Monday, October 31, 2011

Navigating through the secrets of the scientific revolution

The Royal Society , the oldest scientific institution in the world, has since opened this week to consult the Internet archive , thousands of research that, like Newton and Darwin changed the course of history.

If you destroy all the books in the world, the journal of the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions' the fundamentals of the science of the last two centuries would be saved. For free, anyone interested can check more than 60,000 documents covering three centuries of great small discoveries and advances that have forged the current scientific knowledge, contained in the file of the company, which won this year's Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities . The award jury appreciated the push for "research and dissemination of knowledge generated by humanity" of the Royal Society, an institution that began in 1660.

Browse through the vast archive of British society can save pieces of history of science as the awful stories about the first blood transfusion. Or know of young students struck by lightning while trying to clarify the nature of electricity , in addition to scientific research transcendent as Faraday, Maxwell and Boyle.

"If you destroy all the books in the world and just stay the Journal of the Royal Society Philosophical Transactions , it is safe to say that the fundamentals of science and intellectual progress of the last two centuries would be saved, "he wrote in 1870 the biologist Thomas Huxley. British society was the first institution in the world to publish, in 1665 , a magazine that met the rigorous control standards that today are imposed on themselves the most prestigious scientific publications.

Among those who passed these checks was Isaac Newton , who published in 1672, which is considered the first scientific writing, "New theory about light and colors." He also wrote in the journal Philosophical Transactions Benjamin Franklin , who used a kite to prove in 1752 that electricity travels rays from clouds toward Earth and you can pick up artificially.

Modern science advanced to blind their first steps on a journey that you can follow in detail through the archive of the Royal Society. His publications collected curiosities such as the writings of the French astronomer Adrien Auzout , which in the seventeenth century, published his particular vision of the Earth from the Moon , in which he described the appearance that the planet should provide for a "supposed inhabitants" of the earth satellite. " For the people of the Moon , Earth must show different faces depending on the season. In winter there should be no green in most of the planet while in summer, all fields must be yellow, "he says in 1665 the astronomer, who came to design a telescope more than 300 meters to observe the Moon.

The Royal Society was inspired by the ideas of the scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) to create an institution dedicated to extending the frontiers of knowledge through the development of science, mathematics, engineering and medicine.

"Opening the file opens a fascinating window into the history of scientific progress over the past centuries and will interest anyone who wants to understand the evolution of science," said Uta Frith psychologist today, library board member of society.

Members of the Royal Society are elected for life among the leading scientists in their respective fields and among its members have included Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, James Watson and Stephen Hawking.

Today, the institution has about 1,500 members , including 75 Nobel laureates and nine Prince of Asturias, and five representatives of the British Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II.


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