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90-474: The Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft (KWG) was founded in 1911 in order to promote the natural sciences in Germany, by founding and maintaining research institutions formally independent from the state and its administrations. The institutions were to be under the guidance of prominent directors, which included the physicists and chemists Walther Bothe , Peter Debye , Albert Einstein , Fritz Haber and Otto Hahn ;

180-628: A board of trustees also provided guidance. Funding was ultimately obtained from sources internal and external to Germany. Internally, money was raised from individuals, industry and the government, as well as through the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft (Emergency Association of German Science). External to Germany, the Rockefeller Foundation granted students worldwide one-year study stipends for whichever institute they chose. Some studied in Germany, in contrast to

270-426: A break from the past by rejecting Aristotle and his medieval followers outright, calling their approach to natural philosophy superficial. Howard Percy Robertson Howard Percy "Bob" Robertson (January 27, 1903 – August 26, 1961) was an American mathematician and physicist known for contributions related to physical cosmology and the uncertainty principle . He was Professor of Mathematical Physics at

360-546: A career in planetary science undergo graduate-level studies in one of the Earth sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, geophysics, or physics. They then focus their research within the discipline of planetary science. Major conferences are held annually, and numerous peer reviewed journals cater to the diverse research interests in planetary science. Some planetary scientists are employed by private research centers and frequently engage in collaborative research initiatives. Constituting

450-639: A central role in American scientific intelligence during and after World War II. He was approached by Richard Tolman shortly after World War II began in 1939, and began working for the Committee for Passive Protection Against Bombing. This was absorbed with other groups into Division 2 of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), with Robertson engaged in the study of terminal ballistics . In 1943, Robertson became

540-876: A dust mote orbiting a star to lose angular momentum , which he also described in terms of general relativity. During World War II , Robertson served with the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) and the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). He served as technical consultant to the Secretary of War , the OSRD Liaison Officer in London, and the Chief of the Scientific Intelligence Advisory Section at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force . After

630-484: A key part of most scientific discourse. Such integrative fields, for example, include nanoscience , astrobiology , and complex system informatics . Materials science is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field that deals with the study of matter and its properties and the discovery and design of new materials. Originally developed through the field of metallurgy , the study of the properties of materials and solids has now expanded into all materials. The field covers

720-447: A laboratory, using a series of (often well-tested) techniques for manipulating materials, as well as an understanding of the underlying processes. Chemistry is often called " the central science " because of its role in connecting the other natural sciences. Early experiments in chemistry had their roots in the system of alchemy , a set of beliefs combining mysticism with physical experiments. The science of chemistry began to develop with

810-423: A level equal with theology and the debate of religious constructs in a scientific context, showed the persistence with which Catholic leaders resisted the development of natural philosophy even from a theological perspective. Aquinas and Albertus Magnus , another Catholic theologian of the era, sought to distance theology from science in their works. "I don't see what one's interpretation of Aristotle has to do with

900-400: A matter not only for their existence but also for their definition." There was broad agreement among scholars in medieval times that natural science was about bodies in motion. However, there was division about including fields such as medicine, music, and perspective. Philosophers pondered questions including the existence of a vacuum, whether motion could produce heat, the colors of rainbows,

990-744: A methodical way. Still, philosophical perspectives, conjectures , and presuppositions , often overlooked, remain necessary in natural science. Systematic data collection, including discovery science , succeeded natural history , which emerged in the 16th century by describing and classifying plants, animals, minerals, and so on. Today, "natural history" suggests observational descriptions aimed at popular audiences. Philosophers of science have suggested several criteria, including Karl Popper 's controversial falsifiability criterion, to help them differentiate scientific endeavors from non-scientific ones. Validity , accuracy , and quality control , such as peer review and reproducibility of findings, are amongst

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1080-480: A separate field in its own right, most modern workers in the field agree that it has matured to a state that it has its own paradigms and practices. Planetary science or planetology, is the scientific study of planets, which include terrestrial planets like the Earth, and other types of planets, such as gas giants and ice giants . Planetary science also concerns other celestial bodies, such as dwarf planets moons , asteroids , and comets . This largely includes

