OUTLINE

Overview
This course is a tour of the various sciences in the recorded period of the history of humankind. Educated guesses will be made as to the activities from the time periods before recorded history and in our future. We will interweave three distinct strands simultaneously by: tracing the ideas for great innovations and inventions back to their origins, highlighting the biographies of the great scientists, and simulating some of the greatest scientists' original experiments.

Underpinnings
We need to connect to our world. We are in a time where some individuals' connection to our own world is arguably at a minimum. We are faced with a vast amount of information that is fragmented and seemingly unrelated. Isn't it true that for some of us, we know our world more and love it less? Instead of gathering facts, why not try reading their meaning. Instead of seeking to increase our mastery over nature, why not look for purpose and design in nature... then sacrifice mastery for appreciation. If one reads between the lines, there is always a story. And true students of life find these stories inspiring. And where students find inspiration, they will find reasons to connect to our world. And when these students connect, we all have hope.

Course Objectives
The goals of this course are:

1. to trace the ideas for major innovations and inventions back to their origins;
2. to introduce you to the great scientists through biography;
3. to experience the actual phenomena by performing simulations of some of the greatest historical experiments of all time.

Guiding Questions
You will be asked to critically think through some of the big questions of our time.

• When has humankind progressed from science or technology in the past?
• Has the process of thinking itself changed over time?
• How do cultural, social, and psychological factors affect scientific thought?
• What is the difference between science and technology?
• How do you know when you are unbiased - just seeking scientific fact?
• What are some major biases of the past? Could we have any, now?
• Can we responsibly consult our hearts as we create new technologies?
• Can machines think?
• Should we manufacture every technology we can invent?
• How has the internet changed history?
• What should we do to progress toward the next time period?

Expectations
Your grade will be based on the following:

• 33% quality of daily participation in class discussion;
• 33% degree of depth and completeness of homework;
• 33% accuracy on tests and quizzes.

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CHRONOLOGY

THE ANCIENTS...
· Definition of Science vs. Technology
· India, Egypt, Islam, & China
· Mathematics
· Astronomy
· Technology
· Greco-Roman Culture
· Pre-Socratics, Pythagorists, & Atomists
· Greek Science: Platonism and Aristotelianism
· Medicine
· Engineering
· The Middle Ages: Christian & Islamic Science
· Physics
· ***
· Pyramid
· Magnet
· Compass
· Abacus
· Odometer
· Astrolabe
· Sun Dial
· Lever
· Wheel
· Inclined Plane
· Acids & Bases
· Salts
· Trebuchet
· Parabolic Motion
THE 16TH & 17TH CENTURIES...
· The Renaissance and Copernicus
· Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler
· Galileo and the Church
· Experimental Science
· Science and the Relation to Technology
· Descartes, Pascal, and Newton
· Mechanical and Mathematical Models
· Newtonian Physics
· ***
· Pendulum
· Clock
· Telescope
· Vacuum Tube
· Mass
· Velocity
· Momentum
· Acceleration
THE 18TH CENTURY...
· Newton's Effect on Science & Society
· The Early Industrial Revolution
· Steam Power & Machines
· Psychology
· The Birth of Chemistry, Geology, & Biology
· Darwin
· ***
· Geared Machines
· Steam Engine
· Railroads
· The Mind
· Phylogeny
THE 19TH CENTURY...
· Industrialization and European Expansion
· Faraday & Field Theory
· The Birth of Electromagnetic Devices
· Universal Lighting
· Aviation
· Automation
· What is Human Progress?
· ***
· Chemical Battery
· Generator
· Electric Motor
· Transformer
· Airplane
· Automaton
· Mass Production
THE 20TH & 21ST CENTURIES...
· Space
· Genetic Engineering
· Albert Einstein, New Physics, & The Bomb
· The Uncertainty Principle
· The Age of the Smart Machines
· The Internet
· Science, Technology, and the Modern World
· Conclusion and Review
· ***
· Rocket
· DNA
· Fission
· Photoelectric
· Computer
· Network
· Virtual Reality
· AI

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UNIT I. "Fire & Ice"
[Fighting to keep warm & just fighting ... the story of gunpowder to heat engines.]

· Project - "Fire & Ice"
· Liquid Nitrogen
· Dry Ice
· Blowing Glass
· Gunpowder, ¿flame throwers, ¿trebuchet bomb
· Topics
· What's Life?, What's Science?, "What's in a name?"
· Science vs. Technology
· Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine, & Engineering
· Biology, Chemistry, & Physics
· Ancient: India, Egypt, Islam, & China
· Stone Age vs. Metal Tools
· Gunpowder, Compass, & Paper/Printing
· Greco-Roman Culture
· Pre-Socratics, Pythagorists, & Atomists
· Greek Science: Platonism and Aristotelianism
· The Middle Ages: Christian & Islamic Science
· Properties & States of Matter
· Water: Liquid Love
· 1st & 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
· Conductors, Insulators & Heat Transfer
· Heat of Fusion, Vaporization, & Adiabatic Processes
· Friction & Entropy
· Forces & Equilibrium
· Newton's 3 Laws of Motion
· Work, Power, & Energy
· The Law of the Conservation of Energy
· Biographies
· [The Ancients]
· Pythagoras
· Socrates and Plato
· Aristotle
· Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler
· Galileo
· Descartes and Newton
· Ideas & Experiments
- [zero]
- [negative numbers]
- ['Arabic Numerals']
- [algebra]
- [calculus]
- knotted string
- abacus
- GUNPOWDER, COMPASS, PAPER/PRINTINFG
- Pyramid
- Hero's Odometer
- Astrolabe
- Sun Dial
- Lever
- Trebuchet
- WHEEL
- gear & axle
- chariots
- suspension bridge
- pendulum
- screw pump
- Automata
- Obsidian blades
- stern post & rudders
- canal lock gates
- stirrups & harnesses
- fishing reels
- hot air balloons
- seismograph
- gimbels*
- umbrella
- crank handles
- kites
- mechanical clocks
- iron plough
- seed drill
- iron chain drives
- movable type
- Galileo's Pendulum
- Galileo's Water Clock
- Galileo's Telescope
- Galileo's Inclined Plane
- Torriceli's Vacuum Tube
- Steam Engine
- Railroads
- Airplane
- Rocket
- Automation
- Mass Production

