To take one example, nitrogen was discovered in 1772.  Haber process (which converts nitrogen gas to ammonia) was discovered in 1909, and was successfully industrialized in 1913.[1]<p>In other words, when Haber process was discovered, the question was NOT &quot;wouldn&#x27;t it be great if we could produce fertilizer out of air?&quot;.  The question was, &quot;We <i>know</i> the air is full of substance that makes fertilizer.  How can we make that happen?&quot;<p>Or, alternatively, when nitrogen was discovered, nobody said &quot;We paved road for making fertilizer out of air!&quot;  It was probably something like &quot;How weird, air is full of this strange stuff that makes animals suffocate.&quot;  And apparently its discoverer went on to call it &quot;noxious air&quot;.<p>Honestly, I can&#x27;t think of any important scientific discovery that was accompanied by &quot;This is great!  Think what it could do for civilization!&quot;<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;History_of_the_Haber_process" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;History_of_the_Haber_process</a>