1170-518: A series of papers in the 1920s that developed the subject. Robertson wrote three important papers on the mathematics of quantum mechanics . In the first, written in German, he looked at the coordinate system required for the Schrödinger equation to be solvable. The second examined the relationship between the commutative property and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle . The third extended

1260-400: A significant role in the other natural sciences, as represented by astrophysics , geophysics , chemical physics and biophysics . Likewise chemistry is represented by such fields as biochemistry , physical chemistry , geochemistry and astrochemistry . A particular example of a scientific discipline that draws upon multiple natural sciences is environmental science . This field studies

1350-476: A significant role in the world economy. Physics embodies the study of the fundamental constituents of the universe , the forces and interactions they exert on one another, and the results produced by these interactions. Physics is generally regarded as foundational because all other natural sciences use and obey the field's principles and laws. Physics relies heavily on mathematics as the logical framework for formulating and quantifying principles. The study of

1440-410: A step closer to direct inquiry about cause and effect in nature between 600 and 400 BC. However, an element of magic and mythology remained. Natural phenomena such as earthquakes and eclipses were explained increasingly in the context of nature itself instead of being attributed to angry gods. Thales of Miletus , an early philosopher who lived from 625 to 546 BC, explained earthquakes by theorizing that

1530-741: A treatise by the earlier Persian scholar Al-Farabi called On the Sciences into Latin, calling the study of the mechanics of nature Scientia naturalis , or natural science. Gundissalinus also proposed his classification of the natural sciences in his 1150 work On the Division of Philosophy . This was the first detailed classification of the sciences based on Greek and Arab philosophy to reach Western Europe. Gundissalinus defined natural science as "the science considering only things unabstracted and with motion," as opposed to mathematics and sciences that rely on mathematics. Following Al-Farabi, he separated

1620-580: Is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and comets. Astronomy is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere, including objects we can see with our naked eyes. It is one of the oldest sciences. Astronomers of early civilizations performed methodical observations of the night sky, and astronomical artifacts have been found from much earlier periods. There are two types of astronomy: observational astronomy and theoretical astronomy. Observational astronomy

1710-420: Is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth , including geology , geography , geophysics , geochemistry , climatology , glaciology , hydrology , meteorology , and oceanography . Although mining and precious stones have been human interests throughout the history of civilization, the development of the related sciences of economic geology and mineralogy did not occur until

1800-399: Is concerned with the characteristics, classification and behaviors of organisms , as well as how species were formed and their interactions with each other and the environment . The biological fields of botany , zoology , and medicine date back to early periods of civilization, while microbiology was introduced in the 17th century with the invention of the microscope. However, it

1890-533: Is focused on acquiring and analyzing data, mainly using basic principles of physics. In contrast, Theoretical astronomy is oriented towards developing computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. This discipline is the science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics , chemistry , meteorology , geology , and motion of celestial objects, as well as

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1980-519: Is sub-categorized into more specialized cross-disciplines, such as physical oceanography and marine biology . As the marine ecosystem is vast and diverse, marine biology is further divided into many subfields, including specializations in particular species . There is also a subset of cross-disciplinary fields with strong currents that run counter to specialization by the nature of the problems they address. Put another way: In some fields of integrative application, specialists in more than one field are

2070-576: The Ayurvedic tradition saw health and illness as a combination of three humors: wind , bile and phlegm . A healthy life resulted from a balance among these humors. In Ayurvedic thought, the body consisted of five elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Ayurvedic surgeons performed complex surgeries and developed a detailed understanding of human anatomy. Pre-Socratic philosophers in Ancient Greek culture brought natural philosophy

2160-554: The California Institute of Technology and Princeton University . Robertson made important contributions to the mathematics of quantum mechanics , general relativity and differential geometry . Applying relativity to cosmology , he independently developed the concept of an expanding universe . His name is most often associated with the Poynting–Robertson effect , the process by which solar radiation causes

