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The Universality of Science

 When you drop a pencil, it's science. When you digest food, it's science. Your existence and well-being is driven by science. Science is everywhere, in everyone, and in everything - a fact well missed by the majority. Recently, I attended the annual science exhibition at IUCAA, or the "Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics," as a school excursion. It was an enriching experience, one that taught me well about the importance of science and its research.
IUCAA is dedicated to the research of the cosmos, and apply various principles of science to understand it's depths. This was fascinating for me, as I had never wondered how big the universe was - ranging from the microscopic particle within the bacteria to the many billion galaxies, stars, planets, supernovas and blackholes.


 The main courtyard at IUCAA is adorned with four towering sculptures of the most prominent contributors to scientific theories and discoveries. The statues of Aryabhatta (who established that the Earth was round), Galileo (known for in-depth research and discoveries of celestial bodies), Newton (who formed the basic scientific principles), and Einstein (who solved the most complex and mind-boggling puzzles in math and science). They are respected for starting the endless journey of scientific exploration and providing the building blocks for much more intricate theories. I was amazed of how brilliant these people may have been to think ahead of their times and grasp the unknown and make sense of it. 

 A couple of informative videos about the cosmos explained the different technologies and scientific theories used to discover the secrets of the universe. For example, the Hubble space telescope is responsible for discovering most of the celestial bodies known to mankind. This had never struck me. If it wasn't for science, who'd know about our planet neighbor Mars!

 IUCAA is home to the ASC, or the Astrosat Support Cell. Astrosat is a satellite launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation on a multi-wavelength astronomy mission. It is a five-year program constructed for purely scientific exploration. However, other satellites, which are also invention of science, provide Internet connectivity, GPS, radio, calling, and much more. It's responsible for keeping the world connected, something that I'm very thankful for. It's easy to take it for granted when Google turns up with a million results in less than a second. But it's important to remember that a marvel of science is working behind the scenes to give you the information at your fingertips. 

 Inline image 2On the IUCAA campus grounds, a small workshop was held to demonstrate how science is applied to construct objects. For example, the instructor described the simple workings of a valve and is relations to pressure. These valves are what form the beginning and end of pumps, which bring clean water into your home. This small presentation emphasized that science is an integral part of our life.

Science is not a complicated concept that only geniuses can understand. It has woven itself into our society, and holds it together like a durable rope. Numerous inventions that we rely on everyday were created by people with expertise in the sciences. Chemical reactions happen around us everywhere, especially within your body. Any movement or action is measured by principles of physics. Our existence as "homo-sapiens" has been defined by the various contributions to the field of biology. IUCAA increased my interests for science, especially that of the never-ending cosmos. I hope that everyone around me, too, come to this realization. 
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