An introduction to an article on Science Education

Science Education

The importance of a basic knowledge of science can not be over looked. It helps us understanding the world around us and science affects most aspect of life so some knowledge of it is needed to get along. It is helps students with and interest in science to pursue a scientific career by helping them discover that interest. There are problems with science education for example many pre collage science classes are taught by teachers who did not major or minor in math or science so as a result classes are often of low quality a often uninteresting. Children are often thought only facts and theory and are and not how to actually do science. Even worst they are often not taught how to critically evaluate scientific claims but to just accept them unquestioned.

An introduction to an article on Politicized Science

Politicized Science

The politicization of Science occurs when politics interferes with scientific enquiry for the purpose of political gain. It often involves supporting one side over the other in a scientific dispute. A theory is pushed for political gain corrupts the scientific process. The worst example is the theory of Man caused Global Warming.

An introduction to an article on Government Grants

Government Grants

A Government Grant is money or other items of value given by a government to non-government individual or group to enable their activities. While it is that Government funding of science has produced many good results it has the down side of politicizing science and the politicization of science has a detrimental affect on science. 

The Past it’s History

The article History It’s the Science of the Past

A legend is a traditional story of the past that is unverified and thought to be an exaggerated version of a real event or events. Defining the term “myth” is a lot harder than legend because it is often defined based on what one wishes to include and exclude. The fact that it is seen as an untrue claim in popular usage only which only makes it harder to define.

In practical historical usage however myths and legends are accounts of the past that a given historian wishes to discount. Now this is not an official definition but it is a practical one. The fact is that many of these stories could be idealized and culturalized versions of real events. The process of idealization and culturalization could make true stories more fantastic than they real were, This is most likely to occur in cases where there are mutable versions of the same story in different cultures and even more likely when the cultures had little or no contact.

Introducing the Science of Chemistry

Chemistry

This article is provides a basic introduction to Chemistry with provision made for links to future articles. In includes a basic description the periodic table as well as organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry.

An introduction to the Genesis Mission article on Astronomy

Astronomy

This is an introductory article on Astronomy. It includes a list of future topics that will be linked to as they are completed. It provides useful information on Astronomy and its history.

An introduction to the Genesis Mission article on Archaeology

Archaeology

This is a short introductory Genesis Mission article on Archaeology from a Creation Science perspective. It includes a list of future topics that will be linked to as they are completed.

Introducing the Genesis Mission article on Physics

Physics

This is a short introductory article on physics it in includes links to articles on Thermodynamics, Quantum mechanics, Relativity and other theories of modern physics. It is short because it is a entirely introductory article with most of the material on other pages that it links to.

An introduction to The Genesis Mission page “What is Science?”

What is Science?

Thos page is a discussion of Science. It describes what Science is and is not. The page also links to other articles that go in to more detail on various aspects of Science. You will find it a useful resource to under stand the nature of Science.

An introduction to Genesis Mission

Genesis Mission

 Genesis Mission is a Creation Science with a Biblical perspective on science origins and the age of the Earth. It is a companion site to Genesis Science Mission The material here is largely a text and image format so as to present Creation Science in a manner that shows how well it fits with science as a whole. This site has been around for a while but has been revamped to a new format.

Introducing to the Science of Chemistry

Chemistry: The field of science that is the study of the interactions of atoms to form molecules and their properties.

The beginnings of Chemistry go back to before known civilization with fire and metal work. According to the book of Genesis in the Bible metal work goes back to Tubal-cain who lived before the Flood. Modern Chemistry grew out of Alchemy and its search to turn metals like lead into gold and the so called elixir of life. Chemistry got much from Alchemy particularly its affinity research and experimentation. Once Chemistry broke from Alchemy it lead to an explosion of knowledge about the nature and structure of matter.

Chemistry begins with individual atoms of different elements such as hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. Atoms come together to form molecules such as water which is made of one oxygen atom getting together with two hydrogen atoms, methane which is made of one carbon atom getting together with four hydrogen atoms and carbon dioxide which is made of two oxygen atoms getting together with one carbon atom. These are all different substances with different properties.

The Periodic Table is a list of the chemical elements organized by recurring properties. The information about each element included varies but often includes element’s name, atomic number, symbol, and atomic weight. It is a vary use full took in Chemistry and one the most recognizable things associated with Chemistry.

Chemical reactions are the process by which atoms come together or are rearranged to form new molecules. There are two main types of chemical reactions. Endothermic reactions which use heat energy in forming new molecules and exothermic reactions which release heat energy in forming new molecules. Exothermic reactions are some times explosive which is a common danger in Chemistry.

