Science is a cumulative body of knowledge about the natural world, obtained by the applica

tion of a particular method practised by the scientist. The word science itself is derived from the Latin scire, which means to know, to have knowledge of or to experience. Technology is the fruit of applied science, it is the concrete expression of research done in the laboratory and applied to manufacturing commodities to meet human needs. The word scientist was introduced only in 1840 by William Whewell, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. In his Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, he wrote: "We need a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should be inclined to call him a scientist." The "cultivators of science" before 1840 were known as "natural philosophers". The founders of the 300-year-old Royal Society were typical "natural philosophers". They were curious, often eccentric persons who poked inquiring fingers at nature. In the process of doing so they stated a technique of inquiry we know today as the "scientific method".

Briefly, these are the steps in the method. First comes the thought that sparks off the inquiry. (For. example, in 1896, the physicist Henri Becquerel, in communications to the French Academy of Sciences, stated that he found that uranium salts emitted rays of unknown nature. His discovery excited Marie Curie. Along with her husband Pierre, she wanted to know more about this radiation. What was it exactly, and where did it come from？)

Second comes the collecting of facts: the techniques of doing this will differ according to the problem to be solved. However it is based on experiments in which one may use anything from a test tube to an earth satellite to gather essential data. (If you do not know the difficulties which the Curies encountered to gather their facts, as they investigated the mysterious uranium rays, I advise you to read the remarkable story in the book Madame Curie by her daughter Eve. )

This leads to step three: organising the facts and studying the relationships that emerge. (These rays were different from anything known. How can this be explained？ Did this radiation come from the atom itself？ It might well be that other materials also emit radiation. Madame Curie investigated and found this was so. She invented the word radioactivity for this phenomenon. She followed this with further experimental work on only "active" radioelements. )

Step four is the statement of a hypothesis or theory: that is, framing a general truth that has emerged and that may be modified as new facts emerge. (In July 1898, the Curies announced the probable presence in pitchblende ores of a new element endowed with powerful radioactivity. This was the beginning of the discovery of radium. )

Then follows the clearer statement of the theory. (In December 1898, the Curies reported to the Academy of Sciences: "The various reasons we have enumerated lead us to believe that the new radioactive substance contains a new element to which we propose to give the name of Radium. The new radioactive substance certainly contains a very strong proportion of bariums in spite of that its radioactivity is considerable. The radioactivity of radium therefore must be enormous. ")

And the final step is the practical test of the theory--the prediction of new facts. This is essential because from this flows the possibility of control by man of the forces of nature that are newly revealed.

Note how Marie Curie used deductive reasoning in order to push on. "This kind of detective work is basic to the methodology of science. Further, she was concerned with probability and not certainty-in her investigations. Also, although the Curies were doing the basic research work at great expense to themselves in hard physical toil, they knew that they were part of an international group of people all concerned with their search for truth

A．science is concerned about the natural world

B．technology is the result of applied science

C．a scientist is a cultivator of science

D．the scientific method is indispensable in the pursuit of science