2250-693: The Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian cultures, which produced the first known written evidence of natural philosophy , the precursor of natural science. While the writings show an interest in astronomy, mathematics, and other aspects of the physical world, the ultimate aim of inquiry about nature's workings was, in all cases, religious or mythological, not scientific. A tradition of scientific inquiry also emerged in Ancient China , where Taoist alchemists and philosophers experimented with elixirs to extend life and cure ailments. They focused on

2340-687: The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) passed a resolution to dissolve the KWG on 11 July 1946. Meanwhile, members of the British occupation forces, specifically in the Research Branch of the OMGUS, saw the society in a more favourable light and tried to dissuade the Americans from taking such action. The physicist Howard Percy Robertson was director of the department for science in

2430-565: The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) chief scientific liaison officer in London. He became close friends with Reginald Victor Jones , and Solly Zuckerman praised the work Robertson and Jones did on scrambling radar beams and beacons. In 1944 Robertson also became a technical consultant to the Secretary of War , and the chief of the Scientific Intelligence Advisory Section at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force . His fluency in German helped him to interrogate German scientists, including rocket scientists involved in

2520-707: The Solar System , but recently has started to expand to exoplanets , particularly terrestrial exoplanets . It explores various objects, spanning from micrometeoroids to gas giants, to establish their composition, movements, genesis, interrelation, and past. Planetary science is an interdisciplinary domain, having originated from astronomy and Earth science , and currently encompassing a multitude of areas, such as planetary geology , cosmochemistry , atmospheric science , physics , oceanography , hydrology , theoretical planetology , glaciology , and exoplanetology. Related fields encompass space physics , which delves into

2610-793: The United States as the Robertson–Walker metric . One of Robertson's landmark papers, a brief note in The Annals of Mathematics , entitled a "Note on the preceding paper: The two body problem in general relativity", solved that problem within a degree of approximation not improved on for several decades. Earlier work, such as the Schwarzschild metric , were for a central body that did not move, while Robertson's solution considered two bodies orbiting each other. Nevertheless, his solution failed to include gravitational radiation , so

2700-587: The University of Göttingen in Germany, where he met David Hilbert , Richard Courant , Albert Einstein , Werner Heisenberg , Erwin Schrödinger , Martin Schwarzschild , John von Neumann and Eugene Wigner . He found Max Born unsympathetic to his concept of an expanding universe , which Born considered "rubbish". He also spent six months at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich , where he

2790-592: The V-2 rocket program. He was awarded the Medal for Merit for his contributions to the war effort. After the war, Robertson accepted a professorship at Caltech in 1947. He would remain there for the rest of his career, except for long periods of government service. He was a Central Intelligence Agency classified employee and director of the Weapons System Evaluation Group in the Office of

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2880-522: The cell or organic molecule . Modern biology is divided into subdisciplines by the type of organism and by the scale being studied. Molecular biology is the study of the fundamental chemistry of life, while cellular biology is the examination of the cell; the basic building block of all life. At a higher level, anatomy and physiology look at the internal structures, and their functions, of an organism, while ecology looks at how various organisms interrelate. Earth science (also known as geoscience)

2970-420: The formal sciences , such as mathematics and logic , converting information about nature into measurements that can be explained as clear statements of the " laws of nature ". Modern natural science succeeded more classical approaches to natural philosophy . Galileo , Kepler , Descartes , Bacon , and Newton debated the benefits of using approaches which were more mathematical and more experimental in

3060-624: The formation and development of the universe . Astronomy includes examining, studying, and modeling stars, planets, and comets. Most of the information used by astronomers is gathered by remote observation. However, some laboratory reproduction of celestial phenomena has been performed (such as the molecular chemistry of the interstellar medium ). There is considerable overlap with physics and in some areas of earth science . There are also interdisciplinary fields such as astrophysics , planetary sciences , and cosmology , along with allied disciplines such as space physics and astrochemistry . While

