Science (from the Latin word scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.The earliest roots of science can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age. The recovery and assimilation of Greek works and Islamic inquiries into Western Europe from the 10th to 13th century revived "natural philosophy", which was later transformed by the Scientific Revolution that began in the 16th century as new ideas and discoveries departed from previous Greek conceptions and traditions. The scientific method soon played a greater role in knowledge creation and it was not until the 19th century that many of the institutional and professional features of science began to take shape; along with the changing of "natural philosophy" to "natural science."Modern science is typically divided into three major branches that consist of the natural sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, and physics), which study nature in the broadest sense; the social sciences (e.g., economics, psychology, and sociology), which study individuals and societies; and the formal sciences (e.g., logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science), which deal with symbols governed by rules. There is disagreement, however, on whether the formal sciences actually constitute a science as they do not rely on empirical evidence. Disciplines that use existing scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine, are described as applied sciences.New knowledge in science is advanced by research from scientists who are motivated by curiosity about the world and a desire to solve problems. Contemporary scientific research is highly collaborative and is usually done by teams in academic and research institutions, government agencies, and companies. The practical impact of their work has led to the emergence of science policies that seek to influence the scientific enterprise by prioritizing the development of commercial products, armaments, health care, public infrastructure, and environmental protection.
Hello,
What institutions provide the best and rigorous distant/online undergraduate programs for mathematics and computer science? Will there be trouble getting accepted into a graduate school with these programs?
@dlgoff and I attended a panel discussion at the WI Science Festival. @dlgoff found the video for it and I thought I'd formally share it because it was quite interesting and a very important topic. The general point is that scientists need social and speaking skills. Being able to effectively...
If anyone else here is a fan of hard science fiction, do you have any recommendations? I just read Farside by Ben Bova and I really enjoyed it, so I'd say it's worth a read if you come across it.
Hi everybody & a happy new year!
There is a book titled "Asimov's new guide to science" about which I was going through.
I never found a proper review about the book.
If anybody knows anything about the book, could you provide a review along with a short summary.
The general question:
Has anyone taken a course geared toward writing in the sciences? If so, did you feel that the course was useful? Alternatively, do you think that writing for the sciences was something that was better learned through the actual science courses you took?
My specific...
I am a undergraduate in an interdisciplinary life science/biochem/mol.bio/physical.chem degree thinking about which optionals to take. For this I have to consider what specialization I want to pick in my major. The two I am leaning towards are biophysics and biochem. There is also medical...
I know a lot of scientific facts and formulas and laws, but not much about the process and experiments conducted to figure it out.
For example, I don't know how exactly did Copernicus figure out the heliocentric model. Damn, I don't even know, looking into the sky how did they even figured out...
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Hi.
I have a Master of Science in Engineering Physics from the university of Lund (LTH) in Sweden and have been looking for work for two years.
The only work I got was through a friend so I clean garbage dumpsters.
Here is some pictures from my work...
As the title states, I'm looking for science blogs (physics related as well as other sciences). Which ones do you read?
PS: To the admins, I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this thread. I couldn't find a place that explains what goes where.
Hi all. I'm considering buying a Kindle paperwhite (E-ink) for reading publications, textbooks, and some fun reading. Does anyone own one, and have an opinion on how readable the text, equations, and figures are? If so, do you feel the screen size is adequate? ~$100 is about the most I have to...
Hey guys!
I'm asking all the people out there if you could redo high school what are some of the things you would do to get ready for a career in science?
I would love to get a career in theoretical physics and being such a vast subject I was seeking some insight as to what would be a great...
Hi I have been passionate about physics for the last 4 years self taught up to about the first year of university level. I have found this website because now, at this key point in my life i need the guidance and knowledge that people from scientific fields only posses. I am interested to meet...
I wanted to do chemical engineering at a particular uni but was ineligible to enter any of the engineering programs (lets call this uni A). I have 2 options since that uni A is the only uni in my location which offers chem eng.
1) Major in chemistry at uni A and take similar units as chem eng...
Ever since I was about 11 years old, my dream has been to pursue a career in any scientific field whatsoever (I practically enjoy learning about all of them!). I ended up being enchanted by the magic of physics at an early age as well, thanks to my childhood heroes such as Carl Sagan, Stephen...
I am considering a dual-major in Physics and Computer Programming. But i'd like some input on how the two can be used together first. What are your thoughts and opinions on a majoring these two? How might this be useful/practical in the real world and how might it be impractical.
Thank you
Hello physicists,
This is my first time on these forums, so I'm sorry if this isn't the right place. Feel free to move it if it isn't.
I am building a small cloud chamber to detect particles resulting from the decay of pions in the atmosphere for a local science fair. I hope to see electron...
Hi
Does anybody know of a good book, or, preferably, a good website, on the chemistry and physics of energy sources (solar panels, chemical reaction and role of syngas, electrolysis of hydrogen and the like)?
Also, a link to a website which covers physical properties of materials would also be...
Sometimes I just don't feel like doing it the right way and I 'improvise'. I can't be the only one who's done it so feel free to share your stories. Who knows - some of them might be useful to others.
A few weeks ago, I had to replace the shutoff valve for a toilet. Of course, this required...
