The SCIENCE thread

[Brandon237]

The Escapist seems to be quite intelligent and certainly has a greater interest in science than most parts of the net, so with that in mind, let's get started!

The specifics:

1: What specific field of science do you find most interesting?
2: Why is that field specifically interesting to you?

3: Why is this field important?
4: Where is this field used practically?

5: What are the most important basics of this field of science?
6: Give some interesting, likely unknown facts about the field.
7: Clear up some misconceptions people have about it.

And for some more social discussion:

Does the media and politics often screw this branch of science over? Is it like climate change that has the die-hard opposers who laugh in the face of this "evidence" or is it relatively well accepted by most people? What is your stance on the general media presentation of modern science?

You don't have to answer all the questions (please don't if what you are about to say has been repeated 42 times already) and you can do this for as many branches of modern science as you like. And please be specific, don't just say physics or geography, say particle physics or climatology and explain that, or this could get repetitive.

If anyone mentions alchemy, there may be blood.

 

[Brandon237]

1. I find physics interesting.

2. Understanding how the universe works is amazing

3. Again, it lets us understand how everything works

4. Everywhere including space travel and electronics etc

5. I would guess the fundamental forces like gravity, electromagnetism etc

6. The main cause for insanity in the western world is trying to understand quantum mechanics.

7. It actually has practical uses, many seem to think learning new things helps no one.

I was going to include my own answer as a sample... but I think this does damn nicely for that.

6: With my limited High-school education, I tried to understand virtual particles. I think I may have had an aneurysm, but my doctor seems to nervous to tell me anything... something about how his job doesn't pay enough was heard.

7: Yeah, I get pissed off with people who think that the research money for things like the LHC is wasted. I doubt humans have the capability to ever "claim the whole universe", but understanding it, there we just may have hope

3 captchas in a row. Why?

 

[DrRockor]

1: Biology
2: I love learning about how people work. Also a creepier reason is I have a weird fascination with what can kill you
3: Medicine pretty much
4: same again
5: cells i guess. Its what all organic life is made up of
6: sphincter is the name for any ring shaped muscle.
7: related to the one above, most people think you only have one sphincter but if I remember right you have at least 3, one at the start and at the end of the stomach.

 

[Brandon237]

6: With my limited High-school education, I tried to understand virtual particles. I think I may have had an aneurysm, but my doctor seems to nervous to tell me anything... something about how his job doesn't pay enough was heard.

Yes, I read 2 books a few weeks back that covered them.

I get what they do and how they have evidence to support them but the fact they "break" the Law of conservation of energy gets me.

It's like they do break it but seeing as they disappear so fast they "don't count" in the overall picture.

The fact that there can technically be infinite of them at 1 time also just makes my brain drip out of my ears.

This is the problem with physics, it's so interesting to learn but in some ways I get more confused the more I learn .

Yeah, confusing little bastards. Also the fact that virtual photons... have static mass? I did not understand that, very much a case of "It is a gauge boson, but well it isn't... you following so far people?" Now my head hurts again.

Too true on that last one. 1 answer creates anywhere between 2 and 2 x 10[sup]insert large number here[/sup] more questions >.< Must be frustrating to actually be the person analysing all your results and finding that this happens with practically every set of results.

EDIT: surprise captcha. 4th one today in like 10 posts. Damnit. also it says "pie are round".

 

[Darksteel Mike]

<img src=http://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2012/3/9/48159916-dd36-4a4a-a377-33f0ec877350.jpg>
Bill Nye who?

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Did somebody say Science?

1: What specific field of science do you find most interesting?

Chemistry.

2: Why is that field specifically interesting to you?

I dunno. I like the way natural elements interact I guess. Making new things!

3: Why is this field important?

Chemistry is EVERYWHERE. Besides, how else am I going to get Cheezies?

4: Where is this field used practically?

Well, batteries and baking are the two that come up the quickest in my head.

5: What are the most important basics of this field of science?

Atomic weights, ion charges... Damn, have I really forgotten High School all ready?

6: Give some interesting, likely unknown facts about the field.

Chemists get all the girls.

