CVE 105: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

Course content:
Definitions of science and technology. Scientific methodology, Historical development of
science and technology, Man- his origin and nature, Man and his cosmic environment. Science
and technology in the society and service of man. Renewable and non-renewable resources. Man
and his energy resources. Impact of science and technology. Environmental effects of scientific
and technological developments. Ethical problems in science and technology.

1.0 Definitions of science and technology

Science and technology is a topic that encompasses science, technology, and the interactions
between the two.

Meaning of Science
Science is a systematic way of acquiring knowledge about a particular field of study. Science
helps us to gain knowledge, through an organized system of observation and experimentation.
This system is used to describe different natural phenomena. The aforementioned description is
that of pure science, and biology, chemistry, physics and Earth science are the basic fields of
pure science.

Science is roughly speaking concerned with what can be considered as fact about the world we
live in.
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of
explanations and predictions about nature and the universe.

Meaning of Technology
Technology can be defined as the products, tools and processes used to accomplish tasks in daily
life. Technology is the application of science to solve a problem. Technology involves the
application of engineering and applied sciences to solve the practical problems of human lives.

Technology is basically human knowledge that is used to create products and artifacts with the
help of innovative tools, systems and materials. Technology is used for communication,
manufacturing, learning, securing data and transportation.

Technology is the collection of techniques, methods or processes used in the production of

goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation, or any
other consumer demands.

Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to the solution of specific problems.

It is sum total of the technical means employed to meet the material needs of a society.
Note: The word technology relates to the using of the hand in practical action.
A flexible combination of skills, knowledge and methods for attaining desired results and
avoiding failures under varying circumstances.

". A good example of this is the production of Solar panels. Solar Panels are used in a variety of
different technologies, but the simplest example is a Solar Powered Calculator. It was proposed
long ago that the Sun emits 2 types of energy, heat energy and light energy. The Sun's heat
energy is what warms the Earth's atmosphere so that life as we know it can exist, by warming the
atmosphere to a tolerable temperature that the Human Body can function in.

Science may drive technological development, by generating demand for new instruments to
address a scientific question, or by illustrating technical possibilities previously unconsidered. In
turn, technology may drive scientific investigation, by creating demand for technological

1
improvements that can only be produced through research, and by raising questions about the
underlying principles that a new technology relies on.

Engineering
In a sense, an engineer is one who makes an engine and engineering is the making of an engine.
An engine is a mechanical device that enables man to perform tasks beyond his manual or
physical strength.
- The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures
machines, apparatus, manufacturing processes and systems.
The branch of human endeavour by which the forces of nature are brought under human
control and the properties of matter are made useful to man in structures, machines and systems.

Philosophy, Western (Greek philosophia, “love of wisdom”), rational and critical inquiry into
basic principles.
The term “philosophy” is often popularly used to indicate a set of basic values and attitudes
towards life, nature, and society—thus the phrase “philosophy of life”.
Philosophy is a kind of “calling,” a kind of “vocation.” It is not primarily a career, a
profession, a job. It is a calling to anyone who wishes to take life reflectively and thoughtfully,
rather than just acting on prevailing assumptions, habits, and prejudices. This is not to say that
in thinking philosophically we need to separate ourselves from worldly activities; rather it is to
say that we have the opportunity to bring critical judgment to bear upon the practices of social,
political, religious, scientific, artistic, and business life with a view toward reform and
improvement.

Note: Because the lines of distinction between the various areas of knowledge are flexible and
subject to change, the definition of the term “philosophy” remains a subject of controversy.

The “love of wisdom” can also be described as the desire to find out what is real and true, to
understand, and to be better off as a consequence of this.
But philosophy is first of all a deepening of one’s own self. The philosopher is therefore
interested in the structure of facts and relations between them.

Branches of Philosophy
Philosophy is often divided into four main branches:
• Metaphysics, the investigation of ultimate reality;
• Epistemology, the study of the origins, validity, and limits of knowledge;
• Ethics, the study of morality and the good; and
• Aesthetics, the study of the nature of beauty and art.
The two distinctively philosophical types of inquiry have been described as:
• analytic philosophy, the logical study of concepts, and
• synthetic philosophy, the arrangement of concepts into a unified system.

Fundamental questions of philosophy

But how shall inquiry proceed?
What is it to ‘understand’?
How can human-being be really ‘better off’?
They lead us to issues in the theory of reality, the theory of knowledge, moral and political
philosophy, and aesthetics.

Philosophy of Science
The philosophy of science on the other hand is equally roughly speaking concerned with the
nature of scientific fact – or to put it another way, with facts about facts about the world.

2
Philosophy of science is investigation into the general nature of scientific practice. The
questions considered in the philosophy of science include:
• how scientific theories are developed, assessed, and changed; and whether science is
capable of revealing the truth about hidden entities and processes in nature.
The business of the philosopher of science is not to discover new facts about the world, but
rather to take a critical look at what is claimed to be fact by the scientist.
The philosopher’s concern is not therefore with observation and experiment, but rather with the
significance of observation and experiment, with its manner of interpretation. However, the
interpretation of observations leads to knowledge.

Analogy/Example
Consider the statement ‘All gases consist of molecules in chaotic motion in empty space’, a
statement well known as the basis of the kinetic theory of gases. Most scientists would claim this
as a fact, but they would also claim as facts the statements ‘The volume of all gases is halved by
doubling the pressure’ and ‘The volume of this gas is halved by doubling the pressure’. What the
philosopher is interested in is not the behaviour of gases, but what logic it is that enables the
scientist to claim that the first statement explains the other two, or alternatively that the latter
two support the first. Are these statements all facts of the same logical type, and if not, what are
the differences? It is these among others which concern the philosopher.
To take another example. Newton’s laws of motion have been the subject of debate on and off
ever since the publication of Principia Mathematica 1687. The first of these laws, the law of
inertia, is generally stated in the form ‘Every body perseveres in its state rest, or uniform motion
in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon’. Now this
law is normally used without question in the laboratory, and very successfully. But to the
philosopher of science the following questions occur – What criteria can be offered for the
presence or absence of impressed forces? Can we define equal time intervals independently of
the first law, that is, have we a clock, which enables us to measure equal time intervals without
assuming the first law? In short, is the first law a concealed definition or a statement with
genuine empirical content? What is its logical position the body of statements which constitutes
the science of mechanics?
These two examples suffice to show, I think, how assertions, which are proven successes in
the laboratory, may yet conceal philosophical perplexities.

Name of Some Philosopher/Scientist

Some scientists have taken a keen interest in the philosophy of science and a few, such as
Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein, have made important contributions. Most scientists,
however, have been content to leave the philosophy of science to the philosophers, preferring to
get on with doing science rather than spending too much time considering in general terms how
science is done. Among philosophers, the philosophy of science has always been a central
subject. In the Western tradition, the most important figures before the 20th century include
Aristotle, René Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill.
When the philosopher does his job well, some of the light he sheds inevitably finds its way
into the laboratory and into the thinking of scientists.
Every phase of our lives is affected by the onrush of modern science. No matter how a
person makes his living today, he must get accustomed to newer and better ways of doing his
job. Quite frequently, a job becomes obsolete because a machine can do it better and more
cheaply. The jobholder must be trained for a new skill. Even a scientific education quickly
becomes obsolete if not constantly brought up to date. Imposing as science and technology have
become today, they are still tools and servants of man and not his master. Science puts powerful
ideas, instruments, and methods at man’s disposal, but it does not make his decisions. Science
frees man from drudgery and enables him to reach for the stars, but to find purpose and
direction for his life he must still look beyond science.
In the study of science, the composition of the universe is divided into two entities, matter
and energy. Matter includes the materials in the universe: the rocks, the water, the air, and the
3
multitude of living things. Anything that is solid, liquid or gaseous is a form of matter. The
chemist takes matter apart to determine its building blocks and the physicist wants to know what
holds these building blocks together. Energy is even harder to define than matter. It doesn’t
weigh anything, and it can be measured only while being transformed or while it is being
released or absorbed.
Matter and energy are usually inseparably related. Every object usually contains some kind
of energy. In 1905 Albert Einstein expressed the relationship between matter and energy with
the formula:

E=mc2

Where E – units of energy

m – mass
c – speed of light

Einstein’s formula states that mass and energy are proportional to each other, that is, when one
increases the other increases also.
Applied science is essentially science, engineering and technology.

Technology and Science

Although technology and science have many features in common—not least in the minds of
many people who link them together when viewed as present-day bodies of practice—their goals
and how they judge success tend to differ.

In its most basic form, science is driven by curiosity and speculation about the natural
world without thought of any immediate application. It aims to produce theories which can be
tested experimentally in the public domain and which are valued according to criteria such as
simplicity, elegance, comprehensiveness, and range of explanatory power. By no means all that
goes on under the name of science has this “blue-sky”, unconstrained quality; so-called strategic
science, for example, is focused more on yielding knowledge that might assist the subsequent
development of, as yet unidentified, winning products and processes in the market-place.

Technology, on the other hand, has the goal of creating and improving artefacts and
systems to satisfy human wants or aspirations. Success is judged in terms of considerations such
as efficiency of performance, reliability, durability, cost of production, ecological impact, and
end-of-life disposability. It has sometimes been said that whereas the output from science is a
published paper for all to read and criticize, that from technology is a patent conferring sole
ownership of the invention on the holder.
For many centuries technological advances of great significance were made without
benefit of knowledge from science. The notable achievements of Asian technology by the end of
the first millennium AD in fields such as iron production, printing, and hydraulic engineering,
including dams, canals, and irrigation systems, are well documented. In southern Asia, at a later
period, the high quality of Indian textile products, especially painted and printed cotton goods,
set standards which were an incentive to technological developments in Britain.

History is an effort to reconstruct the past to discover what people thought, what they
did, and how their beliefs and actions continue to influence human life. Historians examine
primary sources, firsthand accounts of people who lived though events. These include:
documents written by people; historians are mainly concerned with that part of the human past
for which there are written documents. Letters, chronicles, diaries, memoirs, laws, legal
decisions, stories, songs, plays, treaties, government records, etc. are all primary sources.
Paintings, architecture, material objects or artifacts are also primary sources. Modern period
provides statistics, stock market reports, newspapers, Oral history, interviews, etc

4
History cannot reproduce experiments: it is not an exact science. Historians interpret the
primary source evidence (it is often contradictory or incomplete). They then establish what they
think are the “facts”. They then tell the story. The result is what we call a secondary source.
Since the evaluation of evidence and establishment of historical “facts” is biased by people’s
point of view, history must constantly be rewritten if it is to relate to life today
Every generation of historians “rewrites” the past.

Scientific Methodology
The scientific method is a systematic way of learning about the world around us and answering
questions. The key difference between the scientific method and other ways of acquiring
knowledge are forming a hypothesis and then testing it with an experiment.

The Six Steps

The number of steps varies from one description to another, mainly when data and analysis are
separated into separate step, but this is a fairly standard list of six scientific method steps, which
you are expected to know for any science class:
Purpose/QuestionAsk a question.
ResearchConduct background research. Write down your sources so you can cite your
references. In the modern era, a lot of your research may be conducted online. Scroll to the
bottom of articles to check the references. Even if you can't access the full text of a published
article, you can usually view the abstract to see the summary of other experiments. Interview
experts on a topic. The more you know about a subject, the easier it will be to conduct your
investigation.
Hypothesis
Propose a hypothesis. This is a sort of educated guess about what you expect. It is a statement
used to predict the outcome of an experiment. Usually, a hypothesis is written in terms of cause
and effect. Alternatively, it may describe the relationship between two phenomena. One type of
hypothesis is the null hypothesis or the no-difference hypothesis. This is an easy type of
hypothesis to test because it assumes changing a variable will have no effect on the outcome. In
reality, you probably expect a change, but rejecting a hypothesis may be more useful than
accepting one.
Experiment
Design and perform an experiment to test your hypothesis. An experiment has an independent
and dependent variable. You change or control the independent variable and record the effect it
has on the dependent variable. It's important to change only one variable for an experiment
rather than try to combine the effects of variables in an experiment. For example, if you want to
test the effects of light intensity and fertilizer concentration on plant growth rate, you're really
looking at two separate experiments.
Data/Analysis
Record observations and analyze what the data means. Often, you'll prepare a table or graph of
the data. Don't throw out data points you think are bad or that don't support your predictions.
Some of the most incredible discoveries in science were made because the data looked wrong!
Once you have the data, you may need to perform a mathematical analysis to support or refute
your hypothesis.
Conclusion
Conclude whether to accept or reject your hypothesis. There is no right or wrong outcome to an
experiment, so either result is fine. Note accepting a hypothesis does not necessarily mean it's
correct! Sometimes repeating an experiment may give a different result. In other cases, a
hypothesis may predict an outcome, yet you might draw an incorrect conclusion. Communicate
your results. The results may be compiled into a lab report or formally submitted as a paper.
Whether you accept or reject the hypothesis, you likely learned something about the subject and
may wish to revise the original hypothesis or form a new one for a future experiment.

