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Some of the most profound statements on the nature of science have come from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time. What do you think did Einstein mean when he said : “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”?
The physical world around is made of different complex natural phenomena. Therefore, the word is incomprehensible. But with the help of studiess and observations, it has been found that these phenomenas are based on some physical laws. Hence, it is comprehensible.
“Every great physical theory starts as a heresy and ends as a dogma”. Give some examples from the history of science of the validity of this incisive remark.
Any opinion against the conventional belief is a heresy, while dogma is an established belief. The geocentric theory of Copernicus started as heresy, but it ended as dogma when his method was explained by Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler later on.
“Politics is the art of the possible”. Similarly, “Science is the art of the soluble”. Explain this beautiful aphorism on the nature and practice of science.
It is a well-known fact that to win over voters, politicians would make anything possible, even when they're least sure of the same. In science, the various natural phenomena are explainable in terms of some basic laws. So,' politics is the art of possible'; similarly 'science is the art of soluble.'
Though India now has a large base in science and technology, which is fast expanding, it is still a long way from realising its potential of becoming a world leader in science. Name some important factors, which in your view have hindered the advancement of science in India.
The main factors which have hindered India's March toward becoming a world leader in science and technology are :-
(a) The young scientists and technologist are denied academic freedom, which is so necessary for making advances in the areas of science and technology.
(b) There is excess of administrative interference in management of research and technology.
(c) There is practically no co-ordination between the researchers and the industrialist. The industriallist are the actual consumer of new research and technology. The industrial of this country have little confidence in the ability of the Indian scientists.
No physicist has ever “seen” an electron. Yet, all physicists believe in the existence of electrons. An intelligent but superstitious man advances this analogy to argue that ‘ghosts’ exist even though no one has ‘seen’ one. How will you refute his argument ?
No physicist has ever seen an atom, but there is practical evidence which proves the presence of electron. Their size is so small, and even powerful microscopes find it challenging to measure their dimensions. But still, its effects could be tested. On the other end, there is no phenomenon which is explained based on the existence of ghosts. Our senses of sight and hearing are very limited to observe the presence of both. So there is no comparison between the two given cases.
The shells of crabs found around a particular coastal location in Japan seem mostly to resemble the legendary face of a Samurai. Given below are two explanations of this observed fact. Which of these strikes you as a scientific explanation ? (a) A tragic sea accident several centuries ago drowned a young Samurai. As a tribute to his bravery, nature through its inscrutable ways immortalised his face by imprinting it on the crab shells in that area.
(b) After the sea tragedy, fishermen in that area, in a gesture of honour to their dead hero, let free any crab shell caught by them which accidentally had a shape resembling the face of a Samurai. Consequently, the particular shape of the crab shell survived longer and therefore in course of time the shape was genetically propagated. This is an example of evolution by artificial selection. [Note : This interesting illustration taken from Carl Sagan’s ‘The Cosmos’ highlights the fact that often strange and inexplicable facts which on the first sight appear ‘supernatural’ actually turn out to have simple scientific explanations. Try to think out other examples of this kind].
Option B is the best explanation.
B. After the sea tragedy the fishermen in that area, in a gesture of honour to their dead hero, let free any crab shell caught by them which accidentally had a shape resembling the face of a samurai. Consequently, the particular form of the crab shell survived longer and therefore over time, the configuration genetically propagated. This is an example of evolution bt artificial selection.
The industrial revolution in England and Western Europe more than two centuries ago was triggered by some key scientific and technological advances. What were these advances ?
More than two centuries ago, England and western Europe invented the steam engine, electricity, the theory of gravitation and the explosives. The steam engine helped them in the field of hat and thermodynamics. The theory of gravitation in the field of motion and making guns and cannons. This progress brought about the industrial revolution in England and western Europe
It is often said that the world is witnessing now a second industrial revolution, which will transform the society as radically as did the first. List some key contemporary areas of science and technology, which are responsible for this revolution.
Some of the key contemporary areas of science and technology which may transform the society radically are:
Write in about 1000 words a fiction piece based on your speculation on the science and technology of the twenty-second century.
These days, we go to distant places using a car, or an aircraft fueled bt petrol. In the twenty-second century, we may plan for a journey to a distant star located hundreds of light-years away from the earth bt means of spaceships, without taking care of any fuel needs. The spaceship is sent into space by firing a rocket engine from a launching pad. As it enters the region of the magnetic field in the space, it is propelled by electricity generated due to electromagnetic induction. The current induced is fed to the electric motor via superconducting wires. This avoids wastage of electricity in the form of heat. Now suppose the spaceship enters a region in space where the temperature is very high, the connecting wires at once lose the superconducting properties.this may cause a panic in the spaceship as no power is available.another spaceship containing both matter and antimatter in separate chambers may come to its rescue. Hence the spaceship may continue its journey to distant star without bothering about any fuel crisis.
