91-585: The Living World is a long-running natural history radio programme, made by the BBC and broadcast on its Radio 4 . The series was created at the BBC Natural History Unit by Dilys Breese and Derek Jones , initially as a 52-week series, in 1968. It chiefly covers topics related to the flora and fauna of the British Isles, with occasional forays further afield, such as a 1997 episode on
182-499: A Platonist by Stephen Hawking , a view Penrose discusses in his book, The Road to Reality . Hawking referred to himself as an "unashamed reductionist" and took issue with Penrose's views. Mathematics provides a compact and exact language used to describe the order in nature. This was noted and advocated by Pythagoras , Plato , Galileo, and Newton. Some theorists, like Hilary Putnam and Penelope Maddy , hold that logical truths, and therefore mathematical reasoning, depend on
273-488: A frame of reference that is in motion with respect to an observer; the special theory of relativity is concerned with motion in the absence of gravitational fields and the general theory of relativity with motion and its connection with gravitation . Both quantum theory and the theory of relativity find applications in many areas of modern physics. While physics itself aims to discover universal laws, its theories lie in explicit domains of applicability. Loosely speaking,
364-455: A basic awareness of the motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars. The stars and planets, believed to represent gods, were often worshipped. While the explanations for the observed positions of the stars were often unscientific and lacking in evidence, these early observations laid the foundation for later astronomy, as the stars were found to traverse great circles across the sky, which could not explain
455-420: A hard-to-find physical meaning. The final mathematical solution has an easier-to-find meaning, because it is what the solver is looking for. Physics is a branch of fundamental science (also called basic science). Physics is also called " the fundamental science" because all branches of natural science including chemistry, astronomy, geology, and biology are constrained by laws of physics. Similarly, chemistry
546-476: A naturalist, studies the world by observing plants and animals directly. Because organisms are functionally inseparable from the environment in which they live and because their structure and function cannot be adequately interpreted without knowing some of their evolutionary history, the study of natural history embraces the study of fossils as well as physiographic and other aspects of the physical environment". A common thread in many definitions of natural history
637-680: A part of natural philosophy , but during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, these natural sciences branched into separate research endeavors. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry , and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms studied by other sciences and suggest new avenues of research in these and other academic disciplines such as mathematics and philosophy. Advances in physics often enable new technologies . For example, advances in
728-556: A part of science proper. In Victorian Scotland, the study of natural history was believed to contribute to good mental health. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds , butterflies, seashells ( malacology / conchology ), beetles, and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unified discipline of biology (though with only partial success, at least until
819-511: A piece of jazz music used instead. This article about a radio show or programme in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms , including animals , fungi , and plants , in their natural environment , leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history
910-465: A specific practical application as a goal, other than the deeper insight into the phenomema themselves. Applied physics is a general term for physics research and development that is intended for a particular use. An applied physics curriculum usually contains a few classes in an applied discipline, like geology or electrical engineering. It usually differs from engineering in that an applied physicist may not be designing something in particular, but rather
1001-426: A speed much less than the speed of light. These theories continue to be areas of active research today. Chaos theory , an aspect of classical mechanics, was discovered in the 20th century, three centuries after the original formulation of classical mechanics by Newton (1642–1727). These central theories are important tools for research into more specialized topics, and any physicist, regardless of their specialization,
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#17327831649051092-399: A subfield of mechanics , is used in the building of bridges and other static structures. The understanding and use of acoustics results in sound control and better concert halls; similarly, the use of optics creates better optical devices. An understanding of physics makes for more realistic flight simulators , video games, and movies, and is often critical in forensic investigations. With
1183-466: A substantial treatise on " Physics " – in the 4th century BC. Aristotelian physics was influential for about two millennia. His approach mixed some limited observation with logical deductive arguments, but did not rely on experimental verification of deduced statements. Aristotle's foundational work in Physics, though very imperfect, formed a framework against which later thinkers further developed
1274-470: A type of observation and a subject of study, it can also be defined as a body of knowledge, and as a craft or a practice, in which the emphasis is placed more on the observer than on the observed. Definitions from biologists often focus on the scientific study of individual organisms in their environment, as seen in this definition by Marston Bates: "Natural history is the study of animals and Plants—of organisms. ... I like to think, then, of natural history as
