A student with a compulsive longing for the explanations of why and how things work is a science professor’s dream student. Thus, it would make sense for the first few steps within the science building to intensify that essential characteristic of its students by its very construction. The foyer of the science building evokes this sense of scientific wonder and rational thought through its methodical design, which is embodied at its center by a Foucault pendulum.
The Foucault pendulum is named after the French physicist Jean Foucault, who first used it in 1851 to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. It was the first observable demonstration of the Earth’s rotation. The profound bronze weight that swings back and forth is connected to a central pivot point outstretching from the glorious timber ceiling by a 55-foot cable. The pendulum’s oscillation takes place directly over a concave, circular platform approximately four feet above the ground encircled by a thick metallic railing. Its concavity is filled with bronze-colored sand, and on its railing is a sign forbidding people from touching the pendulum. At the tip of the swinging bob is a needle that protrudes two centimeters down into the sand, resulting in the formation of a line drawn in the sand at the conclusion of each swing. The line drawn continually rotates a small degree as the Earth slowly rotates. The swaying of the Foucault pendulum is known to be deceiving to its observers since it is instinctual to perceive the ground upon which one stands as unchanging, making it seem much more likely that the pendulum is moving. The stunning reality of the situation is that the pendulum’s path does not ever change; the only changing variable is Earth’s rotation.
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Most students who walk into the science building and see the pendulum know that there is specific science that explains how a pendulum works but most likely do not know its details. This provokes the awareness that something that entrancing can be explained by science, and the absence of the specific explanations provokes the longing for a more scientific understanding of the world. To someone who is not in love with science, the mathematics behind the nature of a pendulum is not very awe-inspiring, which is perhaps why the pendulum in the foyer of the science building is so exquisitely made. By hanging a 55-foot pendulum appearing to have been made of gold to a majestic, wooden ceiling encompassed with natural light, Berry College made sure that it would strike a significant amount of reverence even to those who are new to science.
For each test, I was required to calculate the height of the pendulum required in order for it to have the same mass, or the quantity of matter affected by the external force of gravity, as my project. To find the height, it required understanding the process of the pendulum hitting my project step by step. As the pendulum is pulled back, it has its maximum potential energy, which is the energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to other objects. When the pendulum is let go, it loses potential energy while gaining kinetic energy, or the energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion. At the bottom of the swing, kinetic energy of pendulum is the greatest because the change in potential energy equals the kinetic energy at the bottom of the swing. As the pendulum hits my project, there is an impulse, a force acting briefly on a body and producing a finite change of momentum, between the pendulum and project. As the pendulum hits my project, the project carries the momentum of the pendulum with it. By working in reverse order, the height of the pendulum required was
While discussing the unknown frontier that scientists must endure, Barry describes a “wilderness region” that is unfamiliar and new. He continues to say that scientists venture “through the looking glass” into a new frontier. These devices help to create familiar ideas that the audience will understand in an unfamiliar situation. A simile used to compare research to a “crystal” by explaining that “probing” was to “ precipitate an order out of chaos,” much like a crystalline structure forms an ordered structure. Finally, Berry implements a metaphor in order to describe what follows a discovery. He describes “a flood of colleagues” that “ pave roads over the path laid.” This metaphor describes how science continuously changes, one discovery after another while ultimately communicating the patience and curiosity a scientist must have. The culmination of these figurative devices teach a new way of an audience that is unfamiliar with the author's theme.
Poe, Edgar A. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Poestories. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
Have you ever watched a movie and been dissatisfied, because it was not similar to its book? There are multiple movies that seem as if they are their own story, for they don't resemble their book at all. For example, “The Pit and the Pendulum.” by Edgar Allen Poe. He, himself would not approve of the film that follows his story. For one thing, the storyline was no where near to being like his book. Another reasoning is that he wrote based of one man not multiple people. And finally, he wouldn’t of approved of the art on the walls in the room with the pit and pendulum. These are the reasonings of why Poe would not appreciate the film.
Scientific method is shown through the narrator, as he is very curious about the slowing down of the clocks, and why things
The gigantic clock of ebony is another symbolic object in the story. "Its pendulum swung
Once upon a time we were told of the earth being the center of the universe. The sun, moon, and all planets even unknown were all revolving around our planet. We now look at that statement and wonder in amazement how our species could have pondered such a thought. Through advanced mathematical and persistently working to prove his theory, Rene Descartes transformed yet another one of these worldly assumptions and proved it all wrong.