7: Clear up some misconceptions people have about it.

Mixing up two random containers of fluids won't always guarantee a reaction. You might just end up with a mixture of goop.

If anyone mentions alchemy, there may be blood.

But that's the magical science field! D:

So yeah, I like chemistry the best but I'm certainly not going anywhere with it. More into literature, history or film here.

 

[Brandon237]

6: sphincter is the name for any ring shaped muscle.
7: related to the one above, most people think you only have one sphincter but if I remember right you have at least 3, one at the start and at the end of the stomach.

Hmm, so few replies and I have already learnt something new. Unfortunately it does detract from any variation of the saying "that ought to loosen his sphincter", particularly in referance to anything that screams and induces a screen-punching motion.

Here is a question for the people in this thread, do you consider Geography a science, an art or both?

In UK universities it can be one or the other, what is your take on it?

From what I have done of it and heard from my dad who took it in university, definitely a science. A skills-heavy one yes, but pure geography is a science I would say. Here in Third-world-topia (South Africa) the geography syllabus is not so good and vastly oversimplified. So that does make it a lot less rigorous than the other sciences (High school level only, I lack further education thanks to the crippling ailment of being only 17). Geography uses the scientific method to solve most of its problems and get its answers, and certainly relies on science a lot more than art from what I have seen of it.

 

[FalloutJack]

Okay then, sure. Bearing in mind that I have multiple interests, let's go with the one I had the most interest in at college.

{1} Geology.

{2} Useful and practical information crossed with the curiosity over this rumbling planet we sit upon.

{3} Truthfully, this study is largely about the Earth itself, but it extends into the study of nature, chemistry, and so on. If you live on it and it's a natural resource, Geology knows something about it.

{4} The study of the Earth and nature and weather patterns is intrinsec towards the understanding and prediction of all natural disasters on the planet, and thus safeguarding people from them as best we can. (Had a class actually labelled "Natural Disasters", you see.) There is alot to be said above the knowledge of chemicals as a whole as well, which was indeed covered in my intro course.

{5} I'm not sure. There's alot of relevant information. How safe the land is to build on, the function of tectonic plates, the cause of weather patterns... Lemme know when I get close to a decent answer.

{6} So, you know all of that lovely radioactive material that they mine for in order to convert into fuel rods for a nuclear reactor? The Earth is bustling with it, so much in fact and under such pressure that you could say that the half-life energy releases down there are roughly half of what warms this Earth, because the sun doesn't provide all of it. Think of all that volcanic pressure deep underneath the ground. Waaay down under, this planet is still cooking.

(7) First, you'd have to tell me what some of the misconceptions ARE.

 

[Quaxar]

1: What specific field of science do you find most interesting?

Does medicine count? If not, physics (especially astrophysics). If yes, that and physics (especially astrophysics).

2: Why is that field specifically interesting to you?

Space is beautiful and the human body interesting, basically.

3: Why is this field important?

I don't think I need to talk about the benefits of medicine.

4: Where is this field used practically?

Uh, one is for health reasons and the other gives Stephen Hawking the material for his books.

5: What are the most important basics of this field of science?

All of physics? And physiology/anatomy for the other one too.

6: Give some interesting, likely unknown facts about the field.

All elements higher than hydrogen stem from nuclear fusion inside stars. Elements heavier than iron are can only be produced by supernovas.

7: Clear up some misconceptions people have about it.

7: related to the one above, most people think you only have one sphincter but if I remember right you have at least 3, one at the start and at the end of the stomach.

Rather around 20. You've got two sphincter pupillae which dilate the pupils, two anal sphincters, two oesophagal sphincters, urethral sphincter and I don't think I can or want to name all of them from memory at this time of night.

 

[DrRockor]

Rather around 20. You've got two sphincter pupillae which dilate the pupils, two anal sphincters, two oesophagal sphincters, urethral sphincter and I don't think I can or want to name all of them from memory at this time of night.

