Science
is what we do to find out about the natural world. Natural sciences include
chemistry
,
biology
,
geology
,
astronomy
, and
physics
. Science uses
mathematics
and
logic
, which are sometimes called "formal sciences". Natural science makes
observations
and
experiments
. Science produces accurate
facts
, scientific laws and
theories
.
[1]
[2]
'Science' also refers to the large amount of
knowledge
that has been found using this process.
[3]
[4]
Research
uses the
scientific method
. Scientific research uses
hypotheses
based on ideas or earlier knowledge, which can be categorized through different topics. Then those hypotheses are tested by
experiments
.
People who study and research science and try to find out everything about it are called
scientists
. Scientists
study
things by
looking
at them very carefully, by
measuring
them, and by doing
experiments
and
tests
. Scientists try to
explain
why things act the way they do, and
predict
what will happen.
The Wonders of Modern Science
Today, "science" usually refers to a way of pursuing
knowledge
, not just the knowledge itself. It is mainly about the
phenomena
of the material world. The Greek works into Western Europe from the 6th to 7th century B.C. revived "
Philosophy
".
[5]
In the 17th and 18th centuries scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of
laws of nature
such as
Newton's laws of motion
. And during the 19th century, the word "science" became more and more associated with the
scientific method
itself. It was seen as a way to study the natural world, including
physics
,
chemistry
,
geology
and
biology
.
It was also in the 19th century that the term
scientist
was created by
William Whewell
. He meant it to tell the difference between those who looked for knowledge on nature from those who looked for other types of knowledge.
[6]
The
scientific method
is the name given to the methods used by scientists to find knowledge. The main
features
of the scientific method are:
- Scientists identify a question or a problem about nature. Some problems are simple, such as "how many legs do flies have?" and some are very deep, such as "why do objects fall to the ground?"
- Next, scientists investigate the problem. They work at it, and collect facts. Sometimes all it takes is to look carefully.
- Some questions cannot be answered directly. Then scientists suggest ideas, and test them out. They do
experiments
and collect
data
.
- Eventually, they find what they think is a good answer to the problem. Then they tell people about it.
- Later, other scientists may agree or not agree. They may suggest another answer. They may do more experiments. Anything in science might be revised if we find out the previous solution was not good enough.
A famous example of science in action was the
expedition
led by
Arthur Eddington
to
Principe Island
in
Africa
in 1919. He went there to record where the stars were around the Sun during a
solar eclipse
. The observation of where the stars were shown that the apparent star positions close to the Sun were changed. In effect, the light passing the Sun was pulled towards the Sun by
gravitation
. This confirmed predictions of
gravitational lensing
made by
Albert Einstein
in the
general theory of relativity
, published in 1915. Eddington's observations were considered to be the first solid proof in favour of Einstein's theory.
Practical impacts of scientific research
[
change
|
change source
]
Discoveries in fundamental science can be world-changing. For example:
Research
|
Impact
|
Static electricity
and
magnetism
(1600)
Electric current
(18th century)
|
All electric appliances, dynamos, electric power stations, modern
electronics
, including
electric lighting
,
television
,
electric heating
,
magnetic tape
,
loudspeaker
, plus the
compass
and
lightning rod
.
|
Diffraction
(1665)
|
Optics
, hence
fiber optic
cable (1840s),
cable TV
and internet
|
Germ theory
(1700)
|
Hygiene
, leading to decreased transmission of infectious diseases;
antibodies
, leading to techniques for disease diagnosis and targeted anticancer therapies.
|
Vaccination
(1798)
|
Leading to the elimination of most infectious diseases from developed countries and the worldwide eradication of
smallpox
.
|
Photovoltaics
(1839)
|
Solar cells
(1883), hence
solar power
, solar powered
watches
,
calculators
and other devices.
|
The strange orbit of
Mercury
(1859) and other research
leading to
special
(1905) and
general relativity
(1916)
|
Satellite-based technology such as
GPS
(1973),
satnav
and
communications satellites
.
