history of science

Modern science is a body of verifiable empirical knowledge, a global community of scholars, and a set of techniques for investigating the universe known as the scientific method. The history of science traces these phenomena and their pre-cursors back in time, all the way into human prehistory. The Scientific Revolution saw the inception of the modern scientific method to guide the evaluation of knowledge. This change is considered to be so fundamental that older inquiries are known as pre-scientific. Still, many place ancient natural philosophy clearly within the scope of the history of science. The history of mathematics, the history of technology, and the history of philosophy are covered in different articles. Mathematics is closely related to, but distinct from science (at least in the modern conception). Technology concerns the creative process of designing useful objects and systems, which differs from the search for empirical truth. Philosophy differs from science in that, while both the natural and the social sciences attempt to base their theories on established fact, philosophy also enquires about other areas of knowledge, notably ethics. In practice, each of these fields is heavily used by the others as an external tool.

Theories and sociology of the history of science

Main article: Theories and sociology of the history of science Much of the study of the history of science has been devoted to answering questions about what science is, how it functions, and whether it exhibits large-scale patterns and trends. The sociology of science in particular has focused on the ways in which scientists work, looking closely at the ways in which they "produce" and "construct" scientific knowledge. Since the 1960s, a common trend in the study of the sociology and history of science (science studies) has been to emphasize the "human component" to scientific knowledge, and to de-emphasize the view that scientific data is self-evident, value-free, and context-free. A major subject of concern and controversy in the philosophy of science has been to inquire about the nature of theory change in science. Three philosophers in particular who represent the primary poles in this debate have been Karl Popper, who argued that scientific knowledge is progressive and cumulative; Thomas Kuhn, who argued that scientific knowledge moves through "paradigm shifts" and is not necessarily progressive; and Paul Feyerabend, who argued that scientific knowledge is not cumulative or progressive, and that there can be no demarcation between science and any other form of investigation. Since the publication of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962, there has been much debate in the academic community over the meaning and objectivity of "science." Often, but not always, a conflict over the "truth" of science has split along the lines of those in the scientific community and those in the social sciences or humanities (for example, the "Science wars").

Pre-experimental "science"

Main Article : Pre-experimental Science From Antiquity up to the time of the Scientific Revolution, inquiry into the workings of the universe was known as natural philosophy. The enquirers considered themselves natural philosophers (in some fields of study no longer considered scientific). An account of the development of (natural) philosophy from ancient times until recent times can be found in Bertrand Russell's History of Philosophy. In other cases, systematic learning about the natural world was a direct outgrowth of religion, often as a project of a particular religious community. One important feature of "pre-scientific" natural philosophy was reluctance to engage in experiment. For example, Aristotle, one of the most prolific natural philosophers of antiquity, made countless observations of nature, especially the habits and attributes of plants and animals in the world around him. He focused on categorizing, and made many observations on the large-scale workings of the universe, which led to the development of a comprehensive theory of physics (see Physics (Aristotle)). Yet, until the period of the Scientific Revolution, these theories were never really tested experimentally. At the time, the utility of experiment was unproven. Some believed that setting up artificial conditions in an experiment could never produce results that would describe nature as it was in the world around them.

Early cultures

Main articles: History of science in early cultures, Alchemy In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. The development of writing enabled knowledge to be stored and communicated across generations with much greater fidelity. Combined with the development of agriculture, which allowed for a surplus of food, it became possible for early civilizations to develop and more time to be devoted to tasks other than survival, such as the search for knowledge for knowledge's sake. Many ancient civilizations collected astronomical information in a systematic manner through simple observation. Though they had no knowledge of the real physical structure of the planets and stars, many theoretical explanations were proposed. Some basic facts about internal human anatomy were known in some places, and alchemy was practiced in several civilizations. Considerable observation of macrobiotic flora and fauna was also possible.

