Science and Technology Words from the Ancient Past to the Present, Part 1

(terms appearing in some "scientific" areas from about 2000 B.C. to 1799 A.D.)

constellation
A group of stars.

In many cases the stars involved are at incredible distances from one another, but they seem, from earth's perspective, to form groups.

contagion
The transmission of a disease by direct or indirect contact.
cosmology
1. The scientific study of the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole.
2. A field of study that brings together the natural sciences, particularly astronomy and physics, in a joint effort to understand the physical universe as a unified whole.
3. That branch of astronomy concerned with the origin, structure, content, and evolution of the universe.

Creation myths and the Big Bang are theories of cosmology.

cosmos
The universe.
decimal system
The number system in use throughout most of the world today, based on 10.
diffraction
That which occurs when light rays pass close to an object and bend or separate as a result.
dissection
Cutting open dead bodies in order to study their internal characteristics.
fluid mechanics
The study of fluids (liquids or gases) and their properties.

This includes hydrostatics, or the study of fluids at rest, and hydrodynamics or fluid dynamics, the study of fluids in motion.

forceps
a medical instrument, shaped like tongs, used to extract a baby during difficult births, as well as for other surgical applications.
gynecology
The branch of medicine concerned with diseases and physical care of women.
herbalist
Someone who deals in medicinal herbs.

Herbalists played a major role in medieval medicine and continue to do so in alternative medicine today.

Hindu-Arabic numerals
The number system in use throughout most of the world today, which uses ten digits, including zero.
humors
Four fluids (phlegm, blood, yellow bile, and black bile) which, according to Hippocrates and his followers, made up the human body.

Imbalances in these humors were supposedly responsible for all illnesses.

Industrial Revolution
A period of rapid development that started in about 1750 and transformed the economics of the West from a primarily agriculture-based system to manufacturing-based systems.
inertia
The tendency of objects in motion to remain in motion, and objects at rest to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force; such as, friction.

Moving objects usually grind to a halt because there is a force, or friction, trying to stop them, but if the force of friction is taken away as in space, then Newton's first law explains the function that keeps the stars, planets, and moons continually moving.

Index of additional Scientific and Technological Topics.