3150-522: The yin and yang , or contrasting elements in nature; the yin was associated with femininity and coldness, while yang was associated with masculinity and warmth. The five phases – fire, earth, metal, wood, and water – described a cycle of transformations in nature. The water turned into wood, which turned into the fire when it burned. The ashes left by fire were earth. Using these principles, Chinese philosophers and doctors explored human anatomy, characterizing organs as predominantly yin or yang, and understood

3240-454: The 16th century, and he is considered to be the father of biology for his pioneering work in that science . He also presented philosophies about physics, nature, and astronomy using inductive reasoning in his works Physics and Meteorology . While Aristotle considered natural philosophy more seriously than his predecessors, he approached it as a theoretical branch of science. Still, inspired by his work, Ancient Roman philosophers of

3330-549: The 18th century. The study of the earth, particularly paleontology , blossomed in the 19th century. The growth of other disciplines, such as geophysics , in the 20th century led to the development of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s, which has had a similar effect on the Earth sciences as the theory of evolution had on biology. Earth sciences today are closely linked to petroleum and mineral resources , climate research, and to environmental assessment and remediation . Although sometimes considered in conjunction with

3420-587: The American and British occupation zones. The physicists Max von Laue and Walther Gerlach were also instrumental in establishing the society across the allied zones, including the French zone. Natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena , based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation . Mechanisms such as peer review and reproducibility of findings are used to try to ensure

3510-535: The American forces closed in on the relocated KWI, the organization's president, Albert Vögler , an industrialist and early Nazi Party backer, committed suicide, knowing he would be held accountable for the group's crimes and complicity in war crimes . By the end of the Second World War, the KWG and its institutes had lost their central location in Berlin and were operating in other locations. The KWG

3600-718: The British Zone; he had a National Research Council Fellowship in the 1920s to study at the Georg August University of Göttingen and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich . Also, Colonel Bertie Blount was on the staff of the British Research Branch, and he had received his doctorate at Göttingen under Walther Borsche. Among other things, Bertie suggested to Hahn to write to Sir Henry Hallett Dale , who had been

3690-622: The German universities, with their formal independence from state administration, the institutions of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft had no obligation to teach students. The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and its research facilities were involved in weapons research, experimentation and production in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the World War I , the group, and in particular Fritz Haber ,

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3780-566: The Middle Ages brought with it further advances in natural philosophy. European inventions such as the horseshoe , horse collar and crop rotation allowed for rapid population growth, eventually giving way to urbanization and the foundation of schools connected to monasteries and cathedrals in modern-day France and England . Aided by the schools, an approach to Christian theology developed that sought to answer questions about nature and other subjects using logic. This approach, however,

3870-769: The Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1952, and scientific advisor in 1954 and 1955 to the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Alfred M. Gruenther . In 1953 he chaired the Robertson Panel , which investigated a wave of UFO reports in 1952 . He was chairman of the Defense Science Board from 1956 to 1961, and a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) from 1957 to 1961. He

3960-486: The University of Washington he also met Eric Temple Bell , who encouraged him to pursue mathematics at Caltech. Robertson completed his PhD dissertation in mathematics and physics there in 1925 under the supervision of Harry Bateman , writing "On Dynamical Space-Times Which Contain a Conformal Euclidean 3-Space". Upon receipt of his doctorate, Robertson received a National Research Council Fellowship to study at

4050-479: The West. Christopher Columbus 's discovery of a new world changed perceptions about the physical makeup of the world, while observations by Copernicus , Tyco Brahe and Galileo brought a more accurate picture of the solar system as heliocentric and proved many of Aristotle's theories about the heavenly bodies false. Several 17th-century philosophers, including Thomas Hobbes , John Locke and Francis Bacon , made

4140-417: The bodies orbit forever, rather than approaching each other. Yet Robertson's name is most often associated with the Poynting–Robertson effect , the process by which solar radiation causes a dust mote orbiting a star to lose angular momentum . This is related to radiation pressure tangential to the grain's motion. John Henry Poynting described it in 1903 based on the "luminiferous aether" theory, which