1365-607: Is a cross-discipline umbrella of many specialty sciences; e.g., geobiology has a strong multidisciplinary nature. The meaning of the English term "natural history" (a calque of the Latin historia naturalis ) has narrowed progressively with time, while, by contrast, the meaning of the related term "nature" has widened (see also History below). In antiquity , "natural history" covered essentially anything connected with nature , or used materials drawn from nature, such as Pliny
1456-460: Is also echoed by H.W. Greene and J.B. Losos: "Natural history focuses on where organisms are and what they do in their environment, including interactions with other organisms. It encompasses changes in internal states insofar as they pertain to what organisms do". Some definitions go further, focusing on direct observation of organisms in their environments, both past and present, such as this one by G.A. Bartholomew: "A student of natural history, or
1547-411: Is called a naturalist or natural historian . Natural history encompasses scientific research but is not limited to it. It involves the systematic study of any category of natural objects or organisms, so while it dates from studies in the ancient Greco-Roman world and the mediaeval Arabic world , through to European Renaissance naturalists working in near isolation, today's natural history
1638-413: Is clear-cut, but not always obvious. For example, mathematical physics is the application of mathematics in physics. Its methods are mathematical, but its subject is physical. The problems in this field start with a " mathematical model of a physical situation " (system) and a "mathematical description of a physical law" that will be applied to that system. Every mathematical statement used for solving has
1729-419: Is concerned with bodies acted on by forces and bodies in motion and may be divided into statics (study of the forces on a body or bodies not subject to an acceleration), kinematics (study of motion without regard to its causes), and dynamics (study of motion and the forces that affect it); mechanics may also be divided into solid mechanics and fluid mechanics (known together as continuum mechanics ),
1820-400: Is concerned with the most basic units of matter; this branch of physics is also known as high-energy physics because of the extremely high energies necessary to produce many types of particles in particle accelerators . On this scale, ordinary, commonsensical notions of space, time, matter, and energy are no longer valid. The two chief theories of modern physics present a different picture of
1911-425: Is expected to be literate in them. These include classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics , electromagnetism , and special relativity. Classical physics includes the traditional branches and topics that were recognized and well-developed before the beginning of the 20th century—classical mechanics, acoustics , optics , thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. Classical mechanics
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#17327831649052002-429: Is generally concerned with matter and energy on the normal scale of observation, while much of modern physics is concerned with the behavior of matter and energy under extreme conditions or on a very large or very small scale. For example, atomic and nuclear physics study matter on the smallest scale at which chemical elements can be identified. The physics of elementary particles is on an even smaller scale since it
2093-593: Is often called the central science because of its role in linking the physical sciences. For example, chemistry studies properties, structures, and reactions of matter (chemistry's focus on the molecular and atomic scale distinguishes it from physics ). Structures are formed because particles exert electrical forces on each other, properties include physical characteristics of given substances, and reactions are bound by laws of physics, like conservation of energy , mass , and charge . Fundamental physics seeks to better explain and understand phenomena in all spheres, without
2184-506: Is possible only in discrete steps proportional to their frequency. This, along with the photoelectric effect and a complete theory predicting discrete energy levels of electron orbitals , led to the theory of quantum mechanics improving on classical physics at very small scales. Quantum mechanics would come to be pioneered by Werner Heisenberg , Erwin Schrödinger and Paul Dirac . From this early work, and work in related fields,
2275-485: Is the scientific study of matter , its fundamental constituents , its motion and behavior through space and time , and the related entities of energy and force . Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. A scientist who specializes in the field of physics is called a physicist . Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines . Over much of the past two millennia, physics, chemistry , biology , and certain branches of mathematics were
2366-399: Is the inclusion of a descriptive component, as seen in a recent definition by H.W. Greene: "Descriptive ecology and ethology". Several authors have argued for a more expansive view of natural history, including S. Herman, who defines the field as "the scientific study of plants and animals in their natural environments. It is concerned with levels of organization from the individual organism to
2457-431: Is using physics or conducting physics research with the aim of developing new technologies or solving a problem. The approach is similar to that of applied mathematics . Applied physicists use physics in scientific research. For instance, people working on accelerator physics might seek to build better particle detectors for research in theoretical physics. Physics is used heavily in engineering. For example, statics,