5
The history of science and technology (HST) is a field of history which examines how
humanity's understanding of the natural world (science) and ability to manipulate it (technology)
have changed over the centuries. This academic discipline also studies the cultural, economic,
and political impacts of scientific innovation.

Histories of science were originally written by practicing and retired scientists, starting primarily
with William Whewell, as a way to communicate the virtues of science to the public. In the early
1930s, after a famous paper given by the Soviet historian Boris Hessen, was focused into
looking at the ways in which scientific practices were allied with the needs and motivations of
their context. After World War II, extensive resources were put into teaching and researching the
discipline, with the hopes that it would help the public better understand both Science and
Technology as they came to play an exceedingly prominent role in the world. In the 1960s,
especially in the wake of the work done by Thomas Kuhn, the discipline began to serve a very
different function, and began to be used as a way to critically examine the scientific enterprise.
At the present time it is often closely aligned with the field of science studies.

6
CVE 105: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY.

Course content:
Definitions of science and technology. Scientific methodology, Historical
development of science and technology, Man- his origin and nature, Man and his
cosmic environment. Science and technology in the society and service of man.
Renewable and non-renewable resources. Man and his energy resources. Impact of
science and technology. Environmental effects of scientific and technological
developments. Ethical problems in science and technology.

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Science is roughly speaking concerned with what can be considered as

fact about the world we live in. The philosophy of science on the other hand is
equally roughly speaking concerned with the nature of scientific fact – or to put it
another way, with facts about facts about the world. The business of the
philosopher of science is not to discover new facts about the world, but rather to
take a critical look at what is claimed to be fact by the scientist. The philosopher’s
concern is not therefore with observation and experiment, but rather with the
significance of observation and experiment, with its manner of interpretation. For
as we shall see, the interpretation of observations leads to knowledge.
Philosophy, Western (Greek philosophia, “love of wisdom”), rational and
critical inquiry into basic principles. Philosophy is often divided into four main
branches: metaphysics, the investigation of ultimate reality; epistemology, the
study of the origins, validity, and limits of knowledge; ethics, the study of morality
and the good; and aesthetics, the study of the nature of beauty and art. The two
distinctively philosophical types of inquiry have been described as analytic
philosophy, the logical study of concepts, and synthetic philosophy, the
arrangement of concepts into a unified system.
Socrates was a Greek philosopher and teacher who lived in Athens, Greece,
in the 400s bc. He profoundly altered Western philosophical thought through his
influence on his most famous pupil, Plato, who passed on Socrates’ teachings in
his writings, which were in the form of dialogues. Socrates taught that every
person has full knowledge of ultimate truth contained within the soul and needs
only to be spurred to conscious reflection in order to become aware of it. His
criticism of injustice in Athenian society led to his prosecution and a death
sentence for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens.
As used originally by the ancient Greeks, the term “philosophy” meant the
pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Philosophy comprised all areas of
speculative thought and included the arts, sciences, and religion. As special
methods and principles were developed in the various areas of knowledge, a
specific philosophical aspect separated one from another, with each concerned to
answer the most basic questions about the field. This gave rise to the philosophy of
1
art, of science, and of religion. The term “philosophy” is often popularly used to
indicate a set of basic values and attitudes towards life, nature, and society—thus
the phrase “philosophy of life”. Because the lines of distinction between the
various areas of knowledge are flexible and subject to change, the definition of the
term “philosophy” remains a subject of controversy.
Perhaps the best way to describe this ‘love of wisdom’ would be to say that
it is the desire to find out what is real and true, to understand, and to be better off
as a consequence of this. But how shall inquiry proceed? What is it to
‘understand’? And how might a human being be really ‘better off’? These are
themselves among the fundamental questions of philosophy. They lead us to issues
in the theory of reality, the theory of knowledge, moral and political philosophy,
and aesthetics. Philosophy is a kind of “calling,” a kind of “vocation.” It is not
primarily a career, a profession, a job. It is a calling to anyone who wishes to take
life reflectively and thoughtfully, rather than just acting on prevailing assumptions,
habits, and prejudices. This is not to say that in thinking philosophically we need
to separate ourselves from worldly activities; rather it is to say that we have the
opportunity to bring critical judgment to bear upon the practices of social,
political, religious, scientific, artistic, and business life with a view toward reform
and improvement. But philosophy is first of all a deepening of one’s own self. The
philosopher is therefore interested in the structure of facts and relations between
them. Consider the statement ‘ All gases consist of molecules in chaotic motion in
empty space’, a statement well known as the basis of the kinetic theory of gases.
Most scientists would claim this as a fact, but they would also claim as facts the
statements ‘The volume of all gases is halved by doubling the pressure’ and ‘The
volume of this gas is halved by doubling the pressure’. What the philosopher is
interested in is not the behaviour of gases, but what logic it is that enables the
scientist to claim that the first statement explains the other two, or alternatively
that the latter two support the first. Are these statements all facts of the same
logical type, and if not, what are the differences? It is these among others which
concern the philosopher.
To take another example. Newton’s laws of motion have been the subject of
debate on and off ever since the publication of Principia Mathematica 1687. The
first of these laws, the law of inertia, is generally stated in the form ‘Every body
perseveres in its state rest, or uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled
to change that state by forces impressed thereon’. Now this law is normally used
without question in the laboratory, and very successfully. But to the philosopher of
science the following questions occur – What criteria can be offered for the
presence or absence of impressed forces? Can we define equal time intervals
independently of the first law, that is, have we a clock, which enables us to
measure equal time intervals without assuming the first law? In short, is the first
law a concealed definition or a statement with genuine empirical content? What is
its logical position the body of statements which constitutes the science of
mechanics?
These two examples suffice to show, I think, how assertions, which are proven
successes in the laboratory, may yet conceal philosophical perplexities.

2
 Philosophy of science is investigation into the general nature of scientific
practice. The questions considered in the philosophy of science include: how
scientific theories are developed, assessed, and changed; and whether science is
capable of revealing the truth about hidden entities and processes in nature. The
subject is as old and as widespread as science itself. Some scientists have taken a
keen interest in the philosophy of science and a few, such as Galileo, Isaac
Newton, and Albert Einstein, have made important contributions. Most scientists,
however, have been content to leave the philosophy of science to the philosophers,
preferring to get on with doing science rather than spending too much time
considering in general terms how science is done. Among philosophers, the
philosophy of science has always been a central subject. In the Western tradition,
the most important figures before the 20th century include Aristotle, René
Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill.
When the philosopher does his job well, some of the light he sheds inevitably
finds its way into the laboratory and into the thinking of scientists. In the past
scientists have sometimes been philosophers and philosophers scientists; but
philosophers do not need laboratories, although we shall see, it is to their
advantage to know what goes on in them.
Every phase of our lives is affected by the onrush of modern science. No
matter how a person makes his living today, he must get accustomed to newer and
better ways of doing his job. Quite frequently, a job becomes obsolete because a
machine can do it better and more cheaply. The jobholder must be trained for a
new skill. Even a scientific education quickly becomes obsolete if not constantly
brought up to date. Imposing as science and technology have become today, they
are still tools and servants of man and not his master. Science puts powerful ideas,
instruments, and methods at man’s disposal, but it does not make his decisions.
Science frees man from drudgery and enables him to reach for the stars, but to find
purpose and direction for his life he must still look beyond science.
In the study of science, the composition of the universe is divided into two
entities, matter and energy. Matter includes the materials in the universe: the
rocks, the water, the air, and the multitude of living things. Anything that is solid,
liquid or gaseous is a form of matter. The chemist takes matter apart to determine
its building blocks and the physicist wants to know what holds these building
blocks together. Energy is even harder to define than matter. It doesn’t weigh
anything, and it can be measured only while being transformed or while it is being
released or absorbed.
Matter and energy are usually inseparably related. Every object usually
contains some kind of energy. In 1905 Albert Einstein expressed the relationship
between matter and energy with the formula:

E=mc2

Where E – units of energy

m – mass
c – speed of light

3
Einstein’s formula states that mass and energy are proportional to each other, that
is, when one increases the other increases also.
Applied science is essentially science, engineering and technology.

Technology, purposeful human activity which involves designing and

making products as diverse as clothing, foods, artefacts, machines, structures,
electronic devices and computer systems, collectively often referred to as “the
made world”. Technology can also mean the special kind of knowledge which
technologists use when solving practical problems (for example, designing and
building an irrigation system for tropical agriculture). Such work often begins with
a human want (for example, better safety for an infant passenger in a car) or an
aspiration (for example, to see the inside of a human artery or to land on the
Moon), and technologists draw on resources of many kinds including visual
imagination, technical skills, tools, and scientific and other branches of
knowledge. Technological activity is as old as human history and its impact on
almost all aspects of people's lives has been profound.

Technology And Science

Although technology and science have many features in common—not least

in the minds of many people who link them together when viewed as present-day
bodies of practice—their goals and how they judge success tend to differ.

In its most basic form, science is driven by curiosity and speculation about
the natural world without thought of any immediate application. It aims to produce
theories which can be tested experimentally in the public domain and which are
valued according to criteria such as simplicity, elegance, comprehensiveness, and
range of explanatory power. By no means all that goes on under the name of
science has this “blue-sky”, unconstrained quality; so-called strategic science, for
example, is focused more on yielding knowledge that might assist the subsequent
development of, as yet unidentified, winning products and processes in the market-
place.

Technology, on the other hand, has the goal of creating and improving
artefacts and systems to satisfy human wants or aspirations. Success is judged in
terms of considerations such as efficiency of performance, reliability, durability,
cost of production, ecological impact, and end-of-life disposability. It has
sometimes been said that whereas the output from science is a published paper for
all to read and criticize, that from technology is a patent conferring sole ownership
of the invention on the holder.
For many centuries technological advances of great significance were made
without benefit of knowledge from science. The notable achievements of Asian
technology by the end of the first millennium AD in fields such as iron production,
printing, and hydraulic engineering, including dams, canals, and irrigation
systems, are well documented. In southern Asia, at a later period, the high quality

4
of Indian textile products, especially painted and printed cotton goods, set
standards which were an incentive to technological developments in Britain.

History is an effort to reconstruct the past to discover what people thought,

what they did, and how their beliefs and actions continue to influence human life.
Historians examine primary sources, firsthand accounts of people who lived
though events. These include: documents written by people; historians are mainly
concerned with that part of the human past for which there are written documents.
Letters, chronicles, diaries, memoirs, laws, legal decisions, stories, songs, plays,
treaties, government records, etc. are all primary sources. Paintings, architecture,
material objects or artifacts are also primary sources. Modern period provides
statistics, stock market reports, newspapers, Oral history, interviews, etc
History cannot reproduce experiments: it is not an exact science. Historians
interpret the primary source evidence (it is often contradictory or incomplete).
They then establish what they think are the “facts”. They then tell the story. The
result is what we call a secondary source. Since the evaluation of evidence and
establishment of historical “facts” is biased by people’s point of view, history must
constantly be rewritten if it is to relate to life today
Every generation of historians “rewrites” the past.