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UNIT II. "Chemicals & the Body"
[The relationship of biology, chemistry, & medicine.]

· Project - "It's Like Magic"
· Acid/Base Indicators
· Colored Fires
· The Formation of Salts
· Topics
· Carbon, Lime, & Grand Cycles
· Acids, Bases, Salts, & Water
· The Birth of the Scientific Method
· Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny
· Water, Plants, Carbohydrates
· Organic Chemistry
· Biological & Chemical Processes
· Genetic Engineering
· Electrical Nature of Matter
· The Primal, Perfect Foods
· The Aristotelian Kingdoms
· Fire, Electricity, & Acids
· The Bread of Life
· Biographies
· [The Alchemists]
· Lavoisier
· Faraday
· Darwin
· Ideas & Experiments
- PAPER/PRINTING
- vulcanized rubber
- freeze dried foods
- cloth
- linen
- glass
- iron
- concrete
- stoneware
- cast iron
- porcelain
- whiskey
- fireworks
- fire weapons
- steel
- antibiotics
- toothpaste

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UNIT III. Electric Technology on Trial: Innovation or Fabrication?

The court date for the trial has been set. It is two months away. We have an eye witness who saw the whole thing. Michael Faraday. You must find him and question him. Technology has been accused of the fabrication of inventions that are ruining our lives. But there is an opposing view. Some say that technology brings about true innovations that serve humankind. Faraday can help. He experienced the birth of almost all of the electric technology that we see around us. Oh yes, in his lifetime he witnessed the discovery of electromagnetism and the invention of the battery, the electric motor, generator, and transformer. In fact, he was responsible for most of it! But if you are smart, you can get his scientific community on the stand to support your argument. He lived at the same time as Galvani, Volta, Davy, Napoleon, Tyndall, Goethe, Henry, Franklin, Cavendish, and Priestly. And they all had a part in the birth.

Was technology born good and gone bad? Was it born to be wild? Was it good all along?

You be the judge. Imagine your colleagues as the jury. Imagine fellow students as prosecution, defense, reporters, and the expert witnesses named above. Imagine court re-enactments of the births of the relevant inventions.

The court date is set. The facts are out there. Good hunting.

TOPIC
· How does electric technology serve humankind and how does it enslave us?
GUIDING QUESTIONS
· How was electromagnetism discovered and how did it give rise to electric technology?
· When is something new an innovation?
· What role did Michael Faraday play in this turning point in scientific history?
· How were these currents reflected in the literature of Goethe and his contemporaries?
· Can you understand better what technology has become, by examining its history?
· What is the scientific essence of electromagnetic devices?
· What is the cultural shift electromagnetic devices have been used for?
LEARNING GOALS
· the biography of Michael Faraday
· the colloborative contributions of Faraday's rich community of scientists and writers
· how to make the original electromagnetic devices (battery, motor, generator, transformer)
· the general ideas of how our modern elctromagnetic devices work
· the difference between scientific investigation and the process of creating a theory
· the difference between atomic theory and field theory
EXPEDITION SEQUENCE
· fact and evidence gathering
· building actual models of devices
· preparing presentations for court
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
· Students will demonstrate knowledge by creating actual replicas of the first battery, motor, generator, transformer and explain their principles to the court.
· Students will demonstrate knowledge by preparing written arguments and presentations for court.
· Students will draw conclusions by supporting a side of the debate based on evidence.
· Students will use probability and statistics to make inferences that will stand up in court.
· Students will research the consequences of poor technology and contrast it to future possibilities of better ways of living.

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UNIT IV. "Hearing & Seeing"
[The most recent frontiers of science & technology.]

· Project - "Picture This"
· Parabolic Reflectors
· Pinhole Camera
· Lens Camera
· Camera Obscura.
· Topics
· The Nature of Sound
· Objective vs. Subjective Characteristics of Sound
· The Nature of Light
· Waves vs. Particles vs. ?
· Speed of Light
· Objective vs. Subjective Characteristics of Light
· Optics
· The Nature of Color
· Quantitative vs. Qualitative
· The History of Color Theory
· Shadows: a continuing story...
· Biographies
· [The Atomists]
· Newton, Goethe, and Aristotle
· Bohr
· Heisenberg
· Einstein
· Ideas & Experiments
- telescope
- camera
- binoculars
- glasses
- particle accelerator
- satellite dish
- Fission
- Photoelectric
- Computer
- Network
- Virtual Reality
- AI

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