4230-542: The chemistry, physics, and engineering applications of materials, including metals, ceramics, artificial polymers, and many others. The field's core deals with relating the structure of materials with their properties. Materials science is at the forefront of research in science and engineering. It is an essential part of forensic engineering (the investigation of materials, products, structures, or components that fail or do not operate or function as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property) and failure analysis ,

4320-459: The concept of an expanding universe, which would imply distant galaxies as seen from Earth would be redshifted – a phenomenon previously confirmed by Vesto Slipher . Robertson went on to apply the theory of continuous groups in Riemann spaces to find all the solutions that describe the cosmological spaces. This was extended by Arthur Geoffrey Walker in 1936, and is today widely known in

4410-512: The conclusion that something is impossible. While an impossibility assertion in natural science can never be proved, it could be refuted by the observation of a single counterexample. Such a counterexample would require that the assumptions underlying the theory that implied the impossibility be re-examined. This field encompasses a diverse set of disciplines that examine phenomena related to living organisms. The scale of study can range from sub-component biophysics up to complex ecologies . Biology

4500-494: The development of thermodynamics , and the quantum mechanical model of atomic and subatomic physics. The field of physics is vast and can include such diverse studies as quantum mechanics and theoretical physics , applied physics and optics . Modern physics is becoming increasingly specialized, where researchers tend to focus on a particular area rather than being "universalists" like Isaac Newton , Albert Einstein , and Lev Landau , who worked in multiple areas. Astronomy

4590-575: The early 13th century, although the practice was frowned upon by the Catholic church. A 1210 decree from the Synod of Paris ordered that "no lectures are to be held in Paris either publicly or privately using Aristotle's books on natural philosophy or the commentaries, and we forbid all this under pain of ex-communication." In the late Middle Ages, Spanish philosopher Dominicus Gundissalinus translated

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4680-501: The early 1st century AD, including Lucretius , Seneca and Pliny the Elder , wrote treatises that dealt with the rules of the natural world in varying degrees of depth. Many Ancient Roman Neoplatonists of the 3rd to the 6th centuries also adapted Aristotle's teachings on the physical world to a philosophy that emphasized spiritualism. Early medieval philosophers including Macrobius , Calcidius and Martianus Capella also examined

4770-447: The earth sciences, due to the independent development of its concepts, techniques, and practices and also the fact of it having a wide range of sub-disciplines under its wing, atmospheric science is also considered a separate branch of natural science. This field studies the characteristics of different layers of the atmosphere from ground level to the edge of the space. The timescale of the study also varies from day to century. Sometimes,

4860-670: The far side of the Moon is named in his honor. Howard Percy Robertson, was born in Hoquiam, Washington , on January 27, 1903, the oldest of five children of George Duncan Robertson, an engineer who built bridges in Washington state, and Anna McLeod, a nurse. His father died when he was 15 years old, but although money was short, all five siblings attended university. He entered the University of Washington in Seattle in 1918, initially with

4950-400: The field also includes the study of climatic patterns on planets other than Earth. The serious study of oceans began in the early- to mid-20th century. As a field of natural science, it is relatively young, but stand-alone programs offer specializations in the subject. Though some controversies remain as to the categorization of the field under earth sciences, interdisciplinary sciences, or as

5040-888: The impact of the Sun on the bodies in the Solar System, and astrobiology . Planetary science comprises interconnected observational and theoretical branches. Observational research entails a combination of space exploration , primarily through robotic spacecraft missions utilizing remote sensing, and comparative experimental work conducted in Earth-based laboratories. The theoretical aspect involves extensive mathematical modelling and computer simulation . Typically, planetary scientists are situated within astronomy and physics or Earth sciences departments in universities or research centers. However, there are also dedicated planetary science institutes worldwide. Generally, individuals pursuing

