

No. Casein glues were known to the ancient Egyptians:

According to archaeological evidence, the adhesive qualities of casein curd from milk were recognized by civilizations as early as that of the Egyptians. (p. 527, Coatings technology handbook, Donatas Satas and Arthur A. Tracton, Marcel Dekker, 2001, 2e, ISBN 0824704398.)

Casein adhesive. Casein adhesives date back at least to ancient Egypt, when milk curd and lime were mixed to produce waterproof glue. (p. 151, Paleontology of the Upper Eocene florissant formation, Colorado, Herbert William Meyer and Dena M. Smith, Geological Society of America, 2008, ISBN 081372435X.)

See also[edit]

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