1.2 DEFINITIONS

1.2.1

Universe
universe [ynivurss]
n
1.all matter and energy in space: the totality of all matter and energy
that exists in the vastness of space, whether known to human beings or
not
2.humanity and its history: the human race or the totality of human
experience
3.sphere of person or thing: a sphere of activity or field that is centred
on and includes everything associated with a person, place, or thing
4.LOGIC See universe of discourse
5.STATISTICS See population n.5
[14th century. Directly or via French from Latin universum ‘the whole
world’, from universus ‘whole’, literally ‘turned into one’, from versus , past
participle of vertere ‘to turn’ (source of English VERSATILE).]

1.2.2
5
Cosmos
cosmos [kóz moss]
(plural cosmoses)
1.PHILOS COSMOL whole universe: the universe thought of as an
ordered and integrated whole
2.ordered system: an ordered system or harmonious whole
[13th century. From Greek kosmos ‘order, universe, ornament’ (source also
of English MICROCOSM).]

1.2.3

Nature
nature [náychər]
1. physical world: the physical world including all natural phenomena
and living things
2. or nature or Natureforces controlling physical world: the forces
and processes collectively that control the phenomena of the physical
world independently of human volition or intervention, sometimes
personified as a woman called ‘Mother Nature’
3. countryside: the countryside or the environment in a condition
relatively unaffected by human activity or as the home of living
creatures other than human beings
4. real appearance or aspect: the appearance or aspect of a person,
place, or thing that is considered to reflect reality
• The portrait was remarkably true to nature.
5. primitive existence: a basic state of existence, untouched and
uninfluenced by civilization
6. RELIGION natural state of humankind: the natural and original
condition of humankind, as distinguished from a state of grace
7. universal human behaviour: the patterns of behaviour or the moral
standards that are considered to be universally found and recognized
among human beings
[13th century. Via Old French from Latin natura ‘birth, innate qualities,
nature’ from, ultimately, nasci ‘to be born’ (see nation).]

1.2.4

World
world [wurld]
n (plural worlds)
6
1. planet Earth: the planet Earth
2. Earth and everything on it: the Earth, including all of its inhabitants
and the things upon it
3. human race: all of the human inhabitants of the Earth
• Soon, the world would know the truth.
4. society: human society
• in the eyes of the world
5. part of Earth: a particular part of the Earth, considered in terms of
time or space
• the western world
6. area of activity: a specified area of human activity and the people
involved in it
• the world of fashion
7. universe: all the galaxies that are known or thought to exist in space
8. domain: a sphere, realm, or domain
• the world of reptiles
9. inhabited body: an astronomical body considered to be inhabited, for
example a planet
10.everything in somebody’s life: all that relates to or makes up the
life of an individual
• Her entire world collapsed.
11.condition of existence: a condition or state of existence
• the world of tomorrow
12.great deal or amount: a very large amount, degree, or distance
• They’re still worlds apart.
• in a world of hurt
13.secular existence: secular life and its ways
• a man of the world
[Old English woruld ‘human existence, age, Earth’. Ultimately from a
prehistoric Germanic compound meaning ‘age of man’ that is also the
ancestor of English OLD and WEREWOLF.]
1.2.5
Earth
earth [urth]
n (plural earths)
1. ASTRONOMY See Earth
2. land: the solid dry land surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sea or

7
 sky
3. soil: the soft, workable material in which plants grow
4. human inhabitants of Earth: all the human inhabitants of the Earth
(formal)
5. PHILOSOPHY HISTORY one of the four elements: in ancient and
medieval philosophy, one of the four elements, earth, air, fire, and
water, from which it was believed everything was made
[Old English eorpe , from a prehistoric Germanic word]

1.2.6 ARTS - Ability of man to arrange or adapt natural things or

condition to his own use.
- The skill of creating objects such as painting and
drawings.
- An ability or a skill you can develop with training
and practice.

1.2.7 HISTORY - A past worthy of notice.

- A drama, story etc of past events, whether real or
imaginary.
- A branch of knowledge dealing with events and
people.
- An effort to reconstruct the past to discover what
people thought, what they did, and how their
beliefs and actions continue to influence human
life

1.2.8 PHILOSOPHY – The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek

words, “philein” meaning to love and “sophia”
meaning wisdom; so etymologically it means
the love of wisdom. And at the very beginning,
philosophy was the subject you studied if you
studied anything—there was no other subject.
Anyone who wanted to acquire knowledge was by
that fact a lover of wisdom, a philosopher..
- A particular set or system of beliefs
resulting from the search for knowledge about
life and the universe
- A set of beliefs or an attitude to life that guides
somebody’s behaviour.
- System of values adopted by an individual
- The search for knowledge of general principle,
causes and laws that explain facts and
experience.

8
 1.2.9 SCIENCE - The study of the universe, matter and life
- Science is Knowledge gained from the study of
the behaviour of nature.
- Any department of knowledge in which the
results of investigation have been systematized,
in the form of hypothesis and general laws
subject to verification.
- Knowledge as facts, phenomena, laws and
proximate causes gained and verified by exact
observation, organized experiment and analysis.

Science
science [sənss]
(plural sciences)
n
1.study of the physical world: the study of the physical world and its
manifestations, especially by using systematic observation and
experiment (often used before a noun)
2.branch of science: a branch of science of a particular area of study
• the life sciences
3.knowledge gained from science: the knowledge gained by the study
of the physical world
4.systematic body of knowledge: any systematically organized body of
knowledge about a specific subject
• the social sciences
5.something studied or performed methodically: any activity that is
the object of careful study or that is carried out according to a developed
method
• treated me to a lecture on the science of dressing for success
[14th century. Via Old French from Latin scientia , from scient- , present
participle stem of scire ‘to know’, ultimately ‘to discern’, from an Indo-
European word meaning ‘to cut’.]

1.2.10 ENGINEERING - In a sense, an engineer is one who makes an

engine and engineering is the making of an
engine.
An engine is a mechanical device that enables
man to perform tasks beyond his manual or
physical strength.

9
 - The creative application of scientific principles
to design or develop structures, machines,
apparatus, manufacturing processes and systems.
- The branch of human endeavour by which the
forces of nature are brought under human control
and the properties of matter are made useful to
man in structures, machines and systems.

1.2.11 TECHNOLOGY – Technology is the application of scientific

knowledge to the solution of specific problems.
- Sum total of the technical means employed to
meet the material needs of a society.
- The word technology relates to the using of the
hand in practical action.
- A flexible combination of skills, knowledge and
methods for attaining desired results and
avoiding failures under varying circumstances.

Technology
technology [tek nólləji]
(plural technologies)
n
1. application of tools and methods: the study, development, and application of
devices, machines, and techniques for manufacturing and productive processes
• recent developments in seismographic technology
2. method of applying technical knowledge: a method or methodology that
applies technical knowledge or tools
• a new technology for accelerating incubation‘...Maryland-based firm uses database
and Internet technology to track a company’s consumption of printed goods...’
Forbes Global Business and Finance November 1998
[Early 17th century. From Greek tekhnologia , literally ‘systematic treatment’, literally
‘science of craft’, from tekhnē ‘art, craft’.]

10
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

“If they do not depend on true evidence, scientists are no better than gossips.”
- Penelope Fitzgerald

“It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis
every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.”
- Konrad Lorenz

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data”

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

2.0 INTRODUCTION
Science may be defined in terms of either knowledge or method. Scientific
knowledge is the total body of factual material, which has been accumulated (by
scientific method) relating to the events of the material world.
Scientific investigation may begin in response to observations made by scientists
or in response to some internal ‘inductive’ process on the part of scientists. Those
aspects of knowledge which are described as scientific must, as contemporary
philosopher of science Karl Popper has stated, be capable of ‘refutation’. This means
that the facts of scientific knowledge must be testable and repeatable by other
scientists. Thus it is essential that all scientific investigations are described fully and
clearly. If investigations yield identical results under identical conditions, then the
results may be accepted as valid. Knowledge which can not be investigated as
described above is not scientific and is described as ‘metaphysical’. Facts are based
on observations obtained directly or indirectly by the senses or instruments, such
as light or radio telescopes, light or electron microscope and cathode ray
oscilloscopes, which act as extensions of our senses. All facts related to a particular
problem are called data. Data can be values derived from scientific experiments,
most often expressed in numerical form, or data may be considered factual
information – especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or
make decisions. The word data originated as plural of the Latin word datum,
meaning “something given.” Scientists use data to test what has been observed in
nature. Observations may be qualitative (that is describe colour, shape, taste,
presence and so on) or quantitative. The latter is a more precise form of observation
and involves the measurement of an amount or quantity, which may have been
demonstrated qualitatively.
Scientific knowledge is obtained fundamentally by careful observation of the
behaviour of Nature. A particular natural event is called a phenomenon. The
scientist, in seeking understanding of how a phenomenon takes place, first uses his
training and background in making an intelligent guess as to what is really
happening. This guess is called a hypothesis. Hypotheses are scientific hunches.
Scientists use hypotheses to formulate a logical explanation for a single event,
pattern of events or a phenomena. Scientists who formulate hypotheses state
formally what they predict will be the outcome(s) of a given experiment before
beginning the research (Barhydt & Morgan, 1993). Scientists state hypotheses so
1
they can test the “hunch” against reliable observations (i.e., data). Support for a
hypothesis occurs when research findings advance the predicted outcomes. In other
words hypotheses are neither right nor wrong; rather, they are supported by evidence
or unsupported by evidence. Hypotheses can be tested by experiments; based upon
the results of this research, hypotheses are sustained or denied – supported or not.
The scientist then undertakes a series of experiments in which he permits the
phenomenon to occur over and over again under carefully controlled conditions. On
the basis of these tests he gathers evidence, which either supports his hypothesis or
causes him to reject or modify it. When the weight of evidence seems to indicate
that his hypothesis is sound, he then announces his findings as a theory. If his theory
is subsequently proven to be a non-varying performance in Nature, he is said to have
discovered a natural law. Theories and laws are then applied to other phenomena to
increase understanding of them and to adapt them in refining or creating products
for man’s use.
A highlight of the steps in the scientific method to discover scientific knowledge
is as follows:

1. Make a clear statement of a problem

- Try to understand the problem for which you seek a solution.
2. Collect information or data that relates to the problem
- Obtain as much information as you can from the organized knowledge
that is found in books and other written records.
3. Form a hypothesis
- Form your own hypothesis or ‘best prediction based on available
information’. A hypothesis is a proposed solution for a problem. Do this
after carefully studying the facts and ideas relating to the problem.
4. Test the hypothesis
- Design and perform some experiments to see if your hypothesis is
acceptable. You may be able to reason your way through some problems.
However you will have to test your ideas by trying them.
5. Accept or reject the hypothesis
- Acceptance or rejection of your hypothesis should be based upon
evidence obtained in an experiment. However in some cases you may
change a hypothesis to fit the facts uncovered by testing.
6. Communicate the results
- You must inform others of your work, so they can reproduce your work
thereby test your experimental results.

Another version of the scientific method can be seen in Figure 2.1.

2
 Figure 2.1: Illustration of the Scientific Method

In actual practice, these methods might not be followed in the order listed here.
Studies of the work of successful scientists show that the process of problem solving
is not a step-by-step process. Scientists are creative people and they approach their
work in varying ways. Skill, luck, intuition, serendipity, trail and error and
intelligent guessing are also involved in their success.
In the early days of science, it was common for one man to carry on this entire
process alone. The contributions of these early scientists to man’s knowledge and
understanding of Nature were monumental, and yet, because of the limitations of
the conditions under which they worked, erroneous theories and even false laws
were generally accepted for a time. As the number of skilled men carrying on the
work of science increased, errors became less common and knowledge of Nature
was rapidly unfolded. Today it is much more common for teams of skilled scientists
to work together on a single project, each member contributing to the solution of the
3
problem from his own special background. The work of these teams is called
research. Basic research is concerned both with checking and rechecking of
apparently sound theories and with the persistent search for deeper understanding of
the behaviour of Nature. Applied research, on the other hand, is concerned with the
application of scientific knowledge to the development of new and better products
for consumers.

law

theory

interpretations

ruling hypothesis
results

control variables

controlled experiments

hypothesis

qualitative quantitative

data

observation

facts

Figure 2.2 Summary of the scientific method

It is significant that the attitude of scientists is that no theory or law represents

absolute truth. They feel, rather, that each new discovery has brought man nearer to
truth, but they are always ready to modify their concept of the behaviour of Nature
should conflicting new evidence be uncovered.

