The aim of the natural sciences is to discover the laws that rule the world (Büchel, 1992). The focus lies hereby on the natural and not on the social world, although the differentiation is not always simple. There are historically three core areas of the natural sciences: chemistry, biology and physics. Nevertheless this is not a final list of research areas, since many other disciplines were later born out of these. As more knowledge is created, more specific questions arise. This leads to the fact that early natural scientists were generalists from today’s perspective, and later specialized in newly emerging disciplines such as astronomy in the beginning, different engineering disciplines later, and rather recently (i.e. in the last century) created fields such as robotics or bionics.
Chemistry Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds. Chemistry is sometimes …
Geophysics Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth’s shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; …
Geology Geology (from the Greek γῆ, gê, “earth” and λόγος, logos, “study”) is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the …
Butterflies in Costa Rica Of all the insects, none elicit pleasure and curiosity more than butterflies. Whether you are in the mountains or at the beach, butterflies are ever present during your visit to Costa Rica. There is nowhere you …
Endangered Parrots and Macaws In a sense, you could call the macaw the king of the jungle. They certainly act like it! They don’t slink around hiding in the shadows or in the brush. Their colorful plumage is reminiscent of …