TEXT A Science is a cumulative
body of knowledge about the natural world, obtained by the application of a
particular method practised by the scientist. The word science itself is
derived from the Latin scire, which means to know, to have knowledge of or to
experience. Technology is the fruit of applied science, it is the concrete
expression of research done in the laboratory and applied to manufacturing
commodities to meet human needs. The word scientist was introduced only in 1840
by William Whewell, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of
Cambridge. In his Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, he wrote: "We need a
name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should be inclined to
call him a scientist." The "cultivators of science" before 1840 were known as
"natural philosophers". The founders of the 300-year-old Royal Society were
typical "natural philosophers". They were curious, often eccentric persons who
poked inquiring fingers at nature. In the process of doing so they stated a
technique of inquiry we know today as the "scientific method".
Briefly, these are the steps in the method. First comes the thought that
sparks off the inquiry. (For. example, in 1896, the physicist Henri Becquerel,
in communications to the French Academy of Sciences, stated that he found that
uranium salts emitted rays of unknown nature. His discovery excited Marie Curie.
Along with her husband Pierre, she wanted to know more about this radiation.
What was it exactly, and where did it come from) Second comes
the collecting of facts: the techniques of doing this will differ according to
the problem to be solved. However it is based on experiments in which one may
use anything from a test tube to an earth satellite to gather essential data.
(If you do not know the difficulties which the Curies encountered to gather
their facts, as they investigated the mysterious uranium rays, I advise you to
read the remarkable story in the book Madame Curie by her daughter Eve.
) This leads to step three: organising the facts and studying
the relationships that emerge. (These rays were different from anything known.
How can this be explained Did this radiation come from the atom itself It
might well be that other materials also emit radiation. Madame Curie
investigated and found this was so. She invented the word radioactivity
for this phenomenon. She followed this with further experimental work on only
"active" radioelements. ) Step four is the statement of a
hypothesis or theory: that is, framing a general truth that has emerged and that
may be modified as new facts emerge. (In July 1898, the Curies announced the
probable presence in pitchblende ores of a new element endowed with powerful
radioactivity. This was the beginning of the discovery of radium. )
Then follows the clearer statement of the theory. (In December 1898, the
Curies reported to the Academy of Sciences: "The various reasons we have
enumerated lead us to believe that the new radioactive substance contains a new
element to which we propose to give the name of Radium. The new radioactive
substance certainly contains a very strong proportion of bariums in spite of
that its radioactivity is considerable. The radioactivity of radium therefore
must be enormous. ") And the final step is the practical test of
the theory--the prediction of new facts. This is essential because from this
flows the possibility of control by man of the forces of nature that are newly
revealed. Note how Marie Curie used deductive reasoning in order
to push on. "This kind of detective work is basic to the methodology of science.
Further, she was concerned with probability and not certainty-in her
investigations. Also, although the Curies were doing the basic research work at
great expense to themselves in hard physical toil, they knew that they were part
of an international group of people all concerned with their search for truth.
Their reports were published and immediately examined by scientists all over the
world. Any flaws in their argument, would be pointed out to them
immediately. What happened in scientific circles after the Curies had completed the final step
A．Scientists used deductive reasoning to test their investigations, B．Scientists were concerned with probability in their investigations. C．Scientists read their reports and examined their investigations. D．Scientists were critical of their investigations.