The Middle Ages

Main article: History of science in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages: Western World

See Also: Medieval medicine, Medieval philosophy With the loss of the Western Roman Empire, much of Europe lost contact with the knowledge of the past. Because of this regression in knowledge, the long period that followed is also known as the Dark Ages. While the Byzantine Empire still held learning centers such as Alexandria and Constantinople, Western Europes knowledge was concentrated in monasteries until the development of medieval universities in the 12th and 13th centuries. Initially these universities were organized to only teach theology, but people like Roger Bacon encouraged teaching of the sciences. Scientific teaching of the period was based upon copies of ancient texts that remained in Western Europe, and is known as the philosophic school of scholasticism. The rise of Christianity saw a strange paradox: classical Greek philosophy (along with Greek and Roman art, literature and religious iconography) was suppressed while at the same time it was safeguarded. Renaissance Period See Also: Renaissance The Renaissance was instigated by rediscovery of the works of ancient philosophers and an intellectual revitalization of Europe. This provided a solid foundation for all future scientific work. Contact with the Islamic world in Sicily and Spain allowed Europeans access to preserved copies of Greek and Roman works along with the works of Islamic philosophers. Translations and commentaries of Aristotle by the Islamic scholar Averros were influential in much of Europe. The published works of Marco Polo along with the Crusades helped spark interest in geography. Most importantly, the development of the printing press in the 1450s allowed for new ideas to be rapidly copied to multiple people.

The Middle Ages: Eastern World

See Also: Islamic science In the Middle East, Greek philosophy was able to find some short-lived support by the newly created Arab Caliphate (Empire). With the spread of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries, a period of Islamic scholarship lasted until the 14th century. This scholarship was aided by several factors. The use of a single language, Arabic, allowed communication without need of a translator. Access to Greek and Roman texts from the Byzantine Empire along with Indian sources of learning provided Islamic scholars a knowledge base to build upon. In addition, there was the Hajj. This annual pilgrimage to Mecca facilitated scholarly collaboration by bringing together people and new ideas from all over the Islamic world. In Islamic versions of early scientific method, ethics played an important role. During this period the concepts of citation and peer review were developed. Previous work in medicine, astronomy and mathematics led to the development of alchemy. In mathematics, the Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to what is now called an algorithm; the word algebra is derived from al-jabr, the beginning of the title of one of his publications. Al-Batani (850-929) contributed to astronomy and mathematics and Al-Razi to chemistry. The fruits of these contributions can be seen in Damascus steel (wootz steel), and the Baghdad Battery. Arab alchemy inspired Roger Bacon, and later Isaac Newton, too. In astronomy, Al-Batani improved the measurements of Hipparchus, preserved in the translation of the Greek H Megal Syntaxis (The great treatise) translated as Almagest. Al-Batani also improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the earth's axis.

The Scientific Revolution

Main article: Scientific Revolution Modern science in Europe began in a period of great upheaval. The Protestant Reformation, the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, the Fall of Constantinople, the Spanish Inquisition, but also the re-discovery of Aristotle in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries presaged large social and political changes. Thus, a suitable environment was created in which it became possible to question scientific doctrine, in much the same way that Martin Luther and John Calvin questioned religious doctrine. The works of Ptolemy (Astronomy), Galen (Medicine), and Aristotle (Physics) were found to not always match everyday observations. For example, an arrow flying through the air after leaving a bow contradicts with Aristotle's assertion that the natural state of all objects is at rest. Also, work by Vesalius on human cadavers also found problems with the Galenian anatomy. The willingness to question previously held truths and search for new answers resulted in a period of major scientific advancements, now known as the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution is held by most historians (e.g., Howard Margolis) to have begun in 1543, when there was brought to the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus the first printed copy of the book De Revolutionibus. The thesis of this book is that the Earth moves around the Sun. The period culminated with the publication of the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687 by Isaac Newton. Other significant scientific advances were made during this time by Galileo Galilei, Christiaan Huygens, Johannes Kepler, and Blaise Pascal. In philosophy, major contributions were made by Francis Bacon, Sir Thomas Browne, Ren Descartes, and Thomas Hobbes. The basics of scientific method were also developed: the new way of thinking emphasized experimentation and reason over traditional considerations.

Contemporary science

After the Scientific Revolution, knowledge grew explosively and diversified into different fields of scientific inquiry, each with its own history and prospects. This growth has been largest through the 19th and 20th century. Despite having diversified, new discoveries have given a better understanding of the world as a whole.