4
The equation of scientific progress might be stated thus:

Careful observation + Persistent search for truth + Intelligent thought

= Progress

Just as observation is the starting-point that leads to new scientific discoveries,

so it can serve as a spring-board for undertaking the study of a field of science.
Figure 2.2 summarizes the scientific method.

2.1 EXPERIMENTS
An experiment is part of the process of science. It is a specific application of
scientific methods. An experiment may be used to seek an answer to a problem or
to test a hypothesis. By experimenting, you are able to see something happen, or
hear it, or smell it, or taste it, or touch it.
The four parts of an experiment are;
- Problem
- Procedure
- Observation
- Conclusion
An important feature of an experiment is the control. The control can be part of
an experiment. If a medical scientist believes he has a drug that will cure a disease,
he conducts an experiment in attempt to support his belief. In his experiment he
needs a control. He selects two groups of animals that have the disease. One group
is given the new drug. This is called the ‘experimental group’. The other group does
not receive the drug. This is called the ‘control group’. Both groups have the same
diet, housing and activities.

2.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF A SCIENTIFIC THEORY

1. A scientific theory must be ‘rational’

- It must hang together logically, without obvious inner contradictions.

2. A scientific theory must be ‘relevant’

- A beautifully articulated and self-consistent structure of abstract entities,
is of no scientific interest unless it is accompanied by interpretative
principles relating to the empirical world.
-
3. A scientific theory must be ‘extensible’
- It should explain more facts than it was originally intended to cover. For
example a theory intended to cover electromagnetism was extended to
explain the wave properties of visible light.

2.3 SCIENTIFIC LAWS

A scientific theory that remains unchanged for many years may be accepted as
a scientific law. Some basic laws of classical physical sciences are;

5
 Conservation of Mass
Mass is neither created nor destroyed.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

1. The momentum of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by a
net force (conservation of momentum).
2. The rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the net force acting
on the body and is in the same direction as the net force. (Force equals mass
times acceleration).
3. For every net force acting on a body, there is a corresponding force of the same
magnitude exerted by the body in the opposite direction.

Laws of Thermodynamics
1. Energy is neither created nor destroyed (conservation of energy)
2. No process is possible in which the sole result is the absorption of heat and its
complete conversion into work..(Law of Entropy)

Fick’s First Law of Diffusion

A diffusing substance moves from where its concentration is larger to where its
concentration is smaller at a rate that is proportional to the spatial gradient of
concentration.

2.4 THE DISCOVERY MODEL

Scientific knowledge is generated by individual scientists in the form of
discoveries , which must be validated by scientific methods before being
published in archival form. This knowledge is then applied to the solution of
whatever problems may have arisen in society. This is illustrated in the linear
discovery model or ‘The chain of discovery’ in Figure 2.3.

Scientist Discovery Knowledge Technology Industry

With Research By Publication In Application As Solving In
VOCATION METHOD ARCHIVE INSTRUMENT SOCIETY
Problems

Psychology Philosophy History Economics Politics

Figure 2.3 The chain of discovery

The great advantage of the linear discovery model of science is that it

divides the labour equitably between the metascientific disciplines. At each stage,
so to speak, the material is processed according to the principles of the
corresponding discipline and passed on to the next stage. The discovery model
obviously neglects some very significant realities. It assumes for example that
information flows only in one way along the chain, as if there were no technological
demands on basic scientific research. It also takes no account that scientists do not
6
work alone; research is to a large extent a communal endeavour, where individual
action is strongly influenced by social goals and norms.
Scientific knowledge/information (Facts) can only be acquired by very
deliberate action that is by observation. Major scientific disciplines, such as
palaeontology or human anatomy, would make little progress without the skills of
observers who have been trained to scrutinize objects carefully to notice significant
details, and to record them accurately. Expert observation is not only one of the arts
of scientific investigation, from the point of view of the practising scientist it is a
major constituent of the scientific method.

2.5 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

• Inadequate Evidence: Unfortunately, scientists at the frontiers of new

knowledge or technology run into the problem of inadequate evidence for
new hypotheses or new theories regularly. “Either the proper evidence has
not yet been uncovered, or our present methods are not yet capable of
finding the required evidence” (Carr, 1992). Thus, these scientists
generally proceed with caution and subject their methods to the most
rigorous mental scrutiny before conducting a physical test.

• Preconceptions: A preconception can be understood as an existing

knowledge set or expectations. McCormarck identified this condition as
an “initial state idea” that a student or learner holds concerning a specific
event or phenomenon (McCormark, 1992). Dealing with preconceptions
is an important problem for scientists.

• Prejudice/Bias: All observers carry with them biases and prejudice about
the events they observe. Bias is defined as a particular tendency or
inclination, especially one that prevents impartial consideration of a
question. Prejudice for the purpose of scientific inquiry, is a roadblock to
clear, objective thinking. Prejudices typically are negative opinions or
feelings formed before an investigation without evidence, knowledge,
thought, or reason. Bias is responsible for much in correct work.

Good science requires both students and scientists to be as objective as possible so

that their observations, hypotheses, and interpretations of data will not be distorted.

7
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

3.0 NORMADIC AND POST NORMADIC ERA

Right from the time of the existence of man on the earth, began the quest by man
to combat the harsh conditions of the environment to meet the basic need of food,
clothing and shelter: Man began to hunt for animal flesh and gather fruits as food,
animal skin and plant fig as clothes, plants and physical shades for shelter. This trial
and error approach led to the accidental discovery of domesticated animals, which led
to the organized agricultural practice of sowing, planting and reaping. Fire was
discovered so that food can be cooked rather than eaten raw or dried.
Man’s social structure was transformed from the wandering normadic to organized
settlements or post normadic era. This developed out of the need to have agricultural
communities and protection for each other. The soil cultivation resulted in the sudden
stoppage of wandering and of periodic food supply. This agricultural discovery
brought about rough division of labour where man does the heavier task while the wife
and children do the lighter domestic tasks. The settlement development brought out
the creation of new ideas and needs of the society in terms of security, organization
and efficiency in doing things. This led to a more efficient system of production and
occupational division of labour and introduction of trade by barter. Markets were
formed for the exchange of surplus food and other items.

3.1 THE STONE AGE

The earliest period of human culture, when tools were made of stone, bone, antler, or
wood, and before metals were first used. Bare hands were man’s first tools followed
by wood, bones, stones and metal tools in this order. The term “Stone Age”
encompasses almost the whole of human existence, because it starts with the very
earliest tools detectable in the archaeological record, but ends only a couple of
centuries ago in some parts of the world, such as Australia or Polynesia, where metal
was not used until the arrival of Europeans. This “Stone Age”, which preceded the
Bronze Age and Iron Age, was eventually subdivided by the British naturalist and
politician Sir John Lubbock: in 1865 he coined the terms Palaeolithic (from the Greek
palaeo, old, and lithos, stone) and Neolithic (from neo, new) for the periods of flaked
stone and polished stone tools respectively.

Figure 3.1 Flint Tools Flint was the primary material for tool-making in the Stone
Age. It is relatively common and produces sharp edges when fractured, making it ideal for tools
and weapons. The adzes (left and centre) were used for shaping wood and the sickle (right) was
used in harvesting during the late Stone Age. Note: The wooden handles are reproductions.

1
 Figure 3.2 Neolithic Tools
These early farming tools date from about 6000 BC. The axe, bottom, was used for clearing; flint
sickles, left, were used for harvesting cereal crops; a flat rock and rounded stone, centre, were used
for grinding flour; and perforated clay slabs, upper right, were probably used to ventilate bread
ovens.

3.2 THE BRONZE AGE

The period in antiquity that corresponds to the introduction of metallurgy, notably
bronze-working, for making tools, weapons, and ceremonial objects. In Europe the
Bronze Age spans the period from about 2000 to 700 BC
The primitive age paved the way for more technical activities in the Bronze Age
where bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, was man’s first hard metal utilized in the
making of weapons, tools and other domestic utilities. Many technical innovations
were developed in this era. These include introduction of tongs for handling hot metals,
bellows for metallurgical processes and development of wax process for castings.
The agricultural way of life that had become established in the preceding Neolithic
period continued. Ploughing appears to have become widespread, as shown by remains
of implements as well as plough-marks under barrows, and depictions of ploughing in
the rock art of the period. As populations grew and expanded, pressure on land
increased, and agriculture spread. Soil erosion also increased: for example, in Cyprus
a combination of deforestation, intensive agriculture, and pastoralism destabilized the
fragile soil-cover on hillslopes in the early Bronze Age and led to the rapid deposition
of sediment along coastal valleys.
Another trend towards the end of the Bronze Age was a growing emphasis on
fortifications, hillforts being constructed in many upland areas of Europe. Bronze
armour and helmets, and new types of weapons such as the very effective slashing
sword, suggest that warfare had come to the fore.

2
 Figure 3.3 Bronze Age Weapons
Bronze Age weapons include slender spearheads, swords, and knives. Those shown here come
from Europe. The sword at the bottom of this group comes from Denmark and has been cleaned to
show its original colour.

3.3 THE IRON AGE

In Europe the term “Iron Age” denotes the period between the end of the Bronze
Age ( 700 BC) and the spread of the Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 68), that is, the last
stage of European prehistory before the Romans brought literacy and imposed a
radically new way of life.
The first solid hard metal called iron was accidentally discovered by man who saw
glooming glow from a stone in fire, which produced a solid black form after cooling.
The major advantage of iron over bronze was that the ores from which it could be
obtained were widely available and hence inexpensive when compared with bronze. It
needed no alloying, and was an admirable material for the manufacture of saws, axes,
hoes, and nails. However, it was much more difficult to process, and in prehistoric
times a temperature high enough to melt it for casting in a mould was never achieved.
Once iron had been adopted for heavy tools and weapons, bronze was used mostly for
decorated personal items, such as pins or mirrors. Gold and silver continued as prestige
materials, for example to make torcs, the heavy neck rings worn by Celtic warriors.
The limited animal skins to meet the growing human population for clothing led to the
development of textile machines for spinning cotton; and wool and the looms for
weaving.

3.4 GREEK PHILOSOPHY/SCIENCE AND THE MIDDLE AGE

Greek Philosophy is the body of philosophical concepts developed by the Greeks,
particularly during the flowering of Greek civilization between 600 and 200 BC. Greek
philosophy formed the basis of all later philosophical speculation in the Western world.
The intuitive hypotheses of the ancient Greeks foreshadowed many theories of modern
science.
Considered the first true mathematician, Pythagoras established a movement in 6th-
century BC southern Italy that emphasized the study of mathematics as a means to
understanding all relationships in the natural world. The followers of this movement,
Pythagoreans, were the first to teach that the Earth is a sphere revolving around the
Sun.

