The Handy Science Answer Book: 5th Edition (Handy Answer Books) - Softcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has answered hundreds of thousands of questions in the fields of science and technology. Established in 1902, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh was the first major library to devote a separate department to science and technology. Since then, it has patiently answered reference questions from patrons at a rate of more than 80,000 per year. The answers to many of those questions have been collected and compiled for The Handy Science Answer Book.

James Bobick helped compile The Handy Science Answer Book during his sixteen years as Head of the Science and Technology Department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and he has been instrumental in every revision since it first published over twenty-five years ago. He previously taught at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences, and with G. Lynn Berard of Carnegie Mellon University he wrote Science and Technology Resources: A Guide for Information Professionals and Researchers. He has master’s degrees in both biology and library science. He lives in Pittsburgh.

Naomi E. Balaban, a reference librarian for more than twenty-five years at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, has extensive experience in the areas of science and consumer health. She edited, with James Bobick, all the previous editions of The Handy Science Answer Book as well as The Handy Anatomy Answer Book, The Handy Biology Answer Book, and The Handy Technology Answer Book. She has a background in linguistics and a master’s degree in library science. She resides in Pittsburgh.

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What is science?
The field of science involves the observation, description and experimentation of the natural world in an attempt to explain the “whys” and “hows” of our world. It is a way of thinking and an ongoing method of looking at the world. Science is a way of discovering how the world works by using a set of rules devised by scientists.

Who were the earliest scientists?
Inquisitive individuals have always attempted to explain the physical world. The early Babylonians and Egyptians were aware of natural phenomena and events. Many times, they tried to explain these events in terms of their gods. The early Greeks were among the first people to look for explanations of natural phenomena based on discovery and knowledge. The Greek philosopher Thales (c.624 B.C.E. – c. 547 B.C.E.) is often credited as being the first to look for an answer to the question “What is the world is made of?” Although most of the writings of Thales have been lost, we know he proposed water as the single substance from which everything in the world was made.

Is there one individual who is considered the most influential scientist in the history and development of Western science?
Most experts seem to agree that Isaac Newton (1642–1727) is the most influential figure in the history of Western science. He was considered a great intellectual in his lifetime and the admiration within the scientific community continues today after some three hundred years.

Why is Isaac Newton also considered the father of modern science?
Isaac Newton (1642–1727) earned his place as the father of modern science by totally changing the way science was viewed in the evolution of human understanding of the universe, especially regarding his concepts and theories of motion, gravity, and mechanics.

What other scientists have been particularly influential in the history and development of science through the ages?
In addition to Isaac Newton (1642–1727), many scholars regard the following individuals as having played a major role in the history and development of science:
1..Albert Einstein (1879–1952) and twentieth-century physics including the theory of relativity
2. Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) and the new science
3. Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) and motion of the planets
4. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and the heliocentric universe
5. Niels Bohr (1885–1962) and the atom
6. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and the revolution in chemistry
7. Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and evolution
8. Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) and the germ theory of disease
9. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and psychology of the unconscious

What are some of the historical time periods of science?
An outline of the historical periods in the development of science include:
1. Antiquity: The period of time in which practical goals such as establishing a reliable calendar or determining how to cure a variety of illnesses existed simultaneously with abstract investigations known as natural philosophy.
2. Medieval Science: There were few major contributions in fields of science during the Medieval years. Exceptions were the emergence of science in the first established universities and the formulation of the scientific method.
3. Renaissance and Early Modern Science: During this time period, Copernicus (1473–1543) formulated a heliocentric model of the solar system unlike the geocentric model of Ptolemy (c.100–c.170). Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), through his laws of planetary motion, improved upon Copernicus’ heliocentric model. A major technological development was the invention of the printing press.
4. Age of Enlightenment: Science during the Enlightenment was dominated by scientific societies and academies, which had largely replaced universities as centers of scientific research and development. Science became increasingly popular among the educated population. This time period saw advances in mathematics and physics; the development of biological taxonomy; a new understanding of gases as well as magnetism and electricity; and the maturation of chemistry as a discipline.
5. Nineteenth Century: The discoveries and achievements of the nineteenth century brought a close to the era of classical science and set the stage for the development of science as we know it today. During this period, there were new discoveries about electricity and magnetism, genetics, and evolution, the age of the earth, the stars and the planets, and the nature of infection and disease. These discoveries revolutionized the way people lived and how they perceived the world around them.
6. Twentieth Century: The twentieth century was a time of extraordinary scientific activity. In the life sciences, scientists discovered the structure and function of DNA and uncovered the process by which genetic traits are passed from one generation to the next. New drugs conquered formerly fatal diseases. In the physical sciences, radioactivity and X-rays were discovered, and the atomic bomb was developed. During this time period, there was a move toward increased specialization in all fields of science. The use of computers in scientific research became common.
7. Twenty-first Century: The expanding horizons of science from the study of subatomic particles to missions deeper into outer space continue to reveal new and exciting cutting-edge information during the early years of the twenty-first century.

What is the scientific method?
The scientific method is the basis of scientific investigation. A scientist will pose a question and formulate a hypothesis as a potential explanation or answer to the question. The hypothesis will be tested through a series of experiments. The results of the experiments will either prove or disprove the hypothesis. Hypotheses that are consistent with available data are conditionally accepted.

What are the steps of the scientific method?
Research scientists follow these steps:
1. State a hypothesis.
2. Design an experiment to “prove” the hypothesis.
3. Assemble the materials and set up the experiment.
4. Do the experiment and collect data.
5. Analyze the data using quantitative methods.
6. Draw conclusions.
7. Write up and publish the results.

Who is one of the first individuals associated with the scientific method?
Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham (c. 966–1039), whose name is usually Latinized to Alhazen or Alhacen, is known as the “father of the science of optics” and was also one of the earliest experimental scientists. Between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, Muslim scholars were responsible for the development of the scientific method. These individuals were the first to use experiments and observation as the basis of science, and many historians regard science as starting during this period. Alhazen is regarded as the architect of the scientific method. His scientific method involved the following steps:
1. Observation of the natural world