Natural sciences

Physics

Main article: History of physics After Newton had defined classical mechanics, the next field of inquiry within physics was the nature of electricity. Observations in the 17th and 18th century by scientists such as Robert Boyle, Stephen Gray, and Benjamin Franklin established a basic understanding of electrical charge and current. In 1821, Michael Faraday integrated the study of electricity with magnetism. He demonstrated that a moving magnet induces an electric current in a conductor. Faraday also formulated a physical conception of (what are now called) electromagnetic fields. In 1864, James Clerk Maxwell built upon this conception with an interlinked set of 20 equations that explained the interaction between electric and magnetic field. Using vector calculus, the equations were later reduced to four equations. It was observed that Maxwell's equations can also be used to describe light. This observation was confirmed with the 1888 discovery of radio by Heinrich Hertz, and in 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen detected X rays. The ability to describe light in electromagnetic terms helped serve as a springboard for Albert Einstein's 1905 publication of his theory of special relativity. This theory combined classical mechanics with Maxwell's equations. Einstein built further on this by including gravity into his calculations, publishing his theory of general relativity in 1915. One part of the theory of general relativity is Einstein's field equation. This describes how the mass-energy tensor creates a curvature in spacetime, and when combined with the geodesic equation forms the basis of general relativity. Further work on Einstein's field equation produced results which predicted the Big Bang, black holes, and the expanding universe. Einstein believed in a static universe and attempted to fix his equation to allow for this, but by 1927 the expanding universe was sought for by astronomers, and in 1929 evidence was found by Edwin Hubble. Henri Becquerel accidentally discovered radioactivity in 1896. The next year Joseph J. Thomson discovered the electron. These discoveries revealed that the assumption of many physicists that atoms were the basic unit of matter was flawed, and prompted further study into the structure of atoms. For example, in the 1950s an unexpected asymmetry in the decay of a subatomic particle was discovered. C. N. Yang attempted to explain the particle zoo with a non-Abelian gauge field, which reduced to Maxwell's equations as a special case. This is an example of the gauge theory approach to physics, now called the Standard Model, which attempts to explain all the currently known particles. In 1900, Max Planck published his explanation of blackbody radiation. He assumed that radiators are quantized in nature, which proved to be the opening argument in the edifice that would become quantum mechanics. Quantum theory helped Erwin Schrdinger, Werner Heisenberg, and Max Born to formulate a consistent picture of the chemical behavior of matter and a complete theory of the electronic structure of the atom. Schwinger, Tomonaga, and Richard Feynman were able to explain the Lamb shift using a quantum field theory and quantum electrodynamics by the 1940s. In 1959, Feynman presented the hypothesis that it is possible to manipulate matter at the level of atoms, starting the field of nanotechnology. Important developments took place during World War II, which led to the practical application of radar and the development and use of the atomic bomb. After the war, in the United States an extensive national laboratory system was established to centralize research spending in physics. The reliance on ever larger machines for experimentation, and ever larger laboratories and staffs, led physics to be thought of as the main science in the late 20th century. The two themes of the 20th century, general relativity and quantum mechanics are currently inconsistent with each other. General relativity describes the universe on the scale of planets and solar systems while quantum mechanics operates on sub-atomic scales. This challenge is being attacked by string theory, which treats spacetime as a manifold of one-dimensional objects: strings. Strings have properties like a common string (e.g., tension and vibration). The theory yields promising, but not yet testable results. The search for experimental verification of string theory is in progress.