3
 Socrates was a Greek philosopher and teacher who died in Athens around 400 BC.
He profoundly altered Western philosophical thought through his influence on his most
famous pupil, Plato, who passed on Socrates’ teachings in his dialectical writings.
Socrates taught that every person has full knowledge of ultimate truth contained within
the soul and needs only to be spurred to conscious reflection in order to become aware
of it. His criticism of injustice in Athenian society led to his prosecution and a death
sentence for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens.
Plato, one of the most famous philosophers of ancient Greece, was the first to use the
term “philosophy”, which means “love of knowledge”. Born around 428 BC, Plato
investigated a wide range of topics. Chief among his ideas was the theory of forms,
which proposed that objects in the physical world merely resemble or participate in the
perfect forms in the ideal world, and that only these perfect forms can be the objects
of true knowledge. The goal of the philosopher, according to Plato, is to know the
perfect forms and to instruct others in that knowledge.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was born at Stagira, a Greek colony. His father was physician
to the monarch of Macedon. At seventeen Aristotle became a pupil of Plato at Athens.
The most ancient body of systematized knowledge about the forms of matter dates
back to the Greeks. Aristotle taught that all things are made up of four “elements”: air,
earth, fire, and water. Aristotle’s writings cover the whole area of knowledge. The
earliest are biological. These were written, or at least drafted during his residence in
Asia Minor (347-342 BC). We must always remember that the whole of Aristotle’s
science, and indeed the whole cast of his mind, was deeply influenced by his biological
experience. Others believed that matter could be subdivided into tiny “atoms”. Among
those who held this view were Democritus (460-370 BC) and Epicurus (341-270
BC). Both views were supported by complete system of logic, for which the Greeks
were famous. Almost 2000 years passed before the study of energy was undertaken
again in an organized way. Galileo Galiliel (1564-1642) studied the behaviour of
falling bodies and formulated laws describing this behaviour. He investigated the
pendulum and put it to use in a clock. At about the same time, Johannes Kepler (1571-
1630) discovered that the orbits of the planets were elliptical in shape and that their
motion could be generalized in the form of a mathematical formula that could be used
to predict their future motions. These same laws of Kepler are used in calculating the
flight paths of today’s space vehicles. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) developed the laws
of motion and gravitation that explained the observations of many scientists who had
preceded him. He also made basic discoveries concerning the nature and composition
of light. During the 18th century, a beginning was made in the scientific study of heat
and electric energy. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and Michael Faraday (1791-
1867) did much of the pioneer work in electricity, while Count Rumford (1753-1814)
and James P. Joule (1818-1889) put the study of heat on a scholarly basis.

3.5 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – 19TH CENTURY

4
 The industrial revolution started in the 19th century and still remains the hallmark
of the modern technological civilization. The economy and social system of the
era contributed principally to the great achievements of that time. It was the era
when influence, power and money are acquired mainly by technological means.
There was a great shift of Energy/Technology orientation from scholarly theories
about the Universe to research and development relevant to the domestic
economic growth. Through more invention and development, more complex and
fundamental engineering systems were evolved. Trade in real business
commenced and other contrivances such as wheel, steam engine, steamship, and
radio were made. The great invention of the 19th century was the railway. The
first person to use high-pressure steam to power a vehicle was Richard Trevithick
in 1801, but the first engineers to usher in the railway era were a father and son,
George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson. By 1855 there were over 12,870 km
(8,000 mi) of track, and all the great cities, some of them—such as Birmingham,
Sheffield, and Manchester—industrial centres, had been linked.
The successful making of cheap steels—there was soon to be a whole range of
them—marked a turning point in the history of the first Industrial Revolution.
Henry Bessemer, developed a new process in 1855 for converting crude iron into
steel. Air was blown through Bessemer blast furnaces to burn away impurities.
British inventors developed other processes that, ironically, were more quickly
adapted to overseas iron fields than to those in Britain. The United States, with
huge deposits of raw iron and other metals, now forged ahead. Steel was a more
adaptable metal than iron, and its efficient production came to depend increasingly
on applied science.

Figure 3.4 Steam Engine

Harnessing the power of steam marked a highly significant step in technology and the introduction
of the steam engine led to many new inventions in transport and industry. Steam engines were built
as early as 1690, but it was not until 70 years later that James Watt arrived at the design of the
modern steam engine, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution.

5
 Figure 3.5 Bessemer Steel Production
The Industrial Revolution was accelerated by new metallurgical developments allowing bulk
production of iron and steel. This engraving of a steel factory illustrates the process developed by
Sir Henry Bessemer in 1855. In order to convert molten pig iron (crude iron) into steel in the
Bessemer furnace, air was blown through it to burn away impurities.
.
3.6 ATOMIC, NUCLEAR AND SPACE ERA – 20TH CENTURY
In the early 20th century, attention moved to space exploration pioneered by a
Russian by the name of Konstantin K. Tsioikovsky and an American called Robert
H. Goddard and a German called Hermann Oberth. The soviet launched its first
satellite named Sputnik I in October 1957 around the earth orbit. A month later,
Sputnik 2 with a live dog named Laika went to prove man’s survival in the earth
orbit. Three month’s latter, the Americans launched Explorer 1.

Figure 3.6 Sputnik 1

The Russian Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957, was the first artificial satellite put into orbit
around the earth. This historic launch began an era of intensive space programmes by both the
Soviet Union and the United States, a surge of interest sometimes called the “space race”. In the
next three decades, hundreds of probes, satellites, and other missions were to follow Sputnik on the
quest to explore both the wonders and the practical potential of space.

6
 In October 1958 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was
created in the United States. Since then, there have been over 3,000 launches of
spacecraft of all varieties, mostly into Earth orbit. Twelve men have walked on
the Moon’s surface and returned to Earth.
In 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut Yury A. Gagarin and American Astronaut Alan B.
Shephard Jr. manned the first space vehicle on 12th April and 5th May respectively.
On 20th July, 1969, U.S. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin of
the Apollo 11 Lunar Module became the first humans to set foot on the moon. A
year later, a moon core soil sample was selected. Furthermore, studies and mission
were made to other planetary bodies such as the moon, mars, and mercury to
collect materials for study of the possibility of life and a hopeful man’s habitation
of these bodies. These space explorations has led to the launching of better
metereological and communication satellite in our orbit and space leading to
improved services particularly in defence and communication. So far leaving
matter has been found on earth only.
Atomic energy was utilized militarily during the Second World War when the
United States of America in 1945 dropped Atomic bombs on Japanese cities of
Nagasaki and Hiroshima, with over 200,000 people killed and thousands maimed,
which led to the capitulation of Japan.
Nuclear studies have given birth to alternative nuclear energy with high quantity
of energy on nuclear reaction but with harmful by-product used to create nuclear
weapons. The disastrous effect of Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the then
USSR in 1986, which led to the maiming of many people, exemplified the
negative aspect of nuclear energy utilization.

3.7 COMPUTER AND INFORMATION AGE (1950 AND BEYOND)

Computer, the major device for data and information manipulation and transfer
was first recognized when sticks and ropes were used as the first analog-
computing device. Later about 3000 BC , the ABACUS, the first computing
instrument for exclusive general calculation was developed. It was followed by
mechanical computing machines, 1623 – 24, invented by a German, Wilhem
Schickard, then the slide rule was invented by William Oughtred in the 1930’s.
The second mechanical calculator, a digital device where numbers are entered by
dial wheel and computation by gears was built by French Scientist and Philosopher
Blaise Pascal, 1642. English inventor Charles Babbage built the difference engine,
1822, and the first automatic digital computer called digital analytical engine in
1834. Forty-six years later, American statistician, Herman Hollerith built the
electronic mechanical machine in 1880.
The mordern computers evolved from the mid twentieth century – 1950’s-
ranging from the vaccum tube relays, to transistors, to small scale integrated
circuits (IC), to the ultra large scale IC’s such as Pentium II & III which are know
connected to form networks. The networks are interconnected to form Internet.
The present information super highway, makes the world link together in a manner
never imagined before. Through the interconnected networks, information,
product and services of various technologies are shared worldwide with much
better efficiency, leading to the present rapid changing technological
7
 achievements. The enormous contribution in the software direction is presently
apparently being spearheaded by the work of such software giants as the American
– Microsoft group and their “windows” products.

Figure 3.7 Computers in the Classroom

Computers have become increasingly important in school over the past decade. As well as
supporting specific IT teaching, they are used in developing basic skills, such as reading and
number work, to support data handling in science, explore and research using multimedia reference,
and, increasingly, to access the Internet.

3.8 SOME FAMOUS SCIENTISTS

Henry Cavendish 1731-1810
English scientist, educated at Cambridge University. In 1776 he discovered the
properties of hydrogen gas. In 1781 that air was a mixture of gases. In 1784 he
discovered that water was made up of hydrogen and oxygen by splitting up water
with an electric current. At Cambridge University the famous Cavendish
laboratory is named after him.

Sir James Dewar 1842-1923

Scottish chemist, he invented the vaccum (Thermos) flask. In 1898 he was the
first to turn hydrogen gas into a liquid. The next year he was able to make solid
hydrogen.

Otto von Guericke 1602-1686

German physicist, he was the Mayor of Magdeburg in Germany. In 1654 he
invented the air-pump. With it he was able to do a very famous experiment to
show that air exerted pressure. He attached eight horses to each of two hollow
round cups. When he joined the cups together and pumped out the air from
inside them, the horses were not able to pull the two halves of the container
apart.

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Oliver Heaviside 1850-1925
English physicist. He discovered in the upper atmosphere a layer of gas that
could reflect back radio waves to the earth. He made discoveries also in
mathematics and in the way waves behave.

Wilhelm Rontgen 1845-1923

German scientist, he is famous for his discovery of X-rays.

Sir Enerst Rutherford 1871-1937

British physicist, born in New Zealand. He was educated at Cambridge
University, and worked in the Cavendish Laboratory there. In 1911 he showed
that an atom could be split into a nucleus at the centre, with electrons spinning
round the nucleus.

Evangelista Torricelli 1608-1647

Famous Italian physicist. After studying in Rome, he succeeded Galileo, as
Professor at Florence University. He is best known for making a mercury
barometer by filling a long tube of mercury and then inverting it (turning it
upside-down) in a dish of mercury. He also made a microscope to see tiny
objects, and a telescope to see the stars and planets.

9
 4.0 MAN: HIS ORIGIN AND NATURE

Useful Definitions:

Fossil:
• The remains of an animal or plant preserved from an earlier era inside a
rock or other geological deposit, often as an impression or in a petrified
state.

• The physical evidence of a prehistoric organism, often comprising a shell,

bone, or other durable skeletal part, which in the majority of cases belongs to
an extinct species. Fossils also include the imprints of organisms that have
dissolved or eroded away; preserved footprints and tracks; remarkably
unaltered remains preserved in peat bogs, asphalt lakes or tar pits, frozen
ground, or amber; and fossilized excrement called coprolites, which may
contain remains of eaten animals and plants.

Artefact:
• An object made by a human being, especially one that has archaeological or
cultural interest. Most of these are stone tools.
• A man-made object taken as a whole.

Palaeontology:
• The study of fossils, the earth science that studies fossil organisms and
related remains
• The study of life in prehistoric times by using fossil evidence

Phylogeny:
• The sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a
species or taxonomic group of organisms.
• development of a group: the evolutionary history of a species, genus, or
group, as contrasted with the development of an individual (ontogeny)

Evolution:
• theory of development from earlier forms: the theoretical process by which
all species develop from earlier forms of life.
On this theory, natural variation in the genetic material of a population
favours reproduction by some individuals more than others, so that over the
generations all members of the population come to possess the favourable
traits.
• developmental process: the natural or artificially induced process by which
new and different organisms develop as a result of changes in genetic
material
• gradual development: the gradual development of something into a more
complex or better form

Neanderthals, or Neandertals
• These are Prehistoric Human Skulls, once thought to be primitive ancestors of
modern human beings. Serious doubt has now been cast over this theory. They
lived in Europe and North Africa between 100,000 and 30,000 BC. They were
hunter-gatherers who had brains somewhat larger than those of modern human
beings. The German anthropologists Johann Fuhlrott and Hermann

1
 Schaaffhausen first found Neanderthal fossils in 1856 in the Neander Valley
near Düsseldorf, Germany.

Human Evolution
• Biological and cultural development of humans and related species. The main
physical evidence of our evolution is a large number of fossil bones and teeth
that have been found at various places throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Tools of stone, bone, and wood, as well as fire hearths, campsites, and burials,
have also been discovered and excavated. As a result of these discoveries in
archaeology and anthropology, a picture of human evolution during the past 4
million to 5 million years has emerged.