2548-550: The American Society of Naturalists and Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists . Professional societies have recognized the importance of natural history and have initiated new sections in their journals specifically for natural history observations to support the discipline. These include "Natural History Field Notes" of Biotropica , "The Scientific Naturalist" of Ecology , "From the Field" of Waterbirds , and
2639-536: The Industrial Revolution as energy needs increased. The laws comprising classical physics remain widely used for objects on everyday scales travelling at non-relativistic speeds, since they provide a close approximation in such situations, and theories such as quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity simplify to their classical equivalents at such scales. Inaccuracies in classical mechanics for very small objects and very high velocities led to
2730-405: The Industrial Revolution prompted the development of geology to help find useful mineral deposits. Modern definitions of natural history come from a variety of fields and sources, and many of the modern definitions emphasize a particular aspect of the field, creating a plurality of definitions with a number of common themes among them. For example, while natural history is most often defined as
2821-609: The Latin physica ('study of nature'), which itself is a borrowing of the Greek φυσική ( phusikḗ 'natural science'), a term derived from φύσις ( phúsis 'origin, nature, property'). Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences . Early civilizations dating before 3000 BCE, such as the Sumerians , ancient Egyptians , and the Indus Valley Civilisation , had a predictive knowledge and
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2912-486: The Natural History Society of Northumbria founded in 1829, London Natural History Society (1858), Birmingham Natural History Society (1859), British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Glasgow Natural History Society, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880, Whitby Naturalists' Club founded in 1913, Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society and
3003-608: The Northern Hemisphere . Natural philosophy has its origins in Greece during the Archaic period (650 BCE – 480 BCE), when pre-Socratic philosophers like Thales rejected non-naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena and proclaimed that every event had a natural cause. They proposed ideas verified by reason and observation, and many of their hypotheses proved successful in experiment; for example, atomism
3094-465: The Renaissance , and quickly became a third branch of academic knowledge, itself divided into descriptive natural history and natural philosophy , the analytical study of nature. In modern terms, natural philosophy roughly corresponded to modern physics and chemistry , while natural history included the biological and geological sciences. The two were strongly associated. During the heyday of
3185-472: The Renaissance , making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history books. From the ancient Greeks until the work of Carl Linnaeus and other 18th-century naturalists, a major concept of natural history was the scala naturae or Great Chain of Being , an arrangement of minerals, vegetables, more primitive forms of animals, and more complex life forms on a linear scale of supposedly increasing perfection, culminating in our species. Natural history
3276-619: The Standard Model of particle physics was derived. Following the discovery of a particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson at CERN in 2012, all fundamental particles predicted by the standard model, and no others, appear to exist; however, physics beyond the Standard Model , with theories such as supersymmetry , is an active area of research. Areas of mathematics in general are important to this field, such as
3367-439: The camera obscura (his thousand-year-old version of the pinhole camera ) and delved further into the way the eye itself works. Using the knowledge of previous scholars, he began to explain how light enters the eye. He asserted that the light ray is focused, but the actual explanation of how light projected to the back of the eye had to wait until 1604. His Treatise on Light explained the camera obscura , hundreds of years before
3458-579: The empirical world. This is usually combined with the claim that the laws of logic express universal regularities found in the structural features of the world, which may explain the peculiar relation between these fields. Physics uses mathematics to organise and formulate experimental results. From those results, precise or estimated solutions are obtained, or quantitative results, from which new predictions can be made and experimentally confirmed or negated. The results from physics experiments are numerical data, with their units of measure and estimates of
3549-528: The gentleman scientists , many people contributed to both fields, and early papers in both were commonly read at professional science society meetings such as the Royal Society and the French Academy of Sciences —both founded during the 17th century. Natural history had been encouraged by practical motives, such as Linnaeus' aspiration to improve the economic condition of Sweden. Similarly,
3640-642: The modern evolutionary synthesis ). Still, the traditions of natural history continue to play a part in the study of biology, especially ecology (the study of natural systems involving living organisms and the inorganic components of the Earth's biosphere that support them), ethology (the scientific study of animal behavior), and evolutionary biology (the study of the relationships between life forms over very long periods of time), and re-emerges today as integrative organismal biology. Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building