Chemistry

Main article: History of chemistry The precursor to modern chemistry was alchemy. An important discovery in the 19th century was John Dalton's proof in 1803 that all matter is made of atoms, the smallest indestructible parts of matter. This idea had originated in ancient Greece. Dalton also formulated the law of mass relationships. In 1869, Dmitry Mendeleyev composed his periodic table of elements on the basis of Dalton's discoveries. In 1828 the German chemist Friedrich Whler synthesized urea, the first time an organic compound was synthesized from inorganic material. This opened a new research field in chemistry, and by the end of the 19th century, scientists were able to synthesize hundreds of organic compounds. The most important among them are mauve, magenta, and other synthetic dyes, as well as the widely used drug aspirin. The discovery also contributed greatly to the theory of isomerism. The later part of the nineteenth century saw the exploitation of the petrochemicals of the earth, after the exhaustion of the oil supply from whaling in the previous centuries. Systematic production of refined materials provided a ready supply of products which not only provided energy, but also synthetic materials for clothing, medicine, and everyday disposable resources, by the twentieth century. By the twentieth century, the integration of physics and chemistry was complete, with chemical properties explained as the result of the electronic structure of the atom; Linus Pauling's book on The Nature of the Chemical Bond used the principles of quantum mechanics to deduce bond angles in ever-more complicated molecules, culiminating in the physical modelling of the DNA molecule, in essence, the secret of life, in the words of Francis Crick. The co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, James Watson, was to treasure a gift from Crick, a copy of Pauling's book. Watson and Crick deduced the structure of DNA by physical modelling. Their helical structure was simultaneously confirmed by x-ray crystallography at William Bragg's laboratory in Cambridge. Pauling was very close to discovery as well; his hypothetical structure a triple helix rather than the double helix of DNA. In the same year, the Miller-Urey experiment demonstrated that basic constituents of DNA, simple amino acids, could themselves be built up from simpler molecules in a simulation of primordial processes on Earth. In the mid-twentieth century, control of the electronic structure of semiconductor materials was made precise by the creation of single-crystal circuits. Advances in processing technology, like that utilized in other parts of the materials industry, coupled with the advance of optical and x-ray sources, made possible the miniaturization of electrical circuits, culminating in the integrated circuits of the twentieth century. In this way computer program logic could be realized and mechanized for computation and control.

Geology

Main article: Geology (history) Chinese polymath Shen Kua (1031 - 1095) formulated a hypothesis for the process of land formation: based on his observation of fossil shells in a geological stratum in a mountain hundreds of miles from the ocean, he inferred that the land was formed by erosion of the mountains and by deposition of silt. The work on rocks Peri lithōn by Theophrastus, remained authoritative for millennia: its interpretation of fossils was not overturned until after the Scientific Revolution. By the 1700s Jean-Etienne Guettard and Nicolas Desmarest hiked central France and recorded their observations on geological maps; Guettard recorded the first observation of the volcanic origins of this part of France. James Hutton recorded his Theory of the Earth in the 1788 Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, later called uniformitarianism. In 1811 Georges Cuvier and Alexandre Brongniart published their explanation of the antiquity of the Earth, inspired by Cuvier's discovery of fossil elephant bones in Paris. They formulated the principle of stratigraphic succession of the layers of the earth. They were independently anticipated by William Smith's stratigraphic studies on England and Scotland. By 1827 Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology reiterated Hutton's uniformitarianism, which influenced the thought of Charles Darwin. The most significant advance in 20th century geology has been the development of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s. Plate tectonic theory arose out of two separate geological observations: seafloor spreading and continental drift. The theory revolutionized the Earth sciences.

Astronomy

Main article: History of astronomy Advances in astronomy and in optical systems in the 19th century resulted in the first observation of an asteroid (Ceres) in 1801, and the discovery of Neptune in 1846. In the 1840s, the first galaxies outside our solar system were observed by (William Parsons). George Gamow, Ralph Alpher, and Robert Herman had calculated that there should be evidence for a Big Bang in the background temperature of the universe. In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered a 3 Kelvin background hiss in their Bell Labs radiotelescope, which was evidence for this hypothesis, and formed the basis for a number of results that helped determine the age of the universe. Supernova SN1987A was the latest of seven to be observed by astronomers on Earth in the last 1000 years; the solar neutrino detectors at Kamiokande also observed this event in a triumph for neutrino astronomy, as the solar neutrino flux was a fraction of its theoretically-expected value. This discrepancy forced a change in some values in the standard model for particle physics.