Attempt to formulate your ‘moral’ views on the practice of science. Imagine yourself stumbling upon a discovery, which has great academic interest but is certain to have nothing but dangerous consequences for the human society. How, if at all, will you resolve your dilemma ?
Science is the search for eternal truth. It is the moral duty of a scientist to expose the truth. If there is any danger to mankind from discovery, he should try to build a public opinion against the misuse of the discovery. Moreover; he should develop the means to prevent its misuse. It is equally possible that this discovery may prove to be of immense importance to mankind later on.
Science, like any knowledge, can be put to good or bad use, depending on the user. Given below are some of the applications of science. Formulate your views on whether the particular application is good, bad or something that cannot be so clearly categorised : (a) Mass vaccination against small pox to curb and finally eradicate this disease from the population. (This has already been successfully done in India). (b) Television for eradication of illiteracy and for mass communication of news and ideas. (c) Prenatal sex determination (d) Computers for increase in work efficiency (e) Putting artificial satellites into orbits around the Earth (f ) Development of nuclear weapons (g) Development of new and powerful techniques of chemical and biological warfare). (h) Purification of water for drinking (i) Plastic surgery (j ) Cloning
(a) Good
(b) Good
(c) Bad
(d) Good
(e) Good
(f) Bad
(g) Bad
(h) Good
(i) Good
(j ) Good
India has had a long and unbroken tradition of great scholarship — in mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, logic and ethics. Yet, in parallel with this, several superstitious and obscurantistic attitudes and practices flourished in our society and unfortunately continue even today — among many educated people too.How will you use your knowledge of science to develop strategies to counter these attitudes ?
Poverty and illiteracy are the two significant factors which make people superstitious in India. To remove this attitude, we have to overcome the following factors. Everybody should be educated so that we can develop a scientific perspective on it. Knowledge of science can be put to use to prove people's superstitions wrong by showing them the scientific logic behind everything happening in the world.
Though the law gives women equal status in India, many people hold unscientific views on a woman’s innate nature, capacity and intelligence, and in practice give them a secondary status and role. Demolish this view using scientific arguments, and by quoting examples of great women in science and other spheres; and persuade yourself and others that, given equal opportunity, women are on par with men.
Some people in society have the view that women do not have the innate nature, capacity and intelligence. To overcome this view there are many examples of women who have proven their abilities.
“It is more important to have beauty in the equations of physics than to have them agree with experiments”. The great British physicist P. A. M. Dirac held this view. Criticize this statement. Look out for some equations and results in this book which strike you as beautiful.
E=mc-2 (Energy of light)
E=hv (Energy of photon)
KE=1/2 mv-2 (Kinetic energy of moving particles)
PE= mgh (Potential energy of a body at rest)
W=F.d (Work done)
All these equations have the same dimensions. One experiment shows the dependency of energy on speed, while the other equations show the dependence on frequency and displacement.
Thus, that is the beauty of physics coming from different experiments.
Though the statement quoted above may be disputed, most physicists do have a feeling that the great laws of physics are at once simple and beautiful. Some of the notable physicists, besides Dirac, who have articulated this feeling, are : Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Chandrasekhar and Feynman. You are urged to make special efforts to get access to the general books and writings by these and other great masters of physics.
(See the Bibliography at the end of this book.) Their writings are truly inspiring !
The great laws of physics are indeed simple and beautiful. Few examples of the statement are as follows:
(a) Einstien's mass-energy equivalence relation E=mc² is beautiful and straightforward.
(b) According to Max Planck's quantum, the energy of a photon E=hv, is also a beautiful and straightforward equation.
(c) The de-Broglie wavelength associated with a particle of mass m given by λ=h/mv. Hence, it is a simple and beautiful equation.
Textbooks on science may give you a wrong impression that studying science is dry and all too serious and that scientists are absent-minded introverts who never laugh or grin. This image of science and scientists is patently false. Scientists, like any other group of humans, have their share of humorists, and many have led their lives with a great sense of fun and adventure, even as they seriously pursued their scientific work. Two great physicists of this genre are Gamow and Feynman. You will enjoy reading their books listed in the Bibliography.
It is true that scientists, like any other group of humans, have their share of humorists. Two great physicists of this genre are Ganmow and Feynman. Other scientists whose name can be added in the list include C V Raman, Einstein, Bohr, former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam, etc.
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