Hominine
(plural hominines)
• Primate with upright stance: a primate with a two-legged gait, relatively
small face and teeth, and large brain. Hominines include human beings and
their most direct ancestors.

Geological Timescale

Fossils preserved in rock strata provide scientists with clues to evolutionary history.
The stratigraphic column is based on palaeontological evidence, and shows the order
in which organisms appeared in the fossil-rich Palaeozoic Era. Each layer represents a
particular time frame and shows a representative organism which flourished during
that time. Although fossils are rarely found in the idealized and localized fashion
shown here, they are often in more or less chronological order. Generally, the oldest
fossils appear in lower layers, and the most recent fossils at the top, so that placement
may be used as an aid in dating the specimens.

Figure 4.1 Geological Timescale

Notes: i) Beginning dates are indicated in the approximate time boundaries column.
ii) The Proterozoic, Archaean, and Priscoan (Hadean) eons are collectively and
informally known as the Precambrian era.

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 Human Origins
A Confluence of Research
 Paleontology
 Anthropology
 Archaeology
 Genetics
 Paleoclimatology

Conflict, Racism and Uncertainty

 Human origins – commonly at center of the Evolution vs. Creation “debate”
 Evolution and human origins are investigated scientifically – hypotheses are
proposed and tested
 Topic is full of uncertainty
 A) Very young discipline
 B) Relatively sparse fossil record
A Patchy Fossil Record
 Upland habitat – erosion vs. deposition
 Fossils are not abundant
 Most important sites are in Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia (East African Rift
System) and Egypt
The Cradle of Humanity
 The East African Rift System
 Earthquakes and formation of rift as Africa splits
 Sinking of rift floor promoted accumulation of sediments
 Early hominids preserved in these sediments
 Recent erosion cuts through sediments to reveal fossils
Famous locations of hominid fossils
 Olduvai Gorge
 Hadar
 Laetoli
Australopithecus afarensis – “Lucy”
 Circa 3.8 Ma Pliocene to Pleistocene (?)
 Four feet tall
 Tool user, but not maker
 Coexisted with A. robustus
 Upright posture and bipedality arise before enlargement of braincase
The Hominid Time Line
 Accurate dating of fossils is critical
 Direct evolutionary relationships are still unclear
 New fossil discoveries prompt revisions all the time
 The burning questions: Who are we? What is our heritage? Where do we fit in
the grand scheme of things?

3
Figure 4.2 Transition to Homo sapiens (Evolution theory)

Australopithecus, Homo Erectus (could

plan/scheme but limited speech), Homo Sapiens
12/13/2005 11

Figure 4.3 Representative Skulls

4
Human Evolution
HUMAN PHYSICAL TRAITS
Human beings (members of the genus Homo) are classified in the mammalian order
Primates; within this order, human beings, along with our extinct close relatives, and
our nearest living relatives, the African apes, are sometimes placed together in the
family Hominidae because of genetic similarities, although classification systems
more commonly still place great apes in a separate family, Pongidae. If the single
grouping, Hominidae, is used, the separate human line in the hominid family is
distinguished by being placed in a subfamily, Homininae, whose members are then
called hominines—the practice that is followed in this article. An examination of the
fossil record of the hominines reveals several biological and behavioural trends
characteristic of the hominine subfamily.

BIPEDALISM
Two-legged walking, or bipedalism, seems to be one of the earliest of the major
hominine characteristics to have evolved. This form of locomotion led to a number of
skeletal modifications in the neck, lower spinal column, pelvis, and legs. Because
these changes can be documented in fossil bone, bipedalism is usually seen as the
defining trait of the subfamily.

BRAIN SIZE AND BODY SIZE

Sophisticated human behaviour, such as our ability to make and to use tools, is related
to the large size and complexity of the human brain. Most modern human beings have
a braincase volume of between 1,200 and 1,500 cm3. In the course of human
evolution the size of the brain has more than tripled. The increase in brain size may be
related to changes in hominine behaviour. Over time, stone tools and other artefacts
became increasingly numerous and sophisticated. Archaeological sites, too, show
more intense occupation in later phases of human biological history.

In addition, the geographical areas occupied by our ancestors expanded during the
course of human evolution. As far as is known, the earliest examples were in north-
central, eastern, and southern Africa, and they began to move into the tropical and
subtropical areas of Eurasia at least 1.5 million years ago, and into the temperate parts
of these continents at least 500,000 years ago. Much later (perhaps 60,000 years ago)
human beings were able to cross the water barrier into Australia. Only long after the
appearance of modern human beings did people move into the New World, probably
less than 30,000 years ago. It is likely that the increase in human brain size took place
as part of a complex interrelationship that included increasing social complexity and
the elaboration of tool use and toolmaking, as well as other learned skills, which
permitted our ancestors to be increasingly able to live in a variety of environments.

Some of the earliest hominine fossils show evidence of large differences in body size,
which may reflect a pattern of sexual dimorphism in our early possible ancestors. The
bones suggest that females may have been 0.9 to 1.2 m (3 to 4 ft) in height and about
27 to 32 kg (60 to 70 lb) in weight, while males may have been somewhat more than
1.5 m (5 ft) tall, weighing about 68 kg (150 lb). The reasons for this body size
difference are disputed, but may be related to specialized patterns of behaviour in

5
early hominine social groups. This extreme dimorphism seems to have disappeared
gradually in the last million years.

Figure 4.4 Evolution of the Human Skull

The human skull has changed dramatically during the past 3 million years. As the skull
evolved from Australopithecus to Homo (sapiens) sapiens, the capacity of the cranium
increased (to accommodate the growth of the brain), the face flattened, the chin receded, and
the size of the teeth decreased. Scientists believe that the incredible growth in the size of the
brain may be related to the increasing sophistication of hominine behaviour. Anthropologists
also theorize that the brain evolved a high capacity for learning and reasoning, and after that
cultural, not physical, evolution changed the way human beings live.

THE GENUS HOMO

Although scientists do not agree, some believe that after the evolutionary split that led
to the robust australopithecines, Australopithecus africanus evolved into the genus
Homo. Others believe that humans may have briefly shared an ancestry with the early
robust australopithecine line. Although fossil evidence is lacking, the evolutionary
transition to Homo probably occurred between about 2.3 million and 2.7 million years
ago. Fossils dating from immediately after this period display a curious mixture of
traits. Some possess relatively large brains—several almost 800 cm3—and large,
australopithecine-sized teeth. Others have small, Homo-sized teeth but also small,
australopithecine-sized brains. A number of fossil skulls and jaws from this period,
found in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, and Ethiopia, have been placed in the category
Homo habilis, meaning “Handy Man”, because some of the fossils were found
associated with early stone tools. Homo habilis possessed many traits that link it both
with the earlier australopithecines and with later members of the genus Homo.
However, some experts believe that the variation in Homo habilis fossils is so great
that at least two separate species are actually represented, the smaller one still called
Homo habilis, and the larger one Homo rudolfensis (after Lake Rudolf, an old name
for Lake Turkana in northern Kenya).

The earliest evidence of stone tools comes from sites in Africa dated to about 2.5
million years ago. These tools have not been found in association with a particular
hominine species. By 1.5 million to 2 million years ago, sites in various parts of
eastern Africa include not only many stone tools, but also animal bones with scratch
marks that experiments have shown could only be left by human-like cutting actions.
These remains constitute evidence that by this time early hominines were eating meat,
but whether this food was obtained by hunting or by scavenging is not known. Also
unknown at present is how much of their diet came from gathered vegetable foods and
6
insects, and how much came from animal tissue. It is also not clear whether these sites
represent activities by members of the line leading to Homo, or if the robust
australopithecines were also making tools and eating at least some meat.

Fossil evidence of a large-brained, small-toothed form, from northern Kenya and

dating from 1.8 million to 1.9 million years ago, has been placed in the species Homo
erectus, or a more primitive ancestral form, Homo ergaster (“Work Man”). The first
part of the time span of Homo ergaster/erectus was apparently limited to eastern
Africa. However, very soon after this, descendent forms of Homo erectus are known
from the tropical areas of the Old World, and from Georgia in western Asia. A
number of archaeological sites dating from the time of Homo erectus reveal a greater
sophistication in toolmaking than was found at the earlier sites—for example, at the
Zhoukoudian (“Peking Man”) cave site in northern China, there is possible evidence
of the use of fire. Animal fossils found with artefacts thought to have been produced
by Homo erectus are sometimes of large mammals such as elephants. These data
suggest that hominine behaviour was becoming more complex, with a greater range of
capabilities, although it is not clear whether Homo erectus was mainly a scavenger
rather than a hunter.

Through the time of Homo erectus certain trends in human evolution continued. The
brain sizes of early Homo erectus fossils overlap with those of previous hominines,
ranging from 600 to 1,000 cm3. Later Homo erectus skulls possess brain sizes in the
range of 1,000 to 1,250 cm3, within the lower end of the size variation of Homo
sapiens. Recent research suggests that Homo erectus may have survived in parts of
Asia long after it had become extinct, or evolved into a new species, elsewhere. A
number of Homo erectus fossils from two sites in Java, Indonesia, were recently dated
using associated buffalo teeth to only 30,000 to 50,000 years ago.

MODERN HUMAN ORIGINS

However, this view of the origins of modern human beings (Homo sapiens) is still in
dispute. Disagreement has focused especially on the place of Neanderthals in the
chain of human evolution. The Neanderthals (named from the Neander Valley in
Germany, where the first skeleton was recognized) occupied parts of Europe and
western Asia from at least 200,000 years ago until about 30,000 to 40,000 years ago,
when they began to disappear from the fossil record.

The dispute over the Neanderthals also involves the question of the evolutionary
origins of modern human populations, sometimes called races. Although a precise
definition of the term “race” is not possible (because modern human beings show
continuous variation from one geographical area to another), widely separate human
populations are marked by a number of physical differences, dealt with in the
classification of races. Some of these differences represent adaptations to local
environmental conditions, a process that a few scientists believe began with the
spread of Homo erectus to non-African parts of the Old World over a million years
ago. In their view, human development since Homo erectus has been one continuous
evolution across the whole inhabited world; that is, local populations have remained,
changing in appearance over time. The Neanderthals and equivalent peoples in other
areas are seen as descending from Homo erectus and ancestral to the various regional
forms (“races”) of modern human beings.

7
Other scientists view racial differentiation as a relatively recent phenomenon. In their
opinion, the relatively late dates of the Neanderthals, combined with their distinct
features—a low, sloping forehead, large brow ridge, and a long face dominated by a
projecting nose—means that they could not have been ancestors of modern human
beings, who already existed in Africa and western Asia about 100,000 years ago.
They place the Neanderthals and similarly late-surviving primitive peoples in Asia on
side-branches of the human evolutionary tree that became extinct. According to this
theory, the origins of modern human beings can be found in Africa or the Middle
East. Evolving between about 130,000 and 200,000 years ago, these early modern
human beings later spread to most parts of the world, supplanting the local archaic
populations where these still survived. In addition to various fossil finds from Africa,
support for this theory comes from comparisons of DNA in present-day populations.
These show that all modern human beings are closely related genetically, suggesting a
recent common ancestry, but that non-African peoples (for example, Europeans and
Native Americans) are most closely related to each other, suggesting that they
descended from an ancestral population that had split from an African one 100,000
years ago or less.

Whatever the outcome of this scientific debate, the evidence shows that both
Neanderthal and Homo sapiens groups were effective at exploiting the sometimes
harsh climates of ice age Europe. Further, for the first time in human evolution,
hominines began to bury their dead deliberately, the bodies sometimes being
accompanied by stone tools and animal bones.