Biology and Medicine

Main articles: History of biology, History of medicine Hungarian physician Ignc Flp Semmelweis in 1847 dramatically reduced the occurrency of puerperal fever by the simple experiment of requiring physicians to wash their hands before attending to women in childbirth. His discovery predated the germ theory of disease. However, his discoveries were not appreciated by his contemporaries and came into use only with discoveries of British surgeon Joseph Lister, who in 1865 proved the principles of antisepsis. His work is based on the very important discoveries made by French biologist Louis Pasteur. He was able to link some microorganisms with disease. This brought a revolution in medicine. He also devised one of the most important methods in preventive medicine, when in 1880 he produced the vaccine against rabies. Pasteur also invented the process of pasteurization to help prevent the spread of disease through milk and other foods. Among the most prominent and far-reaching theories in all of science was the theory of evolution by natural selection put forth by the British naturalist Charles Darwin in his On the Origin of Species in 1859. Darwin's theory proposed that all differences in animals were formed by natural processes over long periods of time, and that even humans were simply evolved organisms. Implications of evolution on fields outside of pure science have led to both opposition and support from different parts of society, and profoundly influenced the popular understanding of "man's place in the universe". In the early 20th century, the study of heredity became a major investigation after the rediscovery in 1900 of the laws of inheritance developed by the Austrian monk Gregor Mendel in 1866. Mendel's laws provided the beginnings of the study of genetics, which became a major field of research for both scientific and industrial research. By 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick clarified the basic structure of DNA, the genetic material for expressing life in all its forms. In the late 20th century, the possibilities of genetic engineering became practical for the first time, and a massive international effort began in 1990 to map out an entire human genome (the Human Genome Project) has been touted as potentially having large medical benefits.

Ecology

Main article: Ecology (history) The famous Earthrise picture, taken in 1968 by the astronauts of Apollo 8, was important in creating awareness of the finiteness of Earth, and the limits of its natural resources. The interconnection and interpendence of each component ecosystem may imply that human beings should not exploit Earth's resources, without regard for its main ecosystems (air, water, ground, plants and animals). This change of sensitivity to ecological issues has now been well established in Western civilization. Still, industrialized deforestation has occurred in the exploitation of the forests of Southeast Asia and the Amazon rainforest. It may be hypothesized that other vital and free goods (such as air) will, one day, be subject to price.

Social Sciences

Successful use of the scientific method in the physical sciences lead to the same methodology being adapted to better understand the many fields of human endeavor. It is from this effort that the social sciences are derived.

Political Science

Main article: History of political science One of the basic requirements for a scientific community is the existence and approval of a political sponsor; in England, the Royal Society operates under the aegis of the monarchy; in the US, the National Academy of Sciences was founded by Act of Congress; etc. Otherwise, when the basic elements of knowledge were being formulated, the political rulers of the respective communities could choose to arbitrarily either support or disallow the nascent scientific communities. For example, Alhazen had to feign madness to avoid execution. The polymath Shen Kuo lost political support, and could not continue his studies until he came up with discoveries that showed his worth to the political rulers. The admiral Zheng He could not continue his voyages of exploration after the emperors withdrew their support. Another famous example was the suppression of the work of Galileo, and before him, Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake, for his statements on cosmology; by the twentieth century, Galileo would be pardoned.

Linguistics

Main article: History of linguistics One of the fundamental requirements for a science is a set of defined terms, as a basis for communicating knowledge. One requisite for this is the capacity for self-reflection, which requires leisure. Thus in the Chinese family of languages, it took a scholar to point out to his benefactor, an Emperor of China, that his language was tonal, by constructing a sentence with the same words, spoken with different tones, which conveyed the meanings.

Economics

Main article: History of economic thought The basis for classical economics was developed by Adam Smith in 1776 in his An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Smith criticized mercantilism, advocating a system of free trade with division of labour. He postulated an "Invisible Hand" that large economic systems could be self-regulating through a process of enlightened self-interest. A different type of economics, developed by Karl Marx (so-called Marxian economics) was based on the labor theory of value and assumed the value of a good was based on the amount of labor required to produce it. Under this assumption, capitalism was based on employeers not paying the full value of workers labor to create a profit. An early response to Marxian economics was made by the Austrian school. Under this school of thought, the driving force of economic development is entrepreneurship. This replaces the labor theory of value by a system of supply and demand. From the 1920s, John Maynard Keynes prompted a division between microeconomics and macroeconomics. Under Keynesian economics macroeconomic trends can overwhelm economic choices made by individual. Governments should promote aggregate demand for goods as a means to encourage economic expansion. Following World War II, Milton Friedman created the concept of monetarism. Friedman focused on using the supply and demand of money as a method of controlling economic activity. This work was later adapted in the 1970s into supply-side economics which advocates reducing taxes as a means to increase the amount of money available for economic expansion. Other modern schools of economic thought are New Classical economics and New Keynesian economics. New Classical economics, developed in the 1970s, emphasises solid microeconomics as the basis for macroeconomic growth. New Keynesian economics was created partially in response to New Classical economics, and deals with how innefficiencies in the market create a need for control by a central bank or government.

