Our home planet earth, has more events occurring
on it than we can imagine.
These events involve, the living organisms,
inanimate structures ; things which we can
see , those which we cant.
Events that amaze us (and those which terrify
us (The very formation of our earth was another
massive event.
These events bring with it a large number
of questions that arise out of curiosity to
explain or understand the world we live in,
the world around us.
If you have ever wondered whats going on.
how these events take place or.
why is it so, well then..you are not alone.
These questions run in the minds of billions
of people every second, every day.
The answer to all these questions is simple
and lies in one word.
SCIENCE.
Now your next question is What exactly is
Science??
Let us understand . Science, is an Answer.
It is the knowledge we get when we ask questions
So if this is you , why do all your belongings
or anything that you throw up in the air , fall
to the ground ? the answer or science behind
it is no big deal its Gravity.
You see the earth has an attraction to all
objects, known as gravity & this invisible
attraction is what keeps us on earth and not
float away in air.
The funny thing is that.gravity was always
there, since the beginning, but it was only
understood and explained until not very long
ago by a veeeeery inquisitive person who asked
a lot of questions.
He was very convinced, that an apple doesnt
fall far from the tree. and thats because.
it fell on his head.
That person was Sir Isaac Newton.
So gravity existed even before the apple fell
on newtons head, but it was understood and
explained only when newton decided to ask
What, How & WHY.
So you see science involves you ..well not
just you, me and everything around us.
But, we only understand it when we follow
our curiosity and ask questions..a loooot
of questions and try to find answers to them.
But.
many a times, one question can have more than
one answer.
So, there is often more than one theory to
explain the science behind each event.
Its a lot like a maze.
At the center is the event occurring and the
questions related to it and the various paths
to the center are the answers to it.
Based on our understanding of all events in
the universe, we can classify science into
three main branches: Physics, Chemistry and
Biology.
Let us look at what these branches are and
how they work in the making of something as
simple as lime juice when you are thirsty!
Now lets look at this animation slowly and
more carefully and understand where these
branches come into play
This is where physics gets into character.
Physics is concerned with the force with which
you hold the spoon and the motion involved
while stirring the juice fast or slow.
It is the branch of science that deals with
all types of matter in and beyond the universe,
their nature, their properties, and all causes
and effects of manipulating them.
Then comes the part where all the ingredients
start getting mixed to give us lime juice.
This is called Chemistry.
It deals with the reaction between two or
more types of matter to form a new type of
matter.
For example: When hydrogen gas and oxygen
are mixed together in an appropriate ratio,
well get H2o which is also called WATER.
Interesting !! Isnt it?
And finally theres Biology.
Biology is concerned with how your body can
extract the benefits from the juice.
It is concerned with all living matter in
the universe like plants, animals and micro-organisms,
their life processes and their relationship
not only with one another but also with the
environment in which they exist.
If you have been observant, you would have
realized that all of these branches, though
differently listed, work together in making
lime juice.
The togetherness of these branches is not
only in the case of simply preparing a lime
juice, but also in the case of evvvvery event
that we see, perform or experience in our
lives.
Yes they are like friends who work in harmony.
Now, whether its Physics, Chemistry or Biology
lets have a look at the two main categories
of Science: One is based on asking questions
about the origin of what, how and why things
happen, as discussed earlier like Sir Isaac
newton.
This is termed as Basic science, where you
find crazy scientists experimenting in the
laboratory like in the movies.the only thing
is.. they are not crazy.
Basic science always follows a cycle:
Lets see what Basic Science is using the saame
example of lime juice.
The first step in the cycle involves asking
questions about the origin of lime juice,
for eg: what are the ingredients used to make
lime juice, what can be used to dissolve lime
juice ingredients and how much of those ingredients
can be used?
Could the lime juice do well to the body if
consumed?
The next step involves making an assumption
or a hypothesis about the origin of lime juice.
For Eg: We could use the juice of lemons to
make lime juice, the lime juice may taste
a lot better if we used sugar and salt.
It could be that half a glass of water could
be sufficient to dissolve all the ingredients.
After we have made the assumptions, they need
to be verified by experimenting - i.e we must
try making the lime juice based on our assumptions
and test to see what we assumed/ predicted
is true or rather false.
After performing the experiments successfully
a conclusion is made where verified facts
are established i.e in this case one can say
that the lime juice is made only of juice
extracted from lemons, it does indeed taste
good with sugar and salt, that half a glass
of water is sufficient to dissolve all the
ingredients and that drinking lime juice does
good to the body.
Basic science always follows this cycle.
Fun fact: Do you know that all the facts that
are there in our educational/ text books have
undergone this cycle of research before it
is printed ????
Lets move to the second category of Science
that involves determining the various utilities
of the now prepared lime juice.
The answers might be Making fruit juice concentrates,
marinating fish before frying, curing indigestion,
reducing blemishes on skin.
This category of science is called The Applied
science that simply looks at the various uses
of what is already established.
Simply put, Basic science is concerned with
knowing something and applied science is using
what you know.
Applied Science depends on Basic Science and
vice versa.
Well so far we have seen that science can
be all fun and games.
So its about time we ask the most important
question of all is science always this good
or does it also have a not so good side to
it ???????
To understand that, let us look into some
examples:
Lets take nuclear energy for instance:
1) It can be used to make Nuclear power which
can act as a substitute for electricity and
which can be much cheaper or it can be made
to make nuclear bombs which can have devastating
effects,
2) Technology/pollution -the cellphone- Yes
it is true that the advent of the portable
phone also called the cell phone has made
our lives a lot easier by allowing people
over long distances to communicate more effectively
and faster.
But do the benefits really outweigh the risks
that cellphones are likely to cause to our
body like the high probability of brain tumors.
3) Genetic engineering/opposition: Though
genetic engineering is concerned with trying
to improve existing plants and animals in
terms of obtained and derived products.
It disturbs the natural ecosystem best suited
for the original type of organisms.
The question here is not about science being
good or bad.
Because now we know science is knowledge.
And knowledge is never bad per se.
The real question we must ask ourselves before
we utilize science should be are we using
science for something good or something that
will cause harm.
Science has the power to both destroy and
heal.
But, it only depends on how you view it and
more importantly, how you use it.
We do have a choice!
If science is pursued with a generous and
compassionate heart, it can change our world
in more ways than one.
The true potential of science is beyond our
imagination.
But then we can always start, by letting the
scientist in us, ask these three fundamental
questions WHAT, HOW & WHY.,
Do like this session and post your comments
about the best use of science.
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Keep watching.enjoy learning and challenge
everything.
