How did Louis Pasteur's experiment show that bacteria do not arise spontaneously in broth?

Answer 1

-----It seems like he was the one who heated clear broth hot and long enough to sterilize it, to kill all the bacteria in it, and then just let it sit there on the table. I think he also drew out the neck of the flask containing the broth to a long, small, curved tube that would allow air in and out but would trap any bacteria in the neck before they got to the broth. When the broth stayed clear, it proved nothing was growing in it; it would have turned cloudy if something had been growing in it. If bacteria could have appeared spontaneously in the broth, they would have done so, and the broth would have turned cloudy. The broth did not, so the bacteria could not. The long, curved, open tube was necessary since something non-living in the air could have been necessary for bacteria to arise spontaneously; it was necessary to give the broth access to the air without giving it access to any bacteria in the air; the tube did that. ---Jim