In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish Canon, published “On the Revolution of the Celestial Orbs”. The popular view is that Copernicus discovered that the earth revolves around the sun. The notion is as old as the ancient Greeks however. This work was entrusted by Copernicus to Osiander, a staunch Protestant who though the book would most likely be condemned and, as a result, the book would be condemned. Osiander therefore wrote a preface to the book, in which heliocentrism was presented only as a theory which would account for the movements of the planets more simply than geocentrism did, one that was not meant to be a definitive description of the heavens--something Copernicus did not intend. The preface was unsigned, and everyone took it to be the author’s. That Copernicus believed the helioocentric theory to be a true description of reality went largely unnoticed. In addition to the preface, this was partly because he still made reassuring use of Ptolemy's cycles and epicycles; he also borrowed from Aristotle the notion that the planets must move in circles because that is the only perfect form of motion.
Is Michel Foucault a historian or not? At the beginning of the analysis on Foucault’s historical analysis, what should be acknowledged is that none of Foucault’s works refer to his previous ones and every work is based upon a new construction of theory and method which shakes the standard norms of history writing and put his methods under suspicion by some historians. On the other hand, many others favor his work; because of Foucault’s specific approach, Gutting calls him as an ‘intellectual artisan’ who was an expert of producing intellectual equivalents of material objects and especially three kinds of them which are history, theory and myth. (Gutting 1996, 3-6) Thomas Flynn answers this question by claiming that Foucault’s all major works are histories of a
Poe, Edgar Allen. “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Poe, Edgar Allan. The Pit and the Pendulum. Mankato, Minn.: Creative Education, 1980. Print
The Enlightenment characterizes a philosophical movement of the 18th century that emphasized the use of reason to analyze and scrutinize all previously accepted traditions and doctrines. Through this application of scientific method to all aspects of life, the role of science gradually replaced the role of religion. Sir Isaac Newton, quite possibly one of the most intelligent men to exist, played a key role in the development of the enlightenment. He supplied the foundations on which all sciences since him have been built. Without science and reason the enlightenment would have been unthinkable. In fact, historians quote the publishment of Newton's masterpiece Principia in 1687 as the most logical and fitting catalyst to the enlightenment. The scientific advances made by Sir Isaac Newton contributed immensely to the movement of the enlightenment; however, his primary purposes for discovery were not for scientific advancement rather all for the glorification of God, thus Newton's incredible religiousness will be seen in this paper.
Throughout the six meditations on First Philosophy, French philosopher Rene Descartes seeks to find a concrete foundation for the basis of science, one which he states can only include certain and unquestionable beliefs. Anything less concrete, he argues will be exposed to the external world and to opposition by philosophical sceptics.
What is solitary Confinement? Solitary Confinement is the practice of isolating people in closed cells for 22-24 hours a day, virtually free of human contact, for periods of time ranging from days to decades. Solitary confinement results primarily from an individual’s behavior while incarcerated, not from their sentence. Although you are isolated and free of human contact Solitary Confinement can promote and worsen mental health issues. When being locked up in a cell for 23 hours everyday you do not get the exercise and activity that regular prisoners will get. Many of the prisoners subjected to isolation have serious mental illness and the conditions of solitary confinement can exacerbate their symptoms or provoke recurrence. Therefore Solitary
In contemporary Western society, there is an impulse to find something to project ones alienation upon. For those who support Berry’s outlook in the essay Life Is a Miracle, this entity is the scientific method. Berry argues that science, in its purest form is good, but that we rely too heavily upon the scientific method and the pursuit of knowledge, which leads to disenchantment and loss of wonderment about the world .
Teaching of everyday science for everybody has become an unavoidable part of general education. It is included in a school’s curriculum for the same reasons as any other subject, but in addition, science inculcates certain special values peculiar to it and which no other subject can provide. But besides satisfying the usual needs for its inclusion as a subject in the curriculum such as intellectual, cultural, moral, aesthetic, utilitarian as well as vocational values—science learning provides training in scientific method and also helps to develop a scientific attitude of mind in the learner. The qualities imbibed by the learner through learning science are of great value to a citizen living in the society. Hence, science is now made a compulsory subject in every system of school education right from the elementary stage. Like-wise, without good scientific aptitude an individual does not perform much in science. The phrase ‘Scientific aptitude’ involves a complex of interacting hereditary and environmental determines which produce the pre-dispositions or abilities spoken as scientific aptitude. The scientific aptitude in use implies that persons