What is science?

The word science originates from the Latin verb Scientia meaning " to know". The Sanskrit word Vijnan and the Arabic word Ilm convey similar meaning, namely 'knowledge'. Science, in a broad sense, is as old as human species. The early civilisations of Egypt, India, China, Greece, Mesopotamia and many others made vital contributions to its progress. From the sixteenth century onwards, great strides were made in science in Europe. By the middle of the twentieth century, science had become a truly international enterprise, with many cultures and countries contributing to its rapid growth. 

What is Science and what is the so-called Scientific Method? Science is systematic attempt to understand natural phenomena in as much detail and depth as possible, and use the knowledge so gained to predict, modify and control phenomena. Science is exploring, experimenting and predicting from what we see around us. The curiosity to learn about the world, unravelling the secrets of nature is the first step towards the discovery of science. The scientific method involves several interconnected steps : Systematic observations, controlled experiments, qualitative and quantitative reasoning, mathematical modelling, prediction and verification or falsification of theories. Speculation and conjecture also have a place in science: but ultimately, a scientific theory, to be acceptable, must be verified by relevant observations or experiments. 

The interplay of theory and observation is basic to the progress of science. Science is ever dynamic. There is no 'final' theory in science and no unquestioned authority among scientists. As observations improve in detail and precision or experiments yeild new results, theories must account for them, if necessary, by introducing modifications. Sometimes the modifications may not be drastic and may lie within the framework of existing theory. For example, when Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) examinated the extensive data on planatory motions collected by Tycho Brahe(1546-1601), the planatory circular orbits in helio centric theory( sun at the centre of the solar system) imaginated by Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) had to be replaced by elliptical orbits to fit the data better. Occasionally, however, the existing theory is simply unable to explain new observations. This causes a major upheaval in science. In the beginning of twentieth century it was realised that Newtonian mechanics, till then a very successful theory, couldn't explain some of the most basic features of atomic phenomena. Similarly, then the accepted wave picture of light failed to explain the photoelectric effect properly. This led to the development of radically new theory( Quantum mechanics) to deal with atomic and molecular phenomena.