MODERN HUMAN BEINGS

With the appearance of biologically modern peoples, some important changes in
anatomy and behaviour took place. The whole skeleton became more lightly built, the
braincase became higher and rounder, the brow-ridges smaller, and the chin more
prominent. Tools became more specialized, with the first effective use of difficult
materials such as bone, antler, and ivory. Art appeared, especially famous from the
walls of caves in France and Spain, produced from 35,000 years ago until the end of
the ice age, about 12,000 years ago (see Palaeolithic Art). Some anthropologists have
also argued that it was only in the last 100,000 years that full human language
originated, a development that would have had profound implications for all aspects
of human activity. About 12,000 years ago, one of the most important events in
human history took place—plants and animals began to be domesticated. This
revolution of agriculture and animal husbandry set the stage for the events in human
history that led to the development of towns and cities, and a continuing growth in
human population numbers.

Modern understanding of human evolution rests on known fossils, archaeology, and

the study of living humans and our nearest relatives. The picture is far from complete,
however. Future fossil discoveries will enable scientists to fill many of the blanks in
the present picture of human evolution. Employing sophisticated technological
devices as well as the accumulated knowledge of the patterns of geological
deposition, anthropologists are now able to pinpoint the most promising locations for
fossil hunting more accurately. In addition, genetic studies, including the extraction of
ancient DNA from fossils, will become ever more important in reconstructing the
pattern of modern human origins. The history of hundreds of different genes is now
being studied from comparisons of the DNA of living people, and DNA has even
8
been recovered from several Neanderthal fossils. In general, the evidence supports a
recent African origin for modern human beings, and, in the case of the Neanderthals,
they are confirmed as a separate lineage from our own, one that began to differentiate
from our line of evolution about 500,000 years ago. Such genetic studies hold the
promise of an enormous increase in our understanding of human prehistory in the
years ahead.

9
 5.0 MAN AND HIS COSMIC ENVIRONMENT

The planet earth has often been compared to a vast spaceship. The living things aboard
this spacecraft produce oxygen, cleanse its air, adjust its gases, transfer energy, and recycle waste
products with great efficiency. Yet none of these things would be possible without the non-living
environment of the world. Since the science of ecology deals with the non-living environment as
well as the living, it is fitting to call this, the greatest of systems of life, the ecosphere.
The earth is composed of the biosphere, the totality of its living inhabitants; the
hydrosphere, its supply of water (both frozen and liquid); its gaseous atmosphere ( The air
around the earth ) and its lithosphere, that is the rocks and their derivatives, it is also the soil
mantle that wraps up the core of the earth.

5.1 THE ATMOSPHERE

This is the, mixture of gases surrounding any celestial object (such as the Earth) that has a
gravitational field strong enough to prevent the gases from escaping. The principal constituents
of the atmosphere of the Earth are nitrogen (78 per cent) and oxygen (21 per cent). The
atmospheric gases in the remaining 1 per cent are argon (0.9 per cent), carbon dioxide (0.03 per
cent), varying amounts of water vapour, and trace amounts of hydrogen, ozone, methane, carbon
monoxide, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon.

Figure 5.1 The Atmosphere: the mixture of gases surrounding the earth.

Figure 5.2 The atmosphere acts as a blanket for the earth,

without it the earth would be too cold or too hot.

1
The water-vapour content of the air varies considerably, depending on the temperature and
relative humidity. With 100 per cent relative humidity the water-vapour content of air varies
from 190 parts per million (ppm) at -40° C (-40° F) to 42,000 ppm at 30° C (86° F). Minute
quantities of other gases, such as ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, and oxides of sulphur and
nitrogen, are temporary constituents of the atmosphere in the vicinity of volcanoes and are
washed out of the air by rain or snow. Oxides and other pollutants added to the atmosphere by
factories and vehicles have become a major concern, however, because of their damaging effects
in the form of acid rain. In addition, the strong possibility exists that the steady increase in
atmospheric carbon dioxide, mainly as the result of fossil-fuel combustion over the past century,
may affect the Earth's climate through the process known as the greenhouse effect.

The earth’s atmosphere may be divided into several layers. In the lowest one, the
troposphere, the temperature as a rule decreases upwards at the rate of 5.5° C per 1,000 m (3° F
per 1,000 ft). This is the layer in which most clouds occur. The troposphere extends up to about
16 km (10 mi) in tropical regions (to a temperature of about -79° C, or -110° F) and to about 9.7
km (6 mi) in temperate latitudes (to a temperature of about -51° C, or -60° F). Above the
troposphere is the stratosphere. In the lower stratosphere the temperature is practically constant
or increases slightly with altitude, especially over tropical regions. Within the ozone layer the
temperature rises more rapidly, and the temperature at the upper boundary of the stratosphere,
almost 50 km (30 mi) above sea level, is about the same as the temperature at the surface of the
Earth. The layer from 50 to 80 km (30 to 50 mi), called the mesosphere, is characterized by a
marked decrease in temperature as the altitude increases.

From investigations of the propagation and reflection of radio waves, it is known that beginning
at an altitude of 80 km (50 mi), ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and showers of electrons from the
Sun ionize several layers of the atmosphere, causing them to conduct electricity; these layers
reflect radio waves of certain frequencies back to Earth. Because of the relatively high
concentration of ions in the air above 80 km (50 mi), this layer, extending to an altitude of 640
km (400 mi), is called the ionosphere. It is also termed the thermosphere, because of the high
temperatures in this layer (rising to about 2,200°F, or 1,200°C at about 400 km/250 mi). The
region beyond the ionosphere is called the exosphere, which extends to about 9,600 km (6,000
mi), the outer limit of the atmosphere.

The density of dry air at sea level is about 1/800 the density of water; at higher altitudes it
decreases rapidly, being proportional to the pressure and inversely proportional to the
temperature. Pressure is measured by a barometer and is expressed in torrs, which are related to
the height of a column of mercury that the air pressure will support; 1 torr equals 1 mm (0.039
in) of mercury. Normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 760 torrs, that is, 760 mm (29.92 in)
of mercury. At about 5.6 km (3.5 mi) it is 380 torrs (14.96 in); half of all the air in the
atmosphere lies below this level. The pressure is again approximately halved for each additional
increase of 5.6 km in altitude. At 80 km (50 mi) the pressure is 0.007 torr (0.00027 in).
The troposphere and most of the stratosphere can be explored directly by means of sounding
balloons equipped with instruments to measure the pressure and temperature of the air and with a
radio transmitter to send the data to a receiving station at the ground. Rockets carrying radios
that transmit meteorological-instrument readings have explored the atmosphere to altitudes
above 400 km (250 mi). Study of the form and spectrum of the aurora gives information to a
height possibly as great as 800 km (500 mi).

2
Figure 5.3 Divisions of the Atmosphere

Without our atmosphere, there would be no life on Earth. A relatively thin envelope, the
atmosphere consists of layers of gases that support life and provide protection from harmful
radiation. The illustration shows the temperature changes associated with the various layers of
the atmosphere and their altitude from the Earth's surface.
Similar concerns are posed by the sharp increase in atmospheric methane. Methane levels have
risen 11 per cent since 1978. About 80 per cent of the gas is produced by decomposition in rice
paddies, swamps, and the intestines of grazing animals, and by tropical termites. Besides adding
to the greenhouse effect, methane reduces the volume of atmospheric hydroxyl ions, thereby
impairing the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself of pollutants.

The study of air samples shows that up to at least 88 km (55 mi) above sea level the composition
of the atmosphere is substantially the same as at ground level; the continuous stirring produced
by atmospheric currents counteracts the tendency of the heavier gases to settle below the lighter
ones. In the lower atmosphere, ozone, a form of oxygen with three atoms in each molecule, is
normally present in extremely low concentrations. The layer of atmosphere from 19 to 48 km (12
to 30 mi) up contains more ozone, produced by the action of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
Even in this layer, however, the percentage of ozone is only 0.001 by volume. Atmospheric
disturbances and downdrafts carry varying amounts of this ozone to the surface of the Earth.
Human activity adds to ozone in the lower atmosphere, where it becomes a pollutant that can
cause extensive crop damage.

The ozone layer became a subject of concern in the early 1970s when it was found that
chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), or chlorofluoromethanes, were rising into the
atmosphere in large quantities because of their use as refrigerants and as propellants in aerosol
dispensers. The concern centred on the possibility that these compounds, through the action of
sunlight, could photochemically attack and destroy stratospheric ozone, which protects the
Earth's surface from excessive ultraviolet radiation. As a result, industries in industrialized
3
countries have replaced chlorofluorocarbons in all but essential uses. Results of subsequent
atmospheric studies are inconclusive about the actual threat to the ozone layer by human
activities.

5.2 ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

The species Homo sapiens—that is, human beings—appeared late in the Earth’s history, but was
ultimately able to modify the Earth’s environment by its activities. Although human beings
apparently first appeared in Africa, they quickly spread throughout the world. Because of their
unique mental and physical capabilities, human beings were able to escape the environmental
constraints that limited other species and to change the environment to meet their needs.

Although early human beings undoubtedly lived in some harmony with the environment, as did
other animals, their retreat from the wilderness began with the first, prehistoric agricultural
revolution. The ability to control and use fire allowed them to modify or eliminate natural
vegetation, and the domestication and herding of grazing animals eventually resulted in
overgrazing and soil erosion. The domestication of plants also led to the destruction of natural
vegetation to make room for crops, and the demand for wood for fuel denuded mountains and
depleted forests. Wild animals were slaughtered for food and destroyed as pests and predators.

While human populations remained small and human technology modest, their impact on the
environment was localized. As populations increased and technology improved and expanded,
however, more significant and widespread problems arose. Rapid technological advances after
the Middle Ages culminated in the Industrial Revolution, which involved the discovery, use, and
exploitation of fossil fuels, as well as the extensive exploitation of the Earth’s mineral resources.
With the Industrial Revolution, humans began in earnest to change the face of the Earth, the
nature of its atmosphere, and the quality of its water. Today, unprecedented demands on the
environment from a rapidly expanding human population and from advancing technology are
causing a continuing and accelerating decline in the quality of the environment and its ability to
sustain life.

A Carbon Dioxide
Hydrocarbon Pollution from Vehicle Exhaust Vehicle exhaust contains a number of airborne
pollutants that adversely affect the health of animals and plants and the chemical nature of the
atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon emissions, two of the major components of vehicle
exhaust, contribute significantly to global warming and are produced as a by-product of the
combustion of petroleum-based fuels. Elevated carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon levels cause
sunlight to be reflected and trapped within the atmosphere, which slowly raises the temperature
of the atmosphere.
One impact that the burning of fossil fuels has had on the Earth’s environment has been
the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere. The amount of atmospheric
CO2 apparently remained stable for millennia, at about 260 ppm (parts per million), but over the
past 100 years it has increased to 350 ppm. The significance of this change is its potential for
raising the temperature of the Earth through the process known as the greenhouse effect. Carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere prevents the escape of outgoing long-wave radiation from the Earth to
outer space; as more heat is produced and less escapes, the temperature of the Earth increases.

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Figure 5.4 The use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, and the slash-and-burn clearing of
tropical forests have been contributing factors in the carbon cycle.

Figure 5.5 In recent decades, our planet has supported more people and fewer trees, leaving an
excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The greenhouse effect refers to the way in which gases in the Earth’s atmosphere warm
the Earth like the glass roof of a greenhouse—by letting sunlight in but keeping the reflected heat
energy trapped inside. These naturally occurring gases, notably carbon dioxide and water vapour,
are called greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse Effect is the term for the role the atmosphere plays in helping warm the Earth's
surface. The atmosphere is largely transparent to incoming short-wave (or ultraviolet) solar
radiation, which is absorbed by the Earth's surface. Much of this radiation is then re-emitted as
heat energy at long-wave, infrared wavelengths; some of this energy escapes back into space, but
much of it is reflected back by gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
halocarbons, and ozone in the atmosphere. This heating effect is at the root of the theories
concerning global warming.