5130-487: The intention of studying engineering, but he later switched to mathematics. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1922 and a Master of Science in mathematics and physics in 1923. In 1923 Robertson married Angela Turinsky, a philosophy and psychology student at the University of Washington. They had two children: George Duncan, who became a surgeon, and Marietta, who later married California Institute of Technology (Caltech) historian Peter W. Fay . At

5220-436: The interactions of physical, chemical, geological, and biological components of the environment , with particular regard to the effect of human activities and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability . This science also draws upon expertise from other fields, such as economics, law, and social sciences. A comparable discipline is oceanography , as it draws upon a similar breadth of scientific disciplines. Oceanography

5310-556: The latter being the key to understanding, for example, the cause of various aviation accidents. Many of the most pressing scientific problems that are faced today are due to the limitations of the materials that are available, and, as a result, breakthroughs in this field are likely to have a significant impact on the future of technology. The basis of materials science involves studying the structure of materials and relating them to their properties . Understanding this structure-property correlation, material scientists can then go on to study

5400-454: The most respected criteria in today's global scientific community. In natural science, impossibility assertions come to be widely accepted as overwhelmingly probable rather than considered proven to the point of being unchallengeable. The basis for this strong acceptance is a combination of extensive evidence of something not occurring, combined with an underlying theory, very successful in making predictions, whose assumptions lead logically to

5490-413: The motion of the earth, whether elemental chemicals exist, and where in the atmosphere rain is formed. In the centuries up through the end of the Middle Ages, natural science was often mingled with philosophies about magic and the occult. Natural philosophy appeared in various forms, from treatises to encyclopedias to commentaries on Aristotle. The interaction between natural philosophy and Christianity

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5580-409: The origins of natural science as far back as pre-literate human societies, where understanding the natural world was necessary for survival. People observed and built up knowledge about the behavior of animals and the usefulness of plants as food and medicine, which was passed down from generation to generation. These primitive understandings gave way to more formalized inquiry around 3500 to 3000 BC in

5670-603: The physical world, largely from a cosmological and cosmographical perspective, putting forth theories on the arrangement of celestial bodies and the heavens, which were posited as being composed of aether . Aristotle's works on natural philosophy continued to be translated and studied amid the rise of the Byzantine Empire and Abbasid Caliphate . In the Byzantine Empire, John Philoponus , an Alexandrian Aristotelian commentator and Christian theologian,

5760-508: The physical world; Plato criticized pre-Socratic thinkers as materialists and anti-religionists. Aristotle , however, a student of Plato who lived from 384 to 322 BC, paid closer attention to the natural world in his philosophy. In his History of Animals , he described the inner workings of 110 species, including the stingray , catfish and bee . He investigated chick embryos by breaking open eggs and observing them at various stages of development. Aristotle's works were influential through

5850-697: The president of the Royal Society , which he did. While in Britain, Bertie also spoke with Dale, who came up with a suggestion. Dale believed that it was only the name which conjured up a pejorative picture and suggested that the society be renamed the Max Planck Gesellschaft. On 11 September 1946, the Max Planck Gesellschaft was founded in the British Zone only. The second founding took place on 26 February 1948 for both

5940-630: The principles of the universe has a long history and largely derives from direct observation and experimentation. The formulation of theories about the governing laws of the universe has been central to the study of physics from very early on, with philosophy gradually yielding to systematic, quantitative experimental testing and observation as the source of verification. Key historical developments in physics include Isaac Newton 's theory of universal gravitation and classical mechanics , an understanding of electricity and its relation to magnetism , Einstein 's theories of special and general relativity ,

6030-556: The relationship between the pulse, the heart, and the flow of blood in the body centuries before it became accepted in the West. Little evidence survives of how Ancient Indian cultures around the Indus River understood nature, but some of their perspectives may be reflected in the Vedas , a set of sacred Hindu texts. They reveal a conception of the universe as ever-expanding and constantly being recycled and reformed. Surgeons in

