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the development of scientific knowledge - Coggle Diagram
the development of scientific knowledge
scientific revolution
the emergence of modern science
between beginning of 16th century and end of 17th century
renewed drive to understand the physical world
emergence of new conclusions that falsified systems of belief that had been accepted dogmatically for many centuries
development of experimental methods
search for practical applications
Nicolaus Copernicus
heliocentric model of universe
he had little evidence to support his claim
Copernican Revolution
heliocentric model represented a massive paradigm shift
the work of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo led to a reassessment of Earth's position within the Universe
Johannes Kepler
showed that all planets follow an elliptical orbit
Galileo Galilei
showed that velocity of a falling object is not proportional to its mass as had been believed since the time of aristotle
considerably improved telescope and made new observations
Jupiter had moons
Rings of Saturn
his observations led him to prove that Copernicus was right in concluding that Earth orbited the Sun
this view got him in trouble with the Catholic church which could not accept that the universe was not centred around the Earth
faced trial by Roman inquisition and forced to recant his views
spent the last years of his life under house arrest
Isaac Newton
based his approach on inductive reasoning, mathematical logic and the experimental verification of hypotheses
came up with a new philosophy of a mechanised universe that follows mathematical principles
used Kepler's laws of planetary motion
proposed a universe held together by gravitational forces
motion in universe could be explained through his 3 laws of motion
with this, he could work out the masses of the planets, explain the moons orbit and explain tides
brought copernican revolution to its end
science after Newton and the Scientific Revolution
Newton revolutionalised science
remained more or less unchanged up to modern times though some of his assumptions were much later shown to be incorrect
the universe is much more complex than Newton could ever imagine
Lavoisier
discovered oxygen
found out when something burns it combines with oxygen
Dmitri Mendeleev
created periodic table of elements following Dalton's Atomic Theory
Max Planck
quantum theory
led to development of quantum mechanics
Albert Einstein
general theory of relativity
space and time form part of one continuum
gravity is not a force but a distortion of this space time continuum
Darwin's Theory of Evolution
led to reassessment of origins of life and mans place in nature
evolution - gradual change in the characteristics of populations of living organisms over successive generations
science in antiquity
not possible to pinpoint birth of science
egypt and sumerians of mesopotamia
invented writing
(sumerians only)
advanced mathematical systems and astronomical data
came up with calendars that allowed them to plant and harvest crops at the appropriate time and could even predict the next lunar eclipse (without knowing anything about what was behind the lunar eclipse)
while data collected by these ancient civilizations could be considered as scientific, overall knowledge about nature was very limited and what they learnt was all tied to practical applications. no indication of any interest in knowledge for its own sake (core value of scientific inquiry)