My take is:
The magnets are conductive and complete an electric circuit composed of the battery and a section of the coil (toroid) thereby forming a solenoid. The battery-magnet assembly is in the center of the solenoid. The magnetic field of the solenoid is maximum at the center and decreases...
i have read course descriptions for both, but i want to hear honest opinions from people who actually are in, or have finished, either program.
what is it like? i know they're both heavy on mathematics and that is fine because i like mathematics.
im currently learning java whenever i get spare...
I have an AS degree in Computer Science. I'm in the process of transferring to a 4-year university to pursue a BS in Envionrmental Science. I've always been heavily interested in computers, including running my own web & email server, database administration, hardware, and networking. I have run...
i put engineering as my primary choice for university application and computer science as my second.
however, I am afraid that my grade might not be high enough to get into the engineering school, and I am hearing a lot of negative things about computer science.
i have been thinking of other...
Are biology and chemistry the most memory-heavy sciences?
I took them in high school, but not in college (yet). It feels like math has much less memory involved, but I haven't taken higher maths yet, so don't really know either.
How memory-heavy would you guys say the sciences are...
what's the differences between these fields? i am intrensted in computer hardware. i am not sure whether i am interested in software or not as i am not exposed to java , C++ SQL, ... i am not sure what's these things. What the computer science guys do actually?
After reading:
I wondered about the following thing - is it possible to make a story in which there is a place for a habitable planet and a black hole? (I mean, I have one idea, but it does not end up well... ;) )
I see one additional limitation: the black hole was created in a supernova, so...
So I am doing a physics science fair project. My original idea was "How does heat affect friction in shoe polymers?" but how would I know how to identify shoe polymers and where would I get 5 or 6 different pairs of shoe polymers. I changed it to "How does different temperatures affect friction...
Today's _Out There_ column ( in the New York Times) by David Overby takes a look at the physics of _Interstellar_ and the reception thereof by various audiences.
Interesting article. It can be found on page D1 of the print edition.
Links- (One is the article's formal permalink, the other...
I believe that science must rest on an a priori foundation (and is not empirical) and I wanted to use this forum to get a sense for how people might respond to these ideas. Here are the reasons I give for why science must ultimately have an a priori foundation:
Mathematics is a priori. I...
I am a senior right now in high school and am pretty much deciding the beginning of the rest of my career right now. Ultimately, I would love to study both physics and computer science with either a double major or with computational physics. I love learning about mathematics, physics, computer...
I seemingly (probably because I am to stupid to) can't find any good journals on QM and physics that one can by every month (or year?) in the UK. I am not talking about the commercial astronomy or science "fun" magazines but serius QM,mathematics or physics with formuals and equations. Any...
I found a new book on The Science of Interstellar by Kip Thorne
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393351378/?tag=pfamazon01-20
What caught my attention was a photo of John Wheeler at the black board teaching about black holes. You could see the incredible detail in each pane of the board almost like...
I am in grade 12 and very interested in computer science, however I noticed that I do not have as much mathematics "under my belt" as I would like.
I am simply wondering which type of math I should do on my own (in order to best prepare me for computer science).
Thank you!
A very brief history about myself: I was an undergraduate student for one year at a four year university in an engineering major. I applied for engineering mainly for its employment prospects. I didn't do well that year due to emotional problems. I did so poorly that I got dismissed from the...
All data is for entry level and are national averages. Please plug in your zip code and select a different career level for better precision of information.
Physicists
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Physicist-I-Salary-Details.aspx
Mathematician...
What Magazines or Journals a Computer Science student must read, In order to be in touch with recent research work in Computer Industry. Should I get a subscription of IEEE Xplore Digital Library or some other website like it.
So a year ago I tried an accelerated paced computer science course when I had no experience programming and I ended up hating it and dropping due to never understanding what was going on. Now I finally decided to take a intro to programming class that is pretty cool, but still no where near as...
Homework Statement
My science fair project (high school sophomore) is about calculating the amount of force that is sustained from a fall off of a horse at different heights at different gaits (speeds). I would then compare the force sustained in the fall and compare it to what certified...
Having been a junior design engineer 15 years ago and moved out of that field I am looking to get back into a science based career.
I am taking a "Natural Science" degree with a maths/physics bias (lots of that) and can't seem to get any sensible job before I get this in place.
I used to use...
This nice thread, Favorite Android Science Apps?, is closed, so I decided to start a continued thread on this topic...
I've recently got me my first Android phone, and I spent yesterday with checking out apps and installing them.
Here are some science/education related apps I've installed (all...
Homework Statement
Hello, I am a 6th grade student trying to build a DC motor for the science fair. My hypothesis is that the dc motor will run faster if I place batteries in parallel versus batteries in a series. Is there an equation i can look at to explain what is happening? the mootr...
Hello everyone,
I am currently graduating this December with a BS in Computer Science with a concentration in Systems. However, I want to switch to either Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering for my Masters. Is this possible, and If I am able to get admitted to an EE program would I...
As of now I'm a high school junior, and for most of my life I had the mindset that I would work towards becoming a doctor. More recently, that decision has been faltering and I've become very unsure of this. I was going to become a pre-med, but I don't want to jump in when I'm having so many...
I hope this is in the right place.
For a long time I did not know what I wanted to do as a career. I went to college and got a BA in English because I really enjoyed reading and writing. I am very proud and happy with my education, but I have an issue. I wish to become a Science teacher in a...
There was a recent post about "parroting Einstein".
There are these people I know who have got themselves a new idea about rectangles. They think that you can take a 2 by 1 rectangle and make it half the size, not by putting it into the distance but by angling it!
This seems like utter...