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Under normal conditions the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere remains constant, and
trees absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide that people produce. But in recent decades, our
planet has supported more people and fewer trees, leaving an excess of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide has been increasing by 0.4 per cent a year; the use of
fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, and the slash-and-burn clearing of tropical forests have
been contributing factors in the carbon cycle. Other gases that contribute to the greenhouse
effect, such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons, are increasing even faster. The net effect of
these increases could be a worldwide rise in temperature, estimated at 2° to 6° C (4° to 11° F)
over the next 100 years. Warming of this magnitude would alter climates throughout the world,
affect crop production, and cause sea levels to rise significantly. If this happened, millions of
people would be adversely affected by major flooding.

Figure 5.6 Illustration of the Greenhouse Effect (A)

Figure 5.7 Illustration of the Greenhouse Effect (B)

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A significant global warming of the atmosphere would have profound environmental effects. It
would speed the melting of polar ice caps, raise sea levels, change the climate regionally and
globally, alter natural vegetation, and affect crop production. These changes would, in turn, have
an enormous impact on human civilization. Since 1850 there has been a mean rise in global
temperature of about 1° C (1.8° F). Most scientists have predicted that rising levels of CO2 and
other “greenhouse gases” will cause temperatures to continue to increase, with estimates ranging
from 2° to 6° C (4° to 11° F) by the mid-21st century. However, some scientists who research
climate effects and trends dispute the theories of global warming, and attribute the most recent
rise to normal temperature fluctuations.

Figure 5.8 Melting of polar ice caps contributes to the, rising sea levels.

B Acid Deposition

Lakes, ponds, and other terrestrial and aquatic environments throughout the world are being
severely damaged by the effects of acid rain. Acid rain is caused by the combination of sulphur
dioxide and nitrogen compounds with water in the atmosphere to produce rain with a very low
pH. Normally, rainwater has a pH of 6.5, making it very slightly acidic. However, with the
addition of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, the pH of rainwater may drop to as low as 2.0 or
3.0, similar to the acidity of vinegar. In addition to chemically burning the leaves of plants, acid
rain poisons lakewater, which kills most if not all of the aquatic inhabitants.

Also associated with the burning of fossil fuels is acid deposition, which is caused by the
emission of sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides into the air from power plants and motor vehicles.
These chemicals interact with sunlight, moisture, and oxidants to produce sulphuric and nitric
acids, which are carried with the atmospheric circulation and come to Earth in rainfall and
snowfall, commonly referred to as acid rain, and as dry deposits in the form of dry particles and
atmospheric gases.

Acid rain is a localized problem. The acidity of some precipitation in northern North America
and Europe is equivalent to that of vinegar. Acid rain corrodes metals, weathers stone buildings
and monuments, injures and kills vegetation, and acidifies lakes, streams, and soils, especially in
the poorly buffered regions of north-eastern North America and northern Europe. In these
regions, lake acidification has killed some fish populations. It is also now a problem in the south-
eastern and western United States. Acid rain can also slow forest growth, and forest die-back has
been major problem. It is associated with forest decline at high elevations in both North America
and Europe.

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C Ozone Layer Destruction

During the 1980s, scientists began to find that human activity was having a detrimental effect on
the global ozone layer, a region of the atmosphere that shields the Earth from the Sun’s harmful
ultraviolet rays. Without this gaseous layer, which is found at about 40 km (25 mi) above sea
level, no life could survive on the planet. Studies showed the ozone layer was being damaged by
the increasing use of industrial chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs, compounds of
fluorine) that are used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, cleaning solvents, packing materials, and
aerosol sprays. Chlorine, a chemical by-product of CFCs, attacks ozone, which consists of three
molecules of oxygen, by taking one molecule away to form chlorine monoxide. Chlorine
monoxide then reacts with oxygen atoms to form oxygen molecules, releasing chlorine
molecules that break up other molecules of ozone.

It was initially thought that the ozone layer was being reduced gradually all over the globe. In
1985, however, further research revealed a growing ozone hole concentrated above Antarctica;
50 per cent or more of the ozone above this area of the Earth was being depleted seasonally
(beginning each October). By late 2000 this hole had grown to 28.3 million sq km (11 million sq
mi) in area. A thinning of the ozone layer is the key factor in the greenhouse effect, and exposes
life on Earth to excessive ultraviolet radiation, which can increase skin cancer and cataracts,
reduce immune-system responses, interfere with the photosynthetic process of plants, and affect
the growth of oceanic phytoplankton. Because of the growing threat of these dangerous
environmental effects, many nations are working towards eliminating the manufacture and use of
CFCs. However, CFCs can remain in the atmosphere for more than 100 years, so ozone
destruction will continue to pose a threat for decades to come.

D Chlorinated Hydrocarbons

Extensive use of synthetic pesticides derived from chlorinated hydrocarbons in pest control has
had disastrous environmental side effects. These organochlorine pesticides are highly persistent
and resist biological degradation. Relatively insoluble in water, they cling to plant tissues and
accumulate in soils, the bottom mud of streams and ponds, and the atmosphere. Once volatilized,
the pesticides are distributed worldwide, contaminating wilderness areas far removed from
agricultural regions, and even the Antarctic and Arctic zones.
Although these synthetic chemicals are not found in nature, they nevertheless enter the food
chain. The pesticides are either taken in by plant eaters or absorbed directly through the skin by
such aquatic organisms as fish and various invertebrates. The pesticide is further concentrated as
it passes from herbivores (plant eaters) to carnivores (meat eaters). It becomes highly
concentrated in the tissues of animals at the end of the food chain, such as the peregrine falcon,
bald eagle, and osprey. Chlorinated hydrocarbons interfere in the calcium metabolism of birds,
causing thinning of egg shells and subsequent reproductive failure. As a result, some large
predatory and fish-eating birds have been brought close to extinction. Because of the dangers of
pesticides to wildlife and to humans, and because insects have acquired resistance to them, the
use of halogenated hydrocarbons such as DDT is declining rapidly in the Western world,
although large quantities are still used in developing countries. In the early 1980s, the
halogenated pesticide EDB, or Ethylene Dibromide, also aroused great concern as a potential
carcinogen, and was eventually banned.
Closely related to DDT is another group of compounds: the polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
For years these compounds have been used in industrial production, and eventually they found
their way into the environment. Their impact on humans and wildlife has been similar to that of
pesticides. Because of their extreme toxicity, the use of PCBs is now restricted to insulators in
electrical transformers and capacitors.
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PCDD is the most toxic of another related group of highly toxic compounds, the dioxins, or
polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins. The extent of toxicity of these carcinogenic compounds in
humans has not yet been proved. PCDD may be found as an impurity in wood and paper
preservatives and in herbicides. Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used in jungle warfare,
contains minute traces of dioxin.

E Other Toxic Substances

The pollution of rivers and streams with chemical contaminants is one of the world's
most critical environmental problems. Chemical pollution entering rivers and streams comes
from two major sources: point pollution and non-point pollution. Point pollution involves those
pollution sources which can be specifically identified, such as factories, refineries or outfall
pipes. Non-point pollution involves pollution from sources that cannot be precisely identified,
such as runoff from agricultural or mining operations or seepage from septic tanks or sewage
drain fields. It is estimated that each year 10 million people worldwide die from drinking
contaminated water.

Toxic substances are chemicals and mixtures of chemicals the manufacturing, processing,
distribution, use, and disposal of which present an unreasonable risk to human health and the
environment. Most of these toxic substances are synthetic chemicals that enter the environment
and persist there for long periods of time. Major concentrations of toxic substances occur in
chemical dump sites. If they seep into soil and water, the chemicals can contaminate water
supplies, air, crops, and domestic animals, and have been associated with human birth defects,
miscarriages, and organic diseases. Despite known dangers, the problem is not lessening. In a
recent 15-year period, more than 70,000 new synthetic chemicals were manufactured, and new
ones are being created at the rate of 500 to 1,000 each year.

F Radiation

Although atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons has been banned by most countries,
eliminating a large source of radioactive fallout, nuclear radiation still remains an environmental
problem. Power plants always release some amount of radioactive waste into the air and water,
but the main danger is the possibility of nuclear accidents, in which massive amounts of radiation
are released into the environment—as happened at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986. In fact, since
the break-up of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the world has learned that
contamination of that region from nuclear accidents and nuclear wastes is far more extensive
than had been realized. A greater problem facing the nuclear industry is the storage of nuclear
wastes, which remain toxic for 700 to 1 million years, depending on the type. Safe storage for
geological periods of time is problematic; meanwhile nuclear wastes accumulate, threatening the
environment.

G Loss of Wild Lands

The deforestation technique of slash and burn, utilized extensively to clear large areas of
forest for agricultural and other purposes, causes an enormous amount of environmental damage.
The large amounts of carbon dioxide given off into the atmosphere during burning adds to the
greenhouse effect. The removal of all trees and ground cover destroys animal habitats and
greatly accelerates erosion, adding to the sediment loads of rivers and making seasonal flooding
much more severe.
Increasing numbers of human beings are encroaching on remaining wild lands—even in those
areas once considered relatively safe from exploitation, degradation, and pollution. Insatiable
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demands for energy are forcing the development of Arctic regions for oil and gas and threatening
the delicate ecological balance of tundra ecosystems and their wildlife. Tropical forests,
especially in south-eastern Asia and the Amazon River Basin, are being destroyed at an alarming
rate for timber, conversion to crop and grazing lands, pine plantations, and settlements. It was
estimated at one point in the 1980s that such forest lands were being cleared or converted at the
rate of 20 hectares (nearly 50 acres) a minute; another estimate put the rate at more than 200,000
sq km (78,000 sq mi) a year. In 1993 satellite data provided a rate of about 15,000 sq km (5,800
sq mi) a year in the Amazon Basin area alone. This tropical deforestation has already resulted in
the extinction of as many as 750,000 species, and is likely to eliminate millions if allowed to
continue unchecked. This would mean the loss of a multiplicity of products: food, fibres, medical
drugs, dyes, gums, and resins. In addition, the expansion of croplands and grazing areas for
domestic livestock in Africa, and illegal trade in endangered species and wildlife products, could
mean the end of Africa’s large mammals. In North America, wild areas are being threatened by
agricultural expansion and widespread pollution.

H Soil Erosion

Gully formation, a severe form of soil erosion, is a natural geological process that can be
greatly accelerated by human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing of cattle, and poor
agricultural practices. Erosion attacks the moisture-bearing ability of soils and adds deposits to
waterways. These destructive processes continue at an increased rate on every continent, as
overpopulation and industrialization tax the remaining soil.
Soil erosion is accelerating on every continent but Antarctica and is degrading one fifth to one
third of the cropland of the world, posing a significant threat to the food supply. For example,
erosion is undermining the productivity of approximately 35 per cent of all cropland in the
United States. In the developing world, increasing needs for food and firewood have resulted in
the deforestation and cultivation of steep slopes, causing severe erosion. Adding to the problem
is the loss of prime cropland to industry, dams, urban sprawl, and highways. The amount of
topsoil lost each year is at least 25 million tonnes, which is enough, in principle, to grow 9
million tonnes of wheat. About half of all erosion is in the United States, the former Soviet
Union, India, and China. Soil erosion and the loss of cropland and forests also reduce the
moisture-holding capacity of soils and add sediments to streams, lakes, and reservoirs.

I Demands on Water and Air

The erosion problems described above are aggravating a growing world water problem.
Expanding human populations need irrigation systems and water for industry; this is so depleting
underground aquifers that salt water is intruding into them along coastal areas of the United
States, Israel, Syria, and the Arabian Gulf states. In inland areas, porous rocks and sediments are
compacting when drained of water, causing surface subsidence problems; this subsidence is
already a serious problem in Texas, Florida, and California.

The world is also experiencing a steady decline in water quality and availability. Human beings
already use 55 per cent of available freshwater run-off. This level of consumption will be an
increasing problem as the population rises. About 75 per cent of the world’s rural population and
20 per cent of its urban population have no ready access to uncontaminated water. In many
regions, water supplies are contaminated with toxic chemicals and nitrates. Waterborne disease
debilitates one third of humanity and kills 10 million people a year.

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