There are two main fields of chemistry. Organic chemistry which is chemistry based on the element Carbon and may or may not involve life and inorganic chemistry which is chemistry not based on the element Carbon.

In conclusion chemistry is a major field of science and it is the most experiment based field of science. Chemistry embodies the ideal of science stated in the scientific method more than any other field of science.

Force It Moves Things

Force: That which causes a free body to undergo acceleration.

There are four fundamental forces in Nature.
Gravity: The mutual attraction of all matter in the universe.
Electromagnetism: The mutual attraction and repulsion of charged partials.
Weak nuclear force: Regulates some types of nuclear decay including Bata decay.
Strong nuclear force: The Binding force of the atomic nucleus.

Forces causes mater to accelerate which is the main function of force by definition. It can overcome other forces such as friction gravity. The Strong nuclear force overcomes the mutual electromagnetic repulsion of protons that would blow every atomic nucleus apart. Force also holds things together. The electromagnetic force holds an object together including your body and the strong nuclear force holds atomic nuclei together. It can break things apart such as bombs or the force resulting from ramming two things together which can cause them to shatter and the peaces to fly apart.

All force causes acceleration regardless of its source. Force can also stop acceleration by resisting another force. Force holes thing together so force does indeed bind us together so it looks like Ben Kenobi got it partly right. Force makes our existence possible.

The Quantization in Quantum Mechanics

Quantization is the situation where physical quantities like position, energy and momentum can have only certain discrete values. In free empty space a particle’s position, energy and momentum are continuous. If the particle is bound to a particular area of space can these properties can only have certain discrete values. The energy contained in a given frequency of electromagnetic waves is quantized in that it always has the same value at the same frequency. The electromagnetic energy is found in discrete packet called photons.

The quantization of the energy of an electron inside an atom explains much of the behavior of atoms such as why atoms emit only discrete frequencies of light. An electron that is in a low orbit of an atom can absorb a photon causing the electron  to jump to a higher orbit. The electron then emits a photon jumping back to the lower orbit.

The quantization of space-time is based on several natural units proposed by Max Planck that are based on five universal physical constants: Gravitational constant, Reduced Planck constant, Speed of light in a vacuum, Coulomb constant, and Boltzmann's constant

While most of them have no physical significance two of them Planck Length and Planck Time are the smallest possible measurements of space-time according our current understanding of the laws of Physics because of the  uncertainty principle when a plied to these scales. This suggests that time and space themselves are Quantized.

Planck Length is the smallest measurement of length that has any meaning with in the laws of physics as we understand them today and Planck Length is about 1.616 252 × 10⁻³⁵ m.

Planck Time is the amount of time it takes a photon to cross a Planck Length. It is the smallest measurement of time that has any meaning with in the laws of physics as we understand them today and Planck Time is about 5.391 24 × 10⁻⁴⁴ s,

Quantization requires physical quantities like position, energy and momentum to have discrete values explaining much of what goes on in side atom and based on our current understanding of the laws of physics it suggest that time and space are quantized.

The Impact of Collisions as Used in Physics

Collision: An event in which two or more bodies exert relatively high forces on each other for a short period of time.

Elastic collision: A collision in which the total kinetic energy of the particles before and after the encounter is the same.

Inelastic collision: A collision in which the total kinetic energy of the particles before and after the encounter is not the same.

The danger of collisions occurs as a result of sudden high acceleration that can damage equipment, cause injuries and even kill. It can cause damage from the deformation of object. It can cause colliding objects to shatter and fly apart at high speeds.

On the other hand collisions can hammer nails. They are used in sports such as pool, golf, and baseball. They have also been used to probe the makeup of matter by way of near light speed collisions inside particle accelerators.

In conclusion collisions are sudden interactions that can be elastic or inelastic. They can be dangerous and destructive but yet they can be useful.

The Science of Astronomy.

Astronomy is the natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena originating outside the Earth's atmosphere.

Astronomy’s basic activity is observation of celestial objects so as to measure their properties such a mss, diameter, brightness and composition. Observations are usually made by way of some form of telescope. The types of telescopes used include visible light, radio, inferred, ultraviolet, X – ray, and gamma ray telescopes.

The telescope produced a giant leap in astronomy allowing observations beyond the rage of the unaided eye. Further developments in telescope have opened up whole new ways of looking at the Universe. Professional astronomy has often come to be seen as equivalent to astrophysics

The 20th century saw the division of astronomy into two main fields. Observational Astronomy is the acquiring of data from observations and analyzing that data using physics. Theoretical Astronomy is the development of computer models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena.

