What is Science

First of all, Science! is not the same as science. Science! is the study and knowledge of all things scientific, quasiscientific, or pseudoscientific. Anything that is obscure, incoherent, or improbable is made clear by the purveyor of Science! (also known as the Scientist!). The Scientist! has access to knowledge that even scientists do not have access to. They are truly the masters of all that is True and Scientific!

There are 3 characteristics of the practitioner of Science!

1. They always work alone. Scientists usually have teams of other scientists and technicians working with them. The Scientist!, on the other hand, works alone, in their own, small, often home-built, laboratory. The laboratory will be filled with various whirring, clicking, blinking, or bubbling pieces of lab equipment which appear to have no purpose since the Scientist! never touches them.
2. They work fast. In real science, scientists develop theories, test their theories, and then modify or abandon the theories as the evidence evolves. The process often takes years, if not a lifetime. In Science! the Scientist! gets his or her answer in a matter of days (or hours, or weeks, or minutes, depending on what timeframe is most dramatic). Usually, the Scientist! gets a bright idea, runs to the lab to test the theory, and then comes back with an unexpected, but clearly genius, answer to the mystery/problem/question in record time.
3. They are always right. Everyone else is always wrong. In real science, peer review is a critical part of the scientific process. In Science! peer review is not only unessecary, but is detrimental. Mainstream scientists never accept what the Scientist! has to say until events prove them to be soundly (and often, fatally) wrong.

Science! has evolved over time. In the 50’s and 60’s, the Scientist! was a non-specialist (and usually male). Science! gave him mastery over every possible field of study (much like the professor in “Gilligan’s Isle”). In modern times, the Scientist! is more likely to be a specialist, to acknowledge that, in the real world, most scientists are specialists. What they get wrong, however, undermines the one thing they tried to get right. For example, in the TV show Stargate SG-1. The character of Sam Carter is a Scientist! specializing in physics, while Daniel Jackson is a Scientist! specializing in archaeology. They both (especially Sam) have the attributes of the Scientist!, however. 1) They work alone, 2) they solve the mysteries of the universe in a few hours or days, and 3) most of the other scientists (when they show up with a theory) are wrong.

Another example of a modern Scientist! is the protagonist, Robert Langdon, in The DaVinci Code. Although Langdon deviates slightly from the typical Scientist! (the typical Scientist! is alone in his beliefs, but Langdon actually has the support of many of his peers), in other ways he is the same. He manages to solve the great mystery in the course of an evening, and there is never, at any time, a question that he may actually be WRONG in his beliefs.

Science For Kids

Science is a fun and interesting subject for kids because it is all around us. Some people do not realize that science is involved when in almost everything you do such as cooking, cleaning, and playing. When these people think of science they probably remember the classroom and the teachers boring lectures, but the good news is that method is becoming a thing of the past. Science is being brought onto television with police dramas such as CSI.

Most children at an elementary school age want to grow up and be a policeman because policeman help people and they always catch the bad guy. To kids this is the best thing in the world, and for us as parents we can not think of a better role model for our children than a police officer. CSI shows kids how science is used to solve crimes and catch the bad guys. While kids might not understand the exact techniques involved with DNA and others, every kid knows about fingerprints. Teachers can set up a mock crime scene and let children lift fingerprints and other crime lab techniques. At the end the children can solve the crime and write a report on who they think did it, how they figured out who did it, etc. This is a fun exercise for children to do and it is all hands on.

Another reason why kids love science is because what other subject do you get to learn about outer space. Children of all ages are fascinated with the idea about outer space and aliens. Outer space is also interesting because it involves flying in rockets and going places that nobody has gone before. The whole idea about what if lets children use their imagination and learn at the same time.

Science is also fun because you can mix stuff together and make new things. Children from a young age learn that if you take dirt and mix water to it you get mud. And the learning does not stop there, as they get older the learn more about combining ingredients to make new things. Science allows children to make play dough, cookies, slime and all sorts of other gross and fun things. Besides the fact kids can just experiment on their own to see what they can come up with.

For kids science is fun because what other subject do you get to have all of your questions answered and use your imagination to create things. Science is also filled with wonders about other worlds, such as dinosaurs and why they became extinct, outer space and walking on the moon, and solving crimes. Science involves experimenting and most kids love to try things to see if they work. For example physical science can involve dropping an egg from a roof top to see if it will break, or what will drop faster a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks. By getting hands-on kids can figure out these answers and numerous other answers, the hands-on experiments make science even more fun and exciting.

More research and development is put into military technology and innovation then any other industry or field. The evolution of the battlefield has occurred right in front of us, yet many people are unaware of how advanced the weaponry of the United States army and its allies has become. The battlefields our troops currently fight on are occupied by drones known as MQ-9 reapers and Predators, as well as a variety of unmanned land vehicles such as the SWORDS weapon system. Also we can’t forget about the advances in Fighter technology with the F-22 Raptor being on the forefront of aviation innovation.

The evolution of military technology has allowed the US military to move many of its troops out of harms way by implementing precision weaponry coupled with unmanned technologies. In the near future our battlefields could look like something from the movie Terminator with robots fighting each other and actually operating on artificial intelligence. The machines deployed in unfriendly territory will actually be linked to each other and communicate with soldiers and commanders to warn them of enemy positions or suspicious activities. Also systems like the YAL-1A airborne laser that the United States air-force has developed will keep our skies clear of ballistic missile threats.

Not only have the ground and air reconnaissances and attack vehicles been converted to unmanned applications, rifle and gun technology has developed at an incredible pace with applications such as the as50 British accuracy Sniper Rifle or the objective individual combat weapon. The Military technology that the soldier will be working with in the future will include upgraded ammunition and assault rifles as well as better and lighter armor such as the Dragon Skin system. There are many more new weapons system applications that seem lifetimes away but are being developed as we speak.

If you have ever lifted a traditional lead and acid, wet cell car battery, you know how incredibly heavy they are when they are fully charged. Not very big, they have a dense heaviness that is, if you will pardon the pun, shocking to most people. The problem with their weight is simple; the heavier each part of the car is, the less efficiently it will burn fuel. Lightening the automobile has been part of the goal of car makers for years. The steel reinforced tanks of yesteryear are not driven anymore. Those beasts have been replaced with more fuel efficient, lightweight cars in most cases. Now, as electric and hybrid cars become more and more mainstream, the eco-conscious will make the switch. Polymer storage devices could hold play an important role in energy storage.

A hybrid car uses batteries and gasoline to work. For instance, when a hybrid is coasting down a hill, the mechanical energy is converted to electricity which is then used to charge the battery for times when it is needed. Using the polymer electric storage system will allow more energy to be stored without the added bulk and weight of a traditional battery. Polymers are lighter and far more flexible than any other energy storage system seen so far.

Polymers are blended with ceramic particles to “improve energy density” (Physorg.com). The ferroelectric polymer has a higher breakdown strength while the ceramics have higher “permittivities.” In plain English, the polymer blends formulated by scientists will improve the maximum electric fields that the composite can store without decreasing. The ceramics actually allow the storage to take place.

Other uses for these polymer blends could eventually include computers, fold-able screens, and other electronic applications. Polymers can be processed at room temperature, meaning no high heat processes to worry about, they are easy to make and easy to manipulate.

Right now the only problem in dealing with the polymers is the actual blending of the ceramics and the polymer materials themselves. If they are not mixed correctly they will not store energy correctly. The ceramic particles also have individual issues when being mixed in with the polymers. All issues with the mixing must be handled at the same time or the resulting storage system will be doomed to poor performance and inevitable failure.