Persia Posted December 6, 2011 #1 Share Posted December 6, 2011 In 1860, British physicist Michael Faraday gave the last in a series of Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution, on the chemistry and physics of flames, eventually published as a popular book, The Chemical History of a Candle. It seems like such a simple thing, but even today, over 150 years later, scientists understand very little about the complex processes taking place within even a simple flame. http://news.discovery.com/space/what-a-simple-flame-can-tell-us-about-supernovae-111205.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karyotype Posted December 11, 2011 #2 Share Posted December 11, 2011 In 1860, British physicist Michael Faraday gave the last in a series of Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution, on the chemistry and physics of flames, eventually published as a popular book, The Chemical History of a Candle. It seems like such a simple thing, but even today, over 150 years later, scientists understand very little about the complex processes taking place within even a simple flame. http://news.discovery.com/space/what-a-simple-flame-can-tell-us-about-supernovae-111205.html This is the type of thing that causes me to wonder about other things that science claims to understand. They don't completely understand a candle flame that can be studied in any lab anywhere for almost no investment, yet I'm expected to believe that they have a deep understanding of things like the bottom of the oceans, or what's happening on an "earth like" planet many light years away. No I'm not a scientist, don't pretend to be, just don't understand some of what I'm told Just my thoughts........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blizno Posted December 12, 2011 #3 Share Posted December 12, 2011 This is the type of thing that causes me to wonder about other things that science claims to understand. They don't completely understand a candle flame that can be studied in any lab anywhere for almost no investment, yet I'm expected to believe that they have a deep understanding of things like the bottom of the oceans, or what's happening on an "earth like" planet many light years away. No I'm not a scientist, don't pretend to be, just don't understand some of what I'm told Just my thoughts........ I invite you to investigate these types of things. It's only when one doesn't understand how science works that science appears mysterious. Science is actually the least mysterious thing in the universe. Go outside on an overcast day-it's dark. Go outside on a clear day-it's bright. Record a month's worth of measurements of days that are overcast or clear and also record which of those days are dark or bright. Formulate the hypothesis that overcast days are usually darker than clear days. Test the hypothesis. See if the results confirm the hypothesis. If the results don't confirm the hypothesis, repeat the tests and invite others to repeat your carefully documented tests. If those results still don't confirm the hypothesis, change or reject the hypothesis. Test the new hypothesis...invite others to test it...etc. Science is actually very simple and easy. Try it. It's fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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