Discuss with examples the relationship between pure and applied science.
Pure science is the investigation of natural phenomena for the purpose of understanding. Observation leads to the formation of theories, which are tested experimentally. If the theory seems to explain all the phenomena it is classified as a principle and added to the store of existing scientific knowledge. Applied science is known today as technology, which is concerned with techniques. As pure scientific knowledge advances, so does technology or method. Since the method depends on knowledge, no improvements in the method can increase knowledge, though they can facilitate the increase of knowledge.
The historian of pure science can trace its advance from the records of the earliest recorded cultures to the 20th century, during which pure science has made greater advances than ever before.
6th to 7th Centuries B.C. Thales and his school. Pythagoras and his successors provided the first systematic method of understanding the natural world, especially in the field of Mathematics and geometry. Figures were constructed to provide proof. The Egyptians, though less interested in strict accuracy, made their contribution, as did the Arabians and Indians in the field of arithmetical notation.
17th Century. The second upsurge of pure science began with Galileo and his predecessor, Copernicus, who gave the world its first true understanding of the universe. Astronomy and Mathematics were brought together for the purposes of navigation. Francis Bacon sought to produce a system to replace that of Aristotle. The logical approach of Renee Descartes was of great importance, though the greatest advances were made by Sir Isaac Newton, who synthesized many theories into an intelligible whole.
Later advances took place in the field of biology, bacteriology, surgery, anthropology. The names of Pasteur, Lister, Darwin, and Harvey come to mind.
In the present century, atomic theory with all its consequences was developed (Dalton), and the new theories of light, relativity, and quantum mathematics. (Einstein).
Although applied science will always remain the handmaid of pure science, it is also true that the advanced machines made possible by a higher technology, enable the advance of pure science. Thus, although theory produced the telescope and the microscope as optical research instruments, electronics transformed both. The fact that we can now see into the far universe and into the construction of matter has had a profound effect on the theories concerning both.
Another example of many is the modern computer. While this remains the servant of the brain which invented it, one of its uses is to make a multitude of instantaneous calculations. This in turn eliminates the laborious mechanical aspects of the investigation and gives the researcher the tools for making rapid new discoveries.