Today Observational and Theoretical Astronomy complement each other. The theoretical Seeks to explain observations and observations used to test the theoretical. Amateur astronomers have also contributed to many important astronomical discoveries making astronomy one of the few sciences that amateurs can still play an active role.

Measurements as a Tool of Science

Measurement is the process of obtaining a numerical value representing a physical property, such as length, mass, or time, by way of a unit of measurement. A unit of measurement is a magnitude representing a physical quantity by use of  a standard for measurement of that physical quantity. A measuring device is a piece of equipment used to measure a physical quantity based on a standard for measurement.

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Measurement and Objectivity

Measurements are the most objective part of science since the resulting numbers are what they are. The mechanical devices used for measurement aide objectivity by removing the human factor that is human subjectivity. The validity of a measurement is only as valid as the theory behind it.

The Viewing and Recording of Observation.

Observation is the act of viewing and recording an event. Viewing and recording are simply watching a phenomenon and recording the observations including written records, photographs or other recording devices.

Observations  are not always accurate because real world observations some times miss stuff. A critical event may occur when observations are not being made. A critical event may occur outside the range of the observer’s sight.

Because of this observations can subjective since it is too easy for an observer to see what he wants to see because the observer is looking for what he wants to see So patterns resembling what the observer wants to see are more likely noticed.

It is too easy for an observer to not see what he does not want to see because the observer is not looking for what he does not want to see and patterns not resembling what the observer wants to see can be over looked. Knowing of such problems helps avoid them.

Observations  are an important scientific tool but it does have its limitations and pitfalls. Being aware of those limitations helps one to avoid them.

The Burden of Proof in Science

Burden of Proof:  The obligation of a party to provide sufficient evidence in support of their side of a dispute or issue.

Actually the term “burden of proof” is a little strong since it implies the need to prove beyond any doubt so in practice it is really the burden of evidence. The side that has the burden of proof is obligated to provide evidence to back up their view point.

Determining the burden of proof is not always easy to do because it varies in different circumstances and changes in the course of the discussion.

Finding the Burden of Proof

The burden of proof usually goes to the party making the claim. A criminal trial in the United States is a good example of this since the prosecution has the burden of proof since the defendant is assumed innocent until proven guilty. However this is not an absolute rule given thay some circumstance can change the burden of proof to some one denying a claim. A party making the new claim about an accepted idea has the burden of proof. For example those claiming that the Apollo Moon landings did not really happen have the Burden of proof.

Burden of Proof Fallacy

The Burden of Proof Fallacy is the act of wrongfully trying to switch the burden of proof to your opponent. As an example proponents of abiogenesis need to prove that it is possible because it is already know that intelligence can produce complex organized systems. On the other hand there is no real evidence for abiogenesis. Al its proponents provides is unproven stories about how it could have happened.

Legitimate Switching of the Burden of Proof

The Burden of Proof can legitimately switch sides if new arguments have been made or evidence presented. If the opposition wishes to dispute the new evidence or argument, they have the burden of proof in doing so. Hence the burden of proof has switched.

The biggest problems in a discussion is agreeing on who has the burden of proof. It can consume much time and render a debate useless. Another problem is that since each side sees the issue differently it may be hard to agree on burden of proof.

The Use of Debate in Science

Debate: A formal interactive discussion of opposing ideas on a specific topic.

Debate in science is a way of handling disputes over theory since both sides get to make their case. A common example of this is debates on Creation Vs Evolution how ever it seldom actually settles the dispute.

A long as both sides get to make their case it is a chance to learn about the other side as well as one’s own. It works best when both sides are given equal footing and respect which doses not always happen.

Since debate seldom actually settles the dispute and one side can actually get insulting ruining the discussion in practice it is only as useful as the participants’ ability to learn from it. If no one learns anything from a debate it’s a waste of time.

Talk About Repeatability in Science

Repeatability is the ability of a scientist to replicate the experiments and results of other scientists. The concept is that since physical laws are the same every place an experiment conducted by one scientist should work for any other scientist so as to double check results. Repeatability is not to be confused with replicating passed events which is done to show the possibility or feasibility of that event which is a totally different from the repeatability being discussed.
         

Repeatability is at its best with experiments were variables can be controlled and hence replication can be as complete as possible. It does not work well for all situations. Those situations where there are difficulties in controlling variables are not easily replicated. The degree of repeatability varies from field to field.

In conclusion repeatability is important to science but it is not an absolute principle and some fields are more repeatable than others.