[7]
|
Radio waves
(1887)
|
Used in
broadcast
:
radio
(1906) and
television
(1927)
entertainment
. It is used in
telephony
,
emergency services
,
radar
(
navigation
and
weather forecasting
),
medicine
,
astronomy
,
wireless
communications, and
networking
. Radio research led to
microwave
cooking.
|
Radioactivity
(1896) and
antimatter
(1932)
|
Cancer
treatment (1896),
Radiometric dating
(1905),
nuclear reactors
(1942) and
weapons
(1945),
PET scans
(1961), and
medical research
(with
isotopic
labelling)
|
X-rays
(1896)
|
Medical imaging
, including
computer tomography
|
Crystallography
and
quantum mechanics
(1900)
|
Semiconductor
devices (1906), hence modern
computing
and
telecommunications
including the integration with wireless devices: the
mobile phone
[7]
|
Plastics
(1907)
|
Starting with
bakelite
, many types of artificial polymers for numerous applications in industry and daily life
|
Antibiotics
(1880's, 1928)
|
Salvarsan
,
Penicillin
,
doxycycline
. In 2018
Amoxicillin
and
amoxicillin/clavulanic acid
were the most frequently used.
[8]
|
Nuclear magnetic resonance
(1930's)
|
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
(1946),
magnetic resonance imaging
(1971),
functional magnetic resonance imaging
(1990's).
|
Genomics
(1990s)
|
Genomics
=
genetics
+
medicine
. It is the structure, function,
evolution
, mapping, and editing of
genomes
. A genome is an organism's complete set of
DNA
(or
RNA
). This makes up its
genes
.
Vaccines
for
viruses
are built by genomics.
|
Not everyone completely agrees about how theories should be used or updated. Some
philosophers
and scientists say that scientific theories are only accepted for the time being. They last as long as they are the best explanation. When theories no longer explain the data, they are removed and replaced. Or, sometimes scientists will make a theory better rather than remove it, or they will keep on using the theory hoping that it will be made better eventually.
Science is a way to get
knowledge
by getting rid of what is not true.
Scientists must be very careful to make explanations that fit well with what they
observe
and
measure
. They
compete
to provide better explanations. An explanation might be
interesting
or
pleasing
, but if it does not
agree
with what other scientists really see and measure, they will try to find a better explanation.
Before a scientific article is
published
, other scientists read the article. They decide whether the explanations make sense from the data. This is called
peer review
. After articles are published, other scientists will also check to see if the same experiments, observations or tests produce the same data again.
Peer review
and
repeating
experiments
are the only way to be sure the
knowledge
is
correct
.
Science makes
models of nature
,
models of our universe
, and
medicine
. There are many different sciences with their own names. However it is not right to say "science says" any one thing. Science is a process, not just the
facts
and
rules
believed at one time.
- ↑
Wilson, Edward O. 1998. Consilience: the unity of knowledge. New York: Vintage Books, 49?71.
ISBN
0-679-45077-7
- ↑
Heilbron J.L. 2003.
The Oxford companion to the history of modern science
. New York: Oxford University Press, vii.
ISBN
0-19-511229-6
.
"... modern science is a discovery as well as an invention. It was a discovery that nature generally acts regularly enough to be described by laws and even by
mathematics
; and required invention to devise the techniques, abstractions, apparatus, and organization for exhibiting the regularities and securing their law-like descriptions".
- ↑
"Online dictionary"
. Merriam-Webster
. Retrieved
2009-05-22
.
knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method...
- ↑
Popper, Karl
(2002) [1959].
The Logic of Scientific Discovery
(2nd English ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Classics. p.
3
.
ISBN
0-415-27844-9
.
OCLC
59377149
.
- ↑
Oxford English Dictionary
- ↑
The
Oxford English Dictionary
dates the origin of the word "scientist" to 1834.
- ↑
7.0
7.1
Evicting Einstein
, March 26, 2004,
NASA
.
"Both [relativity and quantum mechanics] are extremely successful. The Global Positioning System (GPS), for instance, wouldn't be possible without the theory of relativity. Computers, , and the Internet, meanwhile, are spin-offs of quantum mechanics."
- ↑
"UK antibiotic consumption twice that of the Netherlands, WHO report finds"
. Pharmaceutical Journal. 14 November 2018. Archived from
the original
on 22 December 2018
. Retrieved
22 December
2018
.