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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:
- to trace
the ideas for major innovations and inventions back to their origins;
- to introduce
you to the great scientists through biography;
- 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.
TOP
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
TOP
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
TOP
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
TOP
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.
TOP
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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