THE HUNTINGTON Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens History of Science School Program Review Looking for Changes We will encourage students to look for evidence of change in ideas, technology, or in forms used for sharing information
Looking for Changes Ideas: Technology Forms (used for sharing information)
Naked Eye Location Copernicus: De revolutionibus (~ 500 years ago) Introduction of a sun-centered system of the universe The earth not only rotates around its axis in 24hours, but also revolves around the sun in 365 days. Because of these motions we
Naked Eye Naked Eye Location Kepler Brahe Galileo More evidence in favor of the heliocentric system 1. Telescopic observation of the moon: it looks like the earth! 2. Jupiter s satellites: moving around Jupiter not around the earth 3. The Milky Way contains millions of stars 4. Venus shows phases like the moon 5. Dark spots on the surface of the sun 6. Handles of Saturn Location Isaac Newton (~ 350 yrs ago) Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687) Laws of motion Law of universal gravitation Calculus New theory of colors Invention of the reflective telescope
Naked Eye Naked Eye Location Wright Herschel Cannon Einstein Hubble Studying the largescale structure of the universe Nature of the stars Location Galileo Fontana Hevelius Huygens Newton Herschel Hubble Employment of the telescope in various astronomical observations
Naked Eye Naked Eye Location Naked eye observations: Large mural quadrants, and Portable measurement tools Change in observational tools Change in language: the contribution of other nations Change in diagrams New observational tools The location of the solar system in the universe -Change from earth-centered to sun centered universe -The location of the earth among the planets Change in language: Latin to modern European languages Change in telescope types Details of the surface features of the planets: the impact of the telescope
Observation Aristotle: De anima, ~2,300 yrs ago Pliny the Elder: Naturalis historia ~1,950 yrs ago Dioscorides: Materia medica ~1,900 yrs ago topsell: History of four footed.. ~350 yrs ago Observation and description The impact of geographical discoveries Beasts? Description of the animals they had never seen! Using "visual language" for the illiterate public Evolution Observation The Microscope: ~ 400 yrs ago The introduction of the microscope Description of the microscopic structure of the living organisms More details in morphology Merian: Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium. 1705 Microscopic description of life: ~ 350 yrs ago Evolution
Observation Are species connected to each other? Lamarck / Darwin Evidence of past life: Studying the history of living organisms Evidence from the past: Studying the history of the earth Possible connection between the species Darwin s theory of Evolution Evolution Fossils: Evidence of past life Observation Watson and Crick discovery of the structure of the DNA 1953 Deciphering the blueprint of heredity Mendel s rules of heredity The chemistry of genes Evolution Mendel s discovery of the heredity rules, 1866
Healing Child birth Observation Change: Diversity after the 1500s New species Change: New observational tools Change: from observing the traits in offspring to observing the chemistry of traits Change: depicting the fine-structure of the living bodies Change: from creation/development ladder to evolution Change: New evidence (fossils) Change: More details in drawings; Realistic illustrations Evolution Henry Gray: Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical (1858): A classic work in human anatomy Structure Vesalius: De humani corporis fabrica (On the fabric of the human body, 1543) : Careful examination of the organs and the complete structure of the human body 17 th -20 th centuries: Development in anatomy and physiology Harvey: The Anatomical Exercises (1653): Described in detail the systematic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to body by the heart
Healing Child birth Healing Child birth Structure Pasteur (~ 1870): Germ theory: A revolution in understanding the origin of the majority of diseases Jenner (1798): beginning of vaccination It was empirical! Still no germ theory The Wound Man: Johannes de Ketham (~ 500 yrs ago): Fasciculus Medicinae (1492) A surgical text, used even in the 16 th and 17 th centuries Hippocrates (~2,300 yrs ago): the founder of Western medicine Structure Spratt: Obstetrics (1847) Rosslin: The Byrth (1613) Rontgen: New technology to see the unseen organs Pasteur (~ 1870): Germ theory: A revolution in understanding the origin of the majority of diseases
Electricity Healing Child birth Change: Forms inaccurate knowledge of child birth to the accurate science of gynecology Change: Forms used for sharing information: overlay technique Change: Forms used for sharing information: Color prints Structure Change: from crude anatomical drawings to the accurate knowledge of the structure of organs Change: From vague theories of diseases to germ theory Change: From a mechanical view of healing to imaging the structural damages (using the x-ray) Change: From a static view of the function of the blood to understanding the dynamism of the blood circulation Energy Vision Plato & Euclid: light rays going out from our eyes Euclid: Geometrical theory of light (~2,500 2,300 yrs ago) Employment of the camera obscura in optical studies: ~ 1,000 yrs ago Alhazen: modern theory of light: when a body is producing light or illuminated by a source of light, from each point of it light rays are spreading in all directions. Only one light ray from each point of the object enters vertically to the eye and the outcome is the image of the object that we see. ~ 1,000 yrs ago Light Color
Electricity Electricity Energy Vision Producing artificial light using the electricity 1700-1900: Discovering the relationship between electricity, magnetism, & light Isaac Newton: Opticks (1705): New theory of color 1600-1700: various theories of light Light Color Energy Fraunhofer: Reading the spectrum Maxwell: The electromagnetic theory of light Vision Producing artificial light using the electricity 1700-1900: Discovering the relationship between electricity, magnetism, & light Isaac Newton: Opticks (1705): New theory of color 1600-1700: various theories of light Light Color
Electricity Electricity Energy Vision Change: Understanding the nature of colors Change: Using optical devices in the study of light Light Color Energy Vision Change: From Newton s prism experiment to the stellar spectroscopy Change: introduction of technology in optical studies Change: From natural light to artificial light using the electricity Light Color
What is Science? Science deals with all living or non-living things existing in the universe, from an ant to a galaxy. It deals also with whatever happens in the universe, from a hen that lays her egg to a gigantic explosion that destroys a very big star. Science has helped us learn a lot about nature. We have discovered the ways that microbes and viruses may cause diseases and we have learned how to fight them; we have learned how to design, make and fly a huge airplane and travel faster and safer; and we have learned that about 65 million years ago, dinosaurs were destroyed because of the global environmental changes that happened after the impact of a relatively small comet to present-day Mexico. These are only a few examples.
Although we know about many things in nature, the things that we don t know are also enormous. It is science that helps us unfold the unknown. Science starts with questions: > How do we see and hear? > Why is the sky blue instead of pink with yellow stripes on it? > How do honey bees communicate with each other? > Are there any aliens in the universe? The way that we answer these kinds of questions is very important. For example, to answer the last question Are there any aliens in the universe? we may say No, there are no aliens, or Yes, there are a lot, or I don t know, but I can try to gather evidence
But, which answer is correct? We have to have enough evidence or facts to answer a question correctly. One of the most important jobs of a scientist is to provide accurate and reliable facts. They express, in the form of a mathematical statement, the laws or the rules governing natural phenomena. Finding scientific facts or discovering laws of nature is not an over-night job. Forget about that simple picture you may see in cartoon movies: a scientist in a busy laboratory doing crazy experiments!
Science is a process. It is like an assembly line. As in a car factory different parts of a car are assembled to produce a working car, discoveries of different scientists in different fields add up to create a larger picture of the universe. Science is always changing because of new discoveries, new facts, and new procedures. In this process, more accurate facts are replaced by previous ones, and new theories create a deep understanding of nature. The study of all these changes is called the history of science. Now, we want to visit a museum of history of science. It illustrates snap shots of major developments in science in the course of history. You will see a continuous change in all exhibitions; however, some changes are so drastic that we may call them a turning point or a revolution. We want to have a look at this changing history and discuss the major developments in different fields of science.