3731-491: The standard consensus that the laws of physics are universal and do not change with time, physics can be used to study things that would ordinarily be mired in uncertainty . For example, in the study of the origin of the Earth, a physicist can reasonably model Earth's mass, temperature, and rate of rotation, as a function of time allowing the extrapolation forward or backward in time and so predict future or prior events. It also allows for simulations in engineering that speed up
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3822-559: The "Natural History Miscellany section" of the American Naturalist . Natural history observations have contributed to scientific questioning and theory formation. In recent times such observations contribute to how conservation priorities are determined. Mental health benefits can ensue, as well, from regular and active observation of chosen components of nature, and these reach beyond the benefits derived from passively walking through natural areas. Physics Physics
3913-435: The 16th and 17th centuries, and Isaac Newton 's discovery and unification of the laws of motion and universal gravitation (that would come to bear his name). Newton also developed calculus , the mathematical study of continuous change, which provided new mathematical methods for solving physical problems. The discovery of laws in thermodynamics , chemistry , and electromagnetics resulted from research efforts during
4004-537: The Elder 's encyclopedia of this title , published c. 77 to 79 AD , which covers astronomy , geography , humans and their technology , medicine , and superstition , as well as animals and plants. Medieval European academics considered knowledge to have two main divisions: the humanities (primarily what is now known as classics ) and divinity , with science studied largely through texts rather than observation or experiment. The study of nature revived in
4095-670: The Natural History Institute (Prescott, Arizona): Natural history – a practice of intentional focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy – is the oldest continuous human endeavor. In the evolutionary past of our species, the practice of natural history was essential for our survival, imparting critical information on habits and chronologies of plants and animals that we could eat or that could eat us. Natural history continues to be critical to human survival and thriving. It contributes to our fundamental understanding of how
4186-556: The Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield , founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending specimens back to museums in the Britain . (See also: Indian natural history ) Societies in other countries include
4277-511: The attacks from invaders and continued to advance various fields of learning, including physics. In the sixth century, Isidore of Miletus created an important compilation of Archimedes ' works that are copied in the Archimedes Palimpsest . In sixth-century Europe John Philoponus , a Byzantine scholar, questioned Aristotle 's teaching of physics and noted its flaws. He introduced the theory of impetus . Aristotle's physics
4368-434: The concepts of space, time, and matter from that presented by classical physics. Classical mechanics approximates nature as continuous, while quantum theory is concerned with the discrete nature of many phenomena at the atomic and subatomic level and with the complementary aspects of particles and waves in the description of such phenomena. The theory of relativity is concerned with the description of phenomena that take place in
4459-409: The constant speed predicted by Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. This discrepancy was corrected by Einstein's theory of special relativity , which replaced classical mechanics for fast-moving bodies and allowed for a constant speed of light. Black-body radiation provided another problem for classical physics, which was corrected when Planck proposed that the excitation of material oscillators
4550-466: The development of a new technology. There is also considerable interdisciplinarity , so many other important fields are influenced by physics (e.g., the fields of econophysics and sociophysics ). Physicists use the scientific method to test the validity of a physical theory . By using a methodical approach to compare the implications of a theory with the conclusions drawn from its related experiments and observations, physicists are better able to test
4641-429: The development of modern physics in the 20th century. Modern physics began in the early 20th century with the work of Max Planck in quantum theory and Albert Einstein 's theory of relativity. Both of these theories came about due to inaccuracies in classical mechanics in certain situations. Classical mechanics predicted that the speed of light depends on the motion of the observer, which could not be resolved with
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#17327831649054732-407: The development of new experiments (and often related equipment). Physicists who work at the interplay of theory and experiment are called phenomenologists , who study complex phenomena observed in experiment and work to relate them to a fundamental theory . Theoretical physics has historically taken inspiration from philosophy; electromagnetism was unified this way. Beyond the known universe,
4823-403: The diversity of the natural world. Natural history was understood by Pliny the Elder to cover anything that could be found in the world, including living things, geology, astronomy, technology, art, and humanity. De Materia Medica was written between 50 and 70 AD by Pedanius Dioscorides , a Roman physician of Greek origin. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted in
4914-410: The ecosystem, and stresses identification, life history, distribution, abundance, and inter-relationships. It often and appropriately includes an esthetic component", and T. Fleischner, who defines the field even more broadly, as "A practice of intentional, focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy". These definitions explicitly include the arts in
