Read and Speak. Круглова М.В. - 85 стр.

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TEXT 5A. WHAT SCIENCE IS

Read the text and do the exercises.

It can be said that science is a cumulative body of knowledge about the natural

world, obtained by the application of a peculiar method practiced by the scientist. It’s

known that the word science itself is derived from the Latin «scire», i.e. to know, to

have knowledge of, to experience. Fundamental and applied sciences are commonly

distinguished, the former being concerned with fundamental laws of nature, the latter

engaged in application of the knowledge obtained. Technology is the fruit of applied

science, being the concrete practical 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 a Cambridge professor of

philosophy who wrote: «We need a name for describing a cultivator of science in

general. I should be inclined to call him a scientist». «The cultivators of science»

before that time were known as «natural philosophers». They were curious, often

eccentric, persons who poked inquiring fingers at nature. In the process of doing so

they started a technique of inquiry which is now referred to as the «scientific

method».

Briefly the following steps can be distinguished in this method. First comes the

thought that initiates the inquiry. It’s known, for example, that in 1896 the physicist

Henri Becquerel, in his communication to the French Academy of Science, reported

that he had discovered rays of an unknown nature emitted spontaneously by uranium

salts. His discovery exited Marie Curie, and together with her husband Pierre Curie

she tried to obtain more knowledge about the radiation. What was it exactly? Where

did it come from?

Second comes the collecting of facts: the techniques of doing this will differ

according to the problem which is to be solved. But it is based on the experiment in

which anything may be used to gather the essential data - from a test-tube to an earth-

satellite. It’s known that the Curies encountered great difficulties in gathering their

facts, as they investigated the mysterious uranium rays.

This leads to step three: organizing the facts and studying the relationships that

emerge. It was already noted that the above rays were different from anything

known. How to explain this? Did this radiation come from the atom itself? It might

be expected that other materials also have the property of emitting radiation. Some