6120-426: The relative performance of a material in a particular application. The major determinants of the structure of a material and, thus, of its properties are its constituent chemical elements and how it has been processed into its final form. These characteristics, taken together and related through the laws of thermodynamics and kinetics , govern a material's microstructure and thus its properties. Some scholars trace

6210-504: The science that deals with bodies in motion. Roger Bacon , an English friar and philosopher, wrote that natural science dealt with "a principle of motion and rest, as in the parts of the elements of fire, air, earth, and water, and in all inanimate things made from them." These sciences also covered plants, animals and celestial bodies. Later in the 13th century, a Catholic priest and theologian Thomas Aquinas defined natural science as dealing with "mobile beings" and "things which depend on

6300-456: The sciences into eight parts, including: physics, cosmology, meteorology, minerals science, and plant and animal science. Later, philosophers made their own classifications of the natural sciences. Robert Kilwardby wrote On the Order of the Sciences in the 13th century that classed medicine as a mechanical science, along with agriculture, hunting, and theater, while defining natural science as

6390-475: The scientific study of matter at the atomic and molecular scale, chemistry deals primarily with collections of atoms, such as gases , molecules, crystals , and metals . The composition, statistical properties, transformations, and reactions of these materials are studied. Chemistry also involves understanding the properties and interactions of individual atoms and molecules for use in larger-scale applications. Most chemical processes can be studied directly in

6480-443: The second to the case of m observables. In 1931 he published a translation of Weyl's The Theory of Groups and Quantum Mechanics . It was Robertson's anonymous 1936 critical peer review of a paper submitted by Albert Einstein to Physical Review which caused Einstein to withdraw the paper from consideration. Yet perhaps Robertson's most notable achievements were in applying relativity to cosmology . He independently developed

6570-415: The study of celestial features and phenomena can be traced back to antiquity, the scientific methodology of this field began to develop in the middle of the 17th century. A key factor was Galileo 's introduction of the telescope to examine the night sky in more detail. The mathematical treatment of astronomy began with Newton 's development of celestial mechanics and the laws of gravitation . However, it

6660-491: The teaching of the faith," he wrote in 1271. By the 16th and 17th centuries, natural philosophy evolved beyond commentary on Aristotle as more early Greek philosophy was uncovered and translated. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century, the invention of the microscope and telescope, and the Protestant Reformation fundamentally altered the social context in which scientific inquiry evolved in

6750-520: The time of the Abbasid Caliphate from the 9th century onward, when Muslim scholars expanded upon Greek and Indian natural philosophy. The words alcohol , algebra and zenith all have Arabic roots. Aristotle's works and other Greek natural philosophy did not reach the West until about the middle of the 12th century, when works were translated from Greek and Arabic into Latin . The development of European civilization later in

6840-457: The validity of scientific advances. Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science and physical science . Life science is alternatively known as biology , and physical science is subdivided into branches: physics , chemistry , earth science , and astronomy . These branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches (also known as fields). As empirical sciences, natural sciences use tools from

6930-551: The war Robertson was director of the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1952, chairman of the Robertson Panel on UFOs in 1953 and scientific advisor to the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in 1954 and 1955. He was chairman of the Defense Science Board from 1956 to 1961, and a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) from 1957 to 1961. The Robertson crater on

7020-447: The work of Robert Boyle , the discoverer of gases , and Antoine Lavoisier , who developed the theory of the conservation of mass . The discovery of the chemical elements and atomic theory began to systematize this science, and researchers developed a fundamental understanding of states of matter , ions , chemical bonds and chemical reactions . The success of this science led to a complementary chemical industry that now plays

7110-457: The world floated on water and that water was the fundamental element in nature. In the 5th century BC, Leucippus was an early exponent of atomism , the idea that the world is made up of fundamental indivisible particles. Pythagoras applied Greek innovations in mathematics to astronomy and suggested that the earth was spherical . Later Socratic and Platonic thought focused on ethics, morals, and art and did not attempt an investigation of

