Science links
The best science related links.
- Science newsThe latest from the world of science.
- Science MagThe science Magazine AAAS
- NASAThe official website of NASA
In this section, you can find information about science and science-related subjects.
The word science comes from scientia, the Latin word for knowledge. Modern science is conventionally divided into three major branches: natural sciences, formal sciences, and social sciences. Biology, physics and chemistry are all examples of natural sciences. In the formal science branch, we find fields such mathematics, logic and theoretical coputer science where abtract concepts are studied. Psychology, sociology and economy are some of the most well-known social sciences.
Disciplines that use existing scientific knowledge for practical purposes are known as applied sciences. Medicine and engineering are two notable examples.
The Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that contributed to the emergance of modern science during the early modern period, a period of modern history that started after the late Middle Ages. During the early modern period, many notable and groundbreaking developments and discoveries occured in fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and astronomy. One of the earliest events during the Scientific Revolution was Nicolaus Copernicus’ publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) in 1543.
From the end of the Renaissance and through the late 1700s, the Scientific Revolution influenced society and various ways, and contributed (and was intertwined with) to the intellectual social movement known as the Englightenment.
The early stage of the Scientific Revolution was largely focused on recovering and re-discovering knowledge from the fallen ancient civilizations. Eventually, the revolution entered another stage, which was more focused on directly obtaining knowledge about the surroudning world. One example of this direct approach is Galileo’s Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo (Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems), published in 1632. Here, Galileo compares the ancient Ptolemaic system with Copernicus’ system.
Isaac Newton’s publication of Principia in 1687 is often seen as the completion of the Scientif Revolution era. By formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation, this work completed the synthesis of a new cosmology.