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Article Outline
Introduction; Why is Science Important?; How Scientists Work; Branches of Science; History of Science
In addition to publications, scientists form associations with other scientists from particular fields. Many scientific organizations arrange conferences that bring together scientists to share new ideas. At these conferences, scientists present research papers and discuss their implications. In addition, science organizations promote the work of their members by publishing newsletters and Web sites; networking with journalists at newspapers, magazines, and television stations to help them understand new findings; and lobbying lawmakers to promote government funding for research. The oldest surviving science organization is the Accademia dei Lincei, in Italy, which was established in 1603. The same century also saw the inauguration of the Royal Society of London, founded in 1662, and the Académie des Sciences de Paris, founded in 1666. American scientific societies date back to the 18th century, when American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin founded a philosophical club in 1727. In 1743 this organization became the American Philosophical Society, which still exists today. In the United States, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) plays a key role in fostering the public understanding of science and in promoting scientific research. Founded in 1848, it has nearly 300 affiliated organizations, many of which originally developed from AAAS special-interest groups. Since the late 19th century, communication among scientists has also been improved by international organizations, such as the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, founded in 1873, the International Council of Research, founded in 1919, and the World Health Organization, founded in 1948. Other organizations act as international forums for research in particular fields. For example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established in 1988, assesses research on how climate change occurs, and what effects change is likely to have on humans and their environment.
Classifying sciences involves arbitrary decisions because the universe is not easily split into separate compartments. This article divides science into five major branches: mathematics, physical sciences, earth sciences, life sciences, and social sciences. A sixth branch, technology, draws on discoveries from all areas of science and puts them to practical use. Each of these branches itself consists of numerous subdivisions. Many of these subdivisions, such as astrophysics or biotechnology, combine overlapping disciplines, creating yet more areas of research. For additional information on individual sciences, refer to separate articles highlighted in the text.
The mathematical sciences investigate the relationships between things that can be measured or quantified in either a real or abstract form. Pure mathematics differs from other sciences because it deals solely with logic, rather than with nature's underlying laws. However, because it can be used to solve so many scientific problems, mathematics is usually considered to be a science itself. Central to mathematics is arithmetic, the use of numbers for calculation. In arithmetic, mathematicians combine specific numbers to produce a result. A separate branch of mathematics, called algebra, works in a similar way, but uses general expressions that apply to numbers as a whole. For example, if there are three separate items on a restaurant bill, simple arithmetic produces the total amount to be paid. But the total can also be calculated by using an algebraic formula. A powerful and flexible tool, algebra enables mathematicians to solve highly complex problems in every branch of science. Geometry investigates objects and the spaces around them. In its simplest form, it deals with objects in two or three dimensions, such as lines, circles, cubes, and spheres. Geometry can be extended to cover abstractions, including objects in many dimensions. Although we cannot perceive these extra dimensions ourselves, the logic of geometry still holds. In geometry, it is easy to work out the exact area of a rectangle or the gradient (slope) of a line, but there are some problems that geometry cannot solve by conventional means. For example, geometry cannot calculate the exact gradient at a point on a curve, or the area that the curve bounds. Scientists find that calculating quantities like this helps them understand physical events, such as the speed of a rocket at any particular moment during its acceleration. To solve these problems, mathematicians use calculus, which deals with continuously changing quantities, such as the position of a point on a curve. Its simultaneous development in the 17th century by English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton and German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Willhelm Leibniz enabled the solution of many problems that had been insoluble by the methods of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Among the advances that calculus helped develop were the determination of Newton’s laws of motion and the theory of electromagnetism (see Magnetism).
The physical sciences investigate the nature and behavior of matter and energy on a vast range of size and scale. In physics itself, scientists study the relationships between matter, energy, force, and time in an attempt to explain how these factors shape the physical behavior of the universe. Physics can be divided into many branches. Scientists study the motion of objects, a huge branch of physics known as mechanics that involves two overlapping sets of scientific laws. The laws of classical mechanics govern the behavior of objects in the macroscopic world, which includes everything from billiard balls to stars, while the laws of quantum mechanics govern the behavior of the particles that make up individual atoms (see Quantum Theory). Other branches of physics focus on energy and its large-scale effects. Thermodynamics is the study of heat and the effects of converting heat into other kinds of energy. This branch of physics has a host of highly practical applications because heat is often used to power machines. Physicists also investigate electrical energy and energy that is carried in electromagnetic waves. These include radio waves, light rays, and X rays—forms of energy that are closely related and that all obey the same set of rules (see Electromagnetic Radiation). Chemistry is the study of the composition of matter and the way different substances interact—subjects that involve physics on an atomic scale. In physical chemistry, chemists study the way physical laws govern chemical change, while in other branches of chemistry the focus is on particular chemicals themselves. For example, inorganic chemistry investigates substances found in the nonliving world and organic chemistry investigates carbon-based substances. Until the 19th century, these two areas of chemistry were thought to be separate and distinct, but today chemists routinely produce organic chemicals from inorganic raw materials. Organic chemists have learned how to synthesize many substances that are found in nature, together with hundreds of thousands that are not, such as plastics and pesticides. Many organic compounds, such as reserpine, a drug used to treat hypertension, cost less to produce by synthesizing from inorganic raw materials than to isolate from natural sources. Many synthetic medicinal compounds can be modified to make them more effective than their natural counterparts, with less harmful side effects. The branch of chemistry known as biochemistry deals solely with substances found in living things. It investigates the chemical reactions that organisms use to obtain energy and the reactions they use to build themselves up. Increasingly, this field of chemistry has become concerned not simply with chemical reactions themselves but also with how the shape of molecules influences the way they work. The result is the new field of molecular biology—one of the fastest-growing sciences today. Physical scientists also study matter elsewhere in the universe, including the planets and stars. Astronomy is the science of the heavens in general, while astrophysics is a branch of astronomy that investigates the physical and chemical nature of stars and other objects. Astronomy deals largely with the universe as it appears today, but a related science called cosmology looks back in time to answer the greatest scientific questions of all: how the universe began and how it came to be as it is today.
The earth sciences examine the structure and composition of our planet, and the physical processes that have helped to shape it. Geology focuses on the structure of Earth, while geography is the study of everything on the planet's surface, including the physical changes that humans have brought about from, for example, farming, mining, or deforestation. Scientists in the field of geomorphology study Earth's present landforms, while mineralogists investigate the minerals in Earth's crust and the way they formed (see Mineralogy). Water dominates Earth's surface, making it an important subject for scientific research. Oceanographers carry out research in the oceans (see Ocean and Oceanography), while scientists working in the field of hydrology investigate water resources on land, a subject of vital interest in areas prone to drought. Glaciologists study Earth's icecaps and mountain glaciers, and the effects that ice has when it forms, melts, or moves. In atmospheric science, meteorology deals with day-to-day changes in weather, but climatology investigates changes in weather patterns over the longer term (see Climate). When living things die their remains are sometimes preserved, creating a rich store of scientific information. Paleontology is the study of plant and animal remains that have been preserved in sedimentary rock, often millions of years ago (see Fossil). Paleontologists study things long dead and their findings shed light on the history of evolution and on the origin and development of humans. A related science, called palynology, is the study of fossilized spores and pollen grains. Scientists study these tiny structures to learn the types of plants that grew in certain areas during Earth’s history, which also helps identify what Earth’s climates were like in the past.
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