5005-710: The emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research. The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional, and local natural history societies that maintain records for animals (including birds (ornithology), insects ( entomology ) and mammals (mammalogy)), fungi ( mycology ), plants (botany), and other organisms. They may also have geological and microscopical sections. Examples of these societies in Britain include
5096-682: The errors in the measurements. Technologies based on mathematics, like computation have made computational physics an active area of research. Ontology is a prerequisite for physics, but not for mathematics. It means physics is ultimately concerned with descriptions of the real world, while mathematics is concerned with abstract patterns, even beyond the real world. Thus physics statements are synthetic, while mathematical statements are analytic. Mathematics contains hypotheses, while physics contains theories. Mathematics statements have to be only logically true, while predictions of physics statements must match observed and experimental data. The distinction
5187-411: The field of botany, be it as authors, collectors, or illustrators. In modern Europe, professional disciplines such as botany, geology, mycology , palaeontology , physiology , and zoology were formed. Natural history , formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more specialized manner and relegated to an "amateur" activity, rather than
5278-638: The field of natural history, and are aligned with the broad definition outlined by B. Lopez, who defines the field as the "Patient interrogation of a landscape" while referring to the natural history knowledge of the Eskimo ( Inuit ). A slightly different framework for natural history, covering a similar range of themes, is also implied in the scope of work encompassed by many leading natural history museums , which often include elements of anthropology, geology, paleontology, and astronomy along with botany and zoology, or include both cultural and natural components of
5369-415: The field. His approach is entirely superseded today. He explained ideas such as motion (and gravity ) with the theory of four elements . Aristotle believed that each of the four classical elements (air, fire, water, earth) had its own natural place. Because of their differing densities, each element will revert to its own specific place in the atmosphere. So, because of their weights, fire would be at
5460-400: The latter include such branches as hydrostatics , hydrodynamics and pneumatics . Acoustics is the study of how sound is produced, controlled, transmitted and received. Important modern branches of acoustics include ultrasonics , the study of sound waves of very high frequency beyond the range of human hearing; bioacoustics , the physics of animal calls and hearing, and electroacoustics ,
5551-490: The laws of classical physics accurately describe systems whose important length scales are greater than the atomic scale and whose motions are much slower than the speed of light. Outside of this domain, observations do not match predictions provided by classical mechanics. Einstein contributed the framework of special relativity, which replaced notions of absolute time and space with spacetime and allowed an accurate description of systems whose components have speeds approaching
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#17327831649055642-412: The manipulation of audible sound waves using electronics. Optics, the study of light, is concerned not only with visible light but also with infrared and ultraviolet radiation , which exhibit all of the phenomena of visible light except visibility, e.g., reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction, dispersion, and polarization of light. Heat is a form of energy, the internal energy possessed by
5733-704: The modern development of photography. The seven-volume Book of Optics ( Kitab al-Manathir ) influenced thinking across disciplines from the theory of visual perception to the nature of perspective in medieval art, in both the East and the West, for more than 600 years. This included later European scholars and fellow polymaths, from Robert Grosseteste and Leonardo da Vinci to Johannes Kepler . The translation of The Book of Optics had an impact on Europe. From it, later European scholars were able to build devices that replicated those Ibn al-Haytham had built and understand
5824-468: The other Philoponus' criticism of Aristotelian principles of physics served as an inspiration for Galileo Galilei ten centuries later, during the Scientific Revolution . Galileo cited Philoponus substantially in his works when arguing that Aristotelian physics was flawed. In the 1300s Jean Buridan , a teacher in the faculty of arts at the University of Paris , developed the concept of impetus. It
5915-459: The other, you will see that the ratio of the times required for the motion does not depend on the ratio of the weights, but that the difference in time is a very small one. And so, if the difference in the weights is not considerable, that is, of one is, let us say, double the other, there will be no difference, or else an imperceptible difference, in time, though the difference in weight is by no means negligible, with one body weighing twice as much as
6006-572: The particles of which a substance is composed; thermodynamics deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy. Electricity and magnetism have been studied as a single branch of physics since the intimate connection between them was discovered in the early 19th century; an electric current gives rise to a magnetic field , and a changing magnetic field induces an electric current. Electrostatics deals with electric charges at rest, electrodynamics with moving charges, and magnetostatics with magnetic poles at rest. Classical physics