I knew there were more than 3 but I could only remember where 3 of them were

 

[Esotera]

1: What specific field of science do you find most interesting?
Biochemistry
2: Why is that field specifically interesting to you?
I'm studying it at degree level! It's a relatively new science and is quite broad in its discipline, incorporating various parts of physics, chemistry, and biology. There's also a massive industry growing around the bioinformatics side of the field, which runs parallel to my interest in computing.

3: Why is this field important?
Without it we wouldn't understand the human genome, how cells function, and would probably be severely limited in our choice of drugs. And also we'd know a lot less about biology.
4: Where is this field used practically?
Paternity testing in courts is a good example, along with testing food to make sure it hasn't gone off, and blood tests etc in hospitals. There are also a lot of drugs & treatments that rely on information derived from this field.


5: What are the most important basics of this field of science?
Enzymes and genes. Everything in your body can be considered a really complex reaction, which in turn affects many other complex reactions (etc). There is a ridiculously large amount of interactions that occur, probably too many to study. Our job is to pick the interesting ones & understand them as best as possible, or to train computers/robots to do it.


6: Give some interesting, likely unknown facts about the field.
- A lot of reaction mechanisms actually involve quantum tunneling of hydrogen atoms in an enzyme - without this phenomenon life probably could not exist.
- Lobsters are actually blue; they turn red because the extra heat from cooking them allows a chemical reaction that changes a pigment's colour to occur.
- Our genetic code is pretty much optimal for ignoring negative effects of mutations, of all the million possible ones.





7: Clear up some misconceptions people have about it.
There's nothing wrong with GM crops! They are superior to conventional crops and we need to make their use more widespread if we want to stave off some serious hunger issues in the next few decades.

 

[Ascarus]

1. i am a biomedical engineer
2. magnets are just plain awesome.
3. advances in our understanding of magnets and magnetism have lead to dramatic improvements in medical imaging.
4. MRI
5. the basis of MRI is the Larmor frequency. this simply states that the angular frequency (precession) of a proton is equal to the strength of the applied field multiplied by its intrinsic nuclear spin (the gyromagnetic constant).
6. there are many, many types of MRI but in all cases the only thing an MRI can detect is a change in the magnetic field. it doesn't matter if you are looking at an image generated by a contrast agent, blood flow or tissue differences.
7. a 1.5 Tesla magnet has a field strength that is 30,000 times stronger than the earth's magnetic field. granted the earth's field is relatively weak but rule number one when working around MRIs is: RESPECT THE MAGNET.

 

[Quaxar]

Rather around 20. You've got two sphincter pupillae which dilate the pupils, two anal sphincters, two oesophagal sphincters, urethral sphincter and I don't think I can or want to name all of them from memory at this time of night.

I knew there were more than 3 but I could only remember where 3 of them were

Well, it gave me a good answer for point 7 so I'd say good for both of us!

 

[Arakasi]

Psychology!
Though, ofc, this comes to mind.

 

[triggrhappy94]

Psychology!
Though, ofc, this comes to mind.
(Le Pic)

HA! I love it. I'm actually taking psychology right now in high school, but it's a very 'senior' class--we watch a lot of movies and episodes of Intervention and Hoarders.

OT:
I'm planning on majoring in Economics, which by definition is techically a science.

Yeah and I don't know a lot about it. I play way too much Mario on my gameboy emulator on the computers in my Econ class.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

Psychology!
Though, ofc, this comes to mind.
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/purity.png

As a math guy at heart myself who's been saying that all along (as uncountably many people before me had too), I was so happy when that came out. I may also have an interest in physics and have mostly worked doing computer science-related stuff, both of which are basically applied mathematics, but deep down inside it's still about the math. Weird, abstract math, like metalogic and all of the fun paradoxes and developments in set theory and whatnot that developed out of that in the past century, because that stuff is just neat.

As far as whether it's even considered a science, I lean toward "no, but it's related", but there are a whole lot of different opinions. I'll leave that up to the philosophy of mathematics people. It's horribly misrepresented in the media and even in the way it's taught in schools though. It's almost like they go out of their way to make it as boring as possible and suck the life out of it and drive people away from it, but that's another rant (which is covered quite well already by this guy [http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf], so I'll stop).