Psychology

Main article: History of psychology The end of the 19th century marks the start of psychology as a scientific enterprise. The year 1879 is commonly seen as the start of psychology as an independent field of study, because in that year Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological research (in Leipzig). Other important early contributors to the field include Hermann Ebbinghaus (a pioneer in studies on memory), Ivan Pavlov (who discovered the learning process of classical conditioning), and Sigmund Freud. Freud's influence has been enormous, though more as cultural icon than a force in (scientific) psychology. Freud's basic theories postulated the existence in humans of various unconscious and instinctive "drives", and that the "self" existed as a perpetual battle between the desires and demands of the internal id, ego, and superego. The 20th century saw a rejection of Freud's theories as being too unscientific, and a reaction against Edward Titchener's abstract approach to the mind. This led to the formulation of behaviorism by John B. Watson, which was popularized by B.F. Skinner. Behaviorism proposed epistemologically limiting psychological study to overt behavior, since that could be quantified and easily measured. Scientific knowledge of the "mind" was considered too metaphysical, hence impossible to achieve. The final decades of the 20th century have seen the rise of a new interdisciplinary approach to studying human psychology, known collectively as cognitive science. Cognitive science again considers the "mind" as a subject for investigation, using the tools of evolutionary psychology, linguistics, computer science, philosophy, and neurobiology. This new form of investigation has proposed that a wide understanding of the human mind is possible, and that such an understanding may be applied to other researcg domains, such as artificial intelligence.

Sociology

Main article: History of sociology Sociology as a scientific discipline emerged in the early 19th century as an academic response to the challenge of modernity: as the world is becoming smaller and more integrated, people's experience of the world is increasingly atomized and dispersed. Sociologists try to understand what holds social groups together, and to develop an "antidote" to social disintegration.

Anthropology

Main article: History of anthropology Anthropology can best be understood as an outgrowth of the Age of Enlightenment. It was during this period that Europeans attempted systematically to study human behavior. Traditions of jurisprudence, history, philology and sociology developed during this time and informed the development of the social sciences of which anthropology was a part. At the same time, the romantic reaction to the Enlightenment produced thinkers such as Johann Gottfried Herder and later Wilhelm Dilthey whose work formed the basis for the culture concept which is central to the discipline. Traditionally, much of the history of the subject was based on colonial encounters between Europe and the rest of the world, and much of 18th and 19th century anthropology is now classed as forms of scientific racism. In the mid-20th century, much of the methodologies of earlier anthropological and ethnographical study were reevaluated with an eye towards research ethics, while at the same time the scope of investigation has broadened far beyond the traditional study of "primitive cultures" (scientific practice itself is often an arena of anthropological study).

Emerging disciplines

With the explosion of learning and knowledge during the 20th century a number of new scientific fields emerged. A sampling of these new fields is shown below.

Communication studies

Communication studies combines the studies of animal communication, information theory, marketing, public relations, telecommunications and other forms of communications.

Computer science

Built mostly upon a foundation of theoretical linguistics, discrete mathematics, and electrical engineering, computer science studies the nature and limits of computation. Fields of specialization include computability, computational complexity, database design, computer networking, artificial intelligence, and the design of computer hardware. Computer science provides much of the theoretical basis for software engineering.

Materials science

Materials science is an interdisciplinary field that combines chemistry, physics, and several engineering disciplines. The field studies metals, ceramics, plastics, semiconductors, and composite materials. Its historical roots are in the disciplines of metallurgy, minerology, and crystallography.

Notes

Alpher, Herman, and Gamow. Nature 162,774 (1948). Wilson's 1978 Nobel lecture James D. Watson and Francis H. Crick. "Letters to Nature: Molecular structure of Nucleic Acid." Nature 171, 737738 (1953). C.S. Wu's contribution to the overthrow of the conservation of parity - see also the CWP, below

References

Thomas S. Kuhn (1996). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (3rd ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226458075
Howard Margolis (2002). It Started with Copernicus. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-138507-X
Joseph Needham. Science and Civilisation in China. Multiple volumes (1954-2004).
Bertrand Russell (1945). A History of Western Philosophy: And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Leonard C. Bruno (1989), The Landmarks of Science. ISBN 0-8160-2137-6