6097-602: The positions of the planets . According to Asger Aaboe , the origins of Western astronomy can be found in Mesopotamia , and all Western efforts in the exact sciences are descended from late Babylonian astronomy . Egyptian astronomers left monuments showing knowledge of the constellations and the motions of the celestial bodies, while Greek poet Homer wrote of various celestial objects in his Iliad and Odyssey ; later Greek astronomers provided names, which are still used today, for most constellations visible from
6188-440: The speed being proportional to the weight and the speed of the object that is falling depends inversely on the density object it is falling through (e.g. density of air). He also stated that, when it comes to violent motion (motion of an object when a force is applied to it by a second object) that the speed that object moves, will only be as fast or strong as the measure of force applied to it. The problem of motion and its causes
6279-412: The speed of light. Planck, Schrödinger, and others introduced quantum mechanics, a probabilistic notion of particles and interactions that allowed an accurate description of atomic and subatomic scales. Later, quantum field theory unified quantum mechanics and special relativity. General relativity allowed for a dynamical, curved spacetime, with which highly massive systems and the large-scale structure of
6370-412: The study of probabilities and groups . Physics deals with a wide variety of systems, although certain theories are used by all physicists. Each of these theories was experimentally tested numerous times and found to be an adequate approximation of nature. For instance, the theory of classical mechanics accurately describes the motion of objects, provided they are much larger than atoms and moving at
6461-451: The study of life at the level of the individual—of what plants and animals do, how they react to each other and their environment, how they are organized into larger groupings like populations and communities" and this more recent definition by D.S. Wilcove and T. Eisner: "The close observation of organisms—their origins, their evolution, their behavior, and their relationships with other species". This focus on organisms in their environment
6552-524: The system of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus . The British historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham calls Li Shizhen "the 'uncrowned king' of Chinese naturalists", and his Bencao gangmu "undoubtedly the greatest scientific achievement of the Ming". His works translated to many languages direct or influence many scholars and researchers. A significant contribution to English natural history
6643-444: The top, air underneath fire, then water, then lastly earth. He also stated that when a small amount of one element enters the natural place of another, the less abundant element will automatically go towards its own natural place. For example, if there is a fire on the ground, the flames go up into the air in an attempt to go back into its natural place where it belongs. His laws of motion included: that heavier objects will fall faster,
6734-423: The understanding of electromagnetism , solid-state physics , and nuclear physics led directly to the development of technologies that have transformed modern society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances , and nuclear weapons ; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of calculus . The word physics comes from
6825-423: The universe can be well-described. General relativity has not yet been unified with the other fundamental descriptions; several candidate theories of quantum gravity are being developed. Physics, as with the rest of science, relies on the philosophy of science and its " scientific method " to advance knowledge of the physical world. The scientific method employs a priori and a posteriori reasoning as well as
6916-573: The use of Bayesian inference to measure the validity of a given theory. Study of the philosophical issues surrounding physics, the philosophy of physics , involves issues such as the nature of space and time , determinism , and metaphysical outlooks such as empiricism , naturalism , and realism . Many physicists have written about the philosophical implications of their work, for instance Laplace , who championed causal determinism , and Erwin Schrödinger , who wrote on quantum mechanics. The mathematical physicist Roger Penrose has been called
7007-988: The validity of a theory in a logical, unbiased, and repeatable way. To that end, experiments are performed and observations are made in order to determine the validity or invalidity of a theory. A scientific law is a concise verbal or mathematical statement of a relation that expresses a fundamental principle of some theory, such as Newton's law of universal gravitation. Theorists seek to develop mathematical models that both agree with existing experiments and successfully predict future experimental results, while experimentalists devise and perform experiments to test theoretical predictions and explore new phenomena. Although theory and experiment are developed separately, they strongly affect and depend upon each other. Progress in physics frequently comes about when experimental results defy explanation by existing theories, prompting intense focus on applicable modelling, and when new theories generate experimentally testable predictions , which inspire
7098-579: The way vision works. Physics became a separate science when early modern Europeans used experimental and quantitative methods to discover what are now considered to be the laws of physics . Major developments in this period include the replacement of the geocentric model of the Solar System with the heliocentric Copernican model , the laws governing the motion of planetary bodies (determined by Kepler between 1609 and 1619), Galileo's pioneering work on telescopes and observational astronomy in
