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Science is a systematic study of ourselves and the world around us. It explains through laws and theories the phenomena occurring in nature. The knowledge that science builds is cumulative as each generation adds to it. It is also constantly changing as each new phenomenon challenges the existing theories and formulas.
One cannot be dogmatic in science. It is through observation, curiosity and doubt that a person understands a particular aspect of nature and its phenomena. Conclusions in science are only valid until new insights demolish established notions and conventions.
Science has no regard for the barriers that humans have erected for themselves. Since nature is one, though its particular instances are many and varied, the phenomena occurring in nature affect the entire planet. It is not limited by race, culture, class or creed. To look at science from the point of view of religion or ideological beliefs is to deny the human being's basic traits: observation, curiosity and doubt.
What science reveals is used differently by different kinds of people. This is unfortunate especially when someone uses it for selfish ends. Science has brought tremendous benefits to us. We no longer rely on the vagaries of monsoon for our crops, nor do we take shelter in caves and tree-tops. Science helped us to form a world of our own - the human world as opposed to the natural world of plants and animals - and gave us the ability to fly even beyond the earth into outer space. It matters tremendously how we use science and its applications in our daily lives - do we make life easy for all or do we invent more destructive weapons in our battle for supremacy?
Learning science is exciting, not only in a laboratory, but more so when we actually observe it in daily life. Science shows how every action, whether human, plant, animal or elemental, becomes the cause for further action - it reveals the endless merry-go-round of actions and reactions.
The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, which means knowledge. It refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on observation and experiment.
[This definition is adapted from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia]
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Humans have applied their knowledge acquired from science in creating machines. Every machine has a precisely defined function. There are machines that do all the work on their own. There are some machines which cannot do any work on their own. We use them to do work. There are those that do work only when guided properly by the user. A machine does work efficiently and, unless it is defective, produces the same kind of result every time it is used.
Science also has taught us to build structures: bridges, buildings, roads, dams, and furniture. It has also helped us to make clothes, food, pipes for water and oil and conductors for fluids and electricity.
Understanding of natural phenomena has led to the discovery of laws, which in turn paved the way for inventions. When science was born in the mind of the human being, technology was not far behind - it is the brain-child of science.
Here is a short list of things that are the result of applied science:
- Textiles
- Transportation
- Electricity
- Farming techniques
- Housing and business districts
- Bridges and pipelines
- Electronic devices like RADAR, computers, television and refrigerator
- Audio and video equipment
Experiment is the way of science. Beginning with observation, a scientist builds a hypothesis regarding a particular phenomenon, then tests its veracity through experiments. If the hypothesis stands the scrutiny of rigorous and systematic tests, then a theory is postulated and some laws are derived from it.
It is exciting to do experiments. Even when the result is already known, it would be worthwhile to do it in a proper scientific spirit - who knows what you might discover!!!
Many discoveries happened accidentally, when the experimenter was least expecting them. This is called serendipity. And science is teeming with examples of this kind.
Here are some experiments that you can try at home:
LIGHT
MAGNETISM
ELECTRICITY
FORCE
SOUND
Last Updated: October 3, 2010