7200-1028: Was a member of the National Academy of Sciences , serving as its foreign secretary from 1958 until his death in 1961, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , the American Mathematical Society , the American Physical Society , the American Astronomical Society , the American Philosophical Society , the Operational Research Society , and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics . In August 1961, Robertson

7290-528: Was a post-doctoral student of Arnold Sommerfeld . Robertson returned to the United States in 1927, and became an assistant professor of mathematics at Caltech. In 1928, he accepted a position as an assistant professor of mathematical physics at Princeton University , where he became an associate professor in 1931, and a professor in 1938. He spent 1936 on sabbatical at Caltech. His interest in general relativity and differential geometry led to

7380-440: Was complex during this period; some early theologians, including Tatian and Eusebius , considered natural philosophy an outcropping of pagan Greek science and were suspicious of it. Although some later Christian philosophers, including Aquinas, came to see natural science as a means of interpreting scripture, this suspicion persisted until the 12th and 13th centuries. The Condemnation of 1277 , which forbade setting philosophy on

7470-410: Was not until the 19th century that biology became a unified science. Once scientists discovered commonalities between all living things, it was decided they were best studied as a whole. Some key developments in biology were the discovery of genetics , evolution through natural selection , the germ theory of disease , and the application of the techniques of chemistry and physics at the level of

7560-605: Was operating out of its Aerodynamics Testing Station in Göttingen . Albert Vögler , the president of the KWG, committed suicide on 14 April 1945. Thereupon, Ernst Telschow assumed the duties until Max Planck could be brought from Magdeburg to Göttingen, which was in the British zone of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany . Planck assumed the duties on 16 May until a president could be elected. Otto Hahn

7650-911: Was responsible for introducing the use of poison gas as a weapon. This was in direct violation of established international law . During World War II, some of the weapons and medical research performed by the KWI was connected to fatal human experimentation on living test subjects (prisoners) in Nazi concentration camps . In fact, members of the KWI of Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics , particularly Otmar von Verschuer received preserved Jewish bodies and body parts such as eyes for study and display from Auschwitz. These were provided by his pupil Dr. Josef Mengele from prisoners in his charge. He specialized in examining twins, and their genetic relationship, especially for their eye colour and other personal qualities. As

7740-556: Was seen by some detractors as heresy . By the 12th century, Western European scholars and philosophers came into contact with a body of knowledge of which they had previously been ignorant: a large corpus of works in Greek and Arabic that were preserved by Islamic scholars. Through translation into Latin, Western Europe was introduced to Aristotle and his natural philosophy. These works were taught at new universities in Paris and Oxford by

7830-470: Was selected by directors to be president, but there were a number of difficulties to be overcome. Hahn, being related to nuclear research had been captured by the allied forces of Operation Alsos , and he was still interned at Farm Hall in Britain, under Operation Epsilon . At first, Hahn was reluctant to accept the post, but others prevailed upon him to accept it. Hahn took over the presidency three months after being released and returned to Germany. However,

7920-505: Was superseded by Einstein's theories of relativity. In 1937, Robertson described the effect in terms of general relativity. Robertson developed the theory of invariants of tensors to derive the Kármán–Howarth equation in 1940, which was later used by George Batchelor and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in the theory of axisymmetric turbulence to derive Batchelor–Chandrasekhar equation . Aside from his work in physics, Robertson played

8010-541: Was the first to question Aristotle's physics teaching. Unlike Aristotle, who based his physics on verbal argument, Philoponus instead relied on observation and argued for observation rather than resorting to a verbal argument. He introduced the theory of impetus . John Philoponus' criticism of Aristotelian principles of physics served as inspiration for Galileo Galilei during the Scientific Revolution . A revival in mathematics and science took place during

8100-435: Was triggered by earlier work of astronomers such as Kepler . By the 19th century, astronomy had developed into formal science, with the introduction of instruments such as the spectroscope and photography , along with much-improved telescopes and the creation of professional observatories. The distinctions between the natural science disciplines are not always sharp, and they share many cross-discipline fields. Physics plays

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