7189-510: The wildlife of the Rock of Gibraltar . For many years until 2009 the lead presenter was Lionel Kelleway . Current presenters are Trai Anfield and Chris Sperring. Other presenters include Miranda Krestovnikoff , Paul Evans Brett Westwood . and Joanna Pinnock As of August 2010 the producer is Andrew Dawes. In July 1968, two possible theme tunes for the programme were composed and recorded by Delia Derbyshire , but these were rejected and
7280-399: The works of many scientists like Ibn Sahl , Al-Kindi , Ibn al-Haytham , Al-Farisi and Avicenna . The most notable work was The Book of Optics (also known as Kitāb al-Manāẓir), written by Ibn al-Haytham, in which he presented the alternative to the ancient Greek idea about vision. In his Treatise on Light as well as in his Kitāb al-Manāẓir , he presented a study of the phenomenon of
7371-475: The world works by providing the empirical foundation of natural sciences, and it contributes directly and indirectly to human emotional and physical health, thereby fostering healthier human communities. It also serves as the basis for all conservation efforts, with natural history both informing the science and inspiring the values that drive these. As a precursor to Western science , natural history began with Aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed
7462-687: The world's large natural history collections, such as the Natural History Museum, London , and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Three of the greatest English naturalists of the 19th century, Henry Walter Bates , Charles Darwin , and Alfred Russel Wallace —who knew each other—each made natural history travels that took years, collected thousands of specimens, many of them new to science, and by their writings both advanced knowledge of "remote" parts of
7553-564: The world. The plurality of definitions for this field has been recognized as both a weakness and a strength, and a range of definitions has recently been offered by practitioners in a recent collection of views on natural history. Prior to the advent of Western science humans were engaged and highly competent in indigenous ways of understanding the more-than-human world that are now referred to as traditional ecological knowledge . 21st century definitions of natural history are inclusive of this understanding, such as this by Thomas Fleischner of
7644-799: The world—the Amazon basin , the Galápagos Islands , and the Indonesian Archipelago , among others—and in so doing helped to transform biology from a descriptive to a theory-based science. The understanding of "Nature" as "an organism and not as a mechanism" can be traced to the writings of Alexander von Humboldt (Prussia, 1769–1859). Humboldt's copious writings and research were seminal influences for Charles Darwin, Simón Bolívar , Henry David Thoreau , Ernst Haeckel , and John Muir . Natural history museums , which evolved from cabinets of curiosities , played an important role in
7735-550: Was a step toward the modern ideas of inertia and momentum. Islamic scholarship inherited Aristotelian physics from the Greeks and during the Islamic Golden Age developed it further, especially placing emphasis on observation and a priori reasoning, developing early forms of the scientific method . The most notable innovations under Islamic scholarship were in the field of optics and vision, which came from
7826-801: Was basically static through the Middle Ages in Europe—although in the Arabic and Oriental world, it proceeded at a much brisker pace. From the 13th century, the work of Aristotle was adapted rather rigidly into Christian philosophy , particularly by Thomas Aquinas , forming the basis for natural theology . During the Renaissance, scholars (herbalists and humanists, particularly) returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual monsters . Leonhart Fuchs
7917-513: Was found to be correct approximately 2000 years after it was proposed by Leucippus and his pupil Democritus . During the classical period in Greece (6th, 5th and 4th centuries BCE) and in Hellenistic times , natural philosophy developed along many lines of inquiry. Aristotle ( Greek : Ἀριστοτέλης , Aristotélēs ) (384–322 BCE), a student of Plato , wrote on many subjects, including
8008-402: Was made by parson-naturalists such as Gilbert White , William Kirby , John George Wood , and John Ray , who wrote about plants, animals, and other aspects of nature. Many of these men wrote about nature to make the natural theology argument for the existence or goodness of God. Since early modern times, however, a great number of women made contributions to natural history, particularly in
8099-417: Was not scrutinized until Philoponus appeared; unlike Aristotle, who based his physics on verbal argument, Philoponus relied on observation. On Aristotle's physics Philoponus wrote: But this is completely erroneous, and our view may be corroborated by actual observation more effectively than by any sort of verbal argument. For if you let fall from the same height two weights of which one is many times as heavy as
8190-405: Was one of the three founding fathers of botany, along with Otto Brunfels and Hieronymus Bock . Other important contributors to the field were Valerius Cordus , Konrad Gesner ( Historiae animalium ), Frederik Ruysch , and Gaspard Bauhin . The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into taxonomic groups , culminating in
8281-548: Was studied carefully, leading to the philosophical notion of a " prime mover " as the ultimate source of all motion in the world (Book 8 of his treatise Physics ). The Western Roman Empire fell to invaders and internal decay in the fifth century, resulting in a decline in intellectual pursuits in western Europe. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire (usually known as the Byzantine Empire ) resisted
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