Starting in science

At any age, you can start learning science, and become later a scientist. You can become a scientist being a teenager, a good amount of scientists have started studying since at that age, and not after 18 years old.

In this text you can learn the basic definitions related to science, in order to understand enough about it for any purpose.

What's a scientist?

A scientist is a professional who works on science, by developing new scientific theories and/or new inventions. The areas of knowledge a scientist knows are chemistry, biology, physics and informatics. More secondary, it's also useful the knowledge in maths. Although those areas are the ones that make a person a scientist, most scientist usually study also philosophy, cultural areas (anthropology, history, arts, among others) and politics.

A person can study to be a scientist starting from the adolescence, it's not needed to wait longer to start learning science.

Areas of science

• Physics: Laws of behaviour of the natural world, the study of matter in the quantum level of zoom (and not previously, at a previous level it's part of chemistry), and the study of the universe.
• Chemistry: The study of molecules and the chemical reactions that synthesize them.
• Biology: The study of life, both at the microscopic level with cells and biomolecules, and at the macroscopic level with animals and plants.
• Informatics: The study of data, computers, programs and abstract ideas and mechanisms done with data. The area of computers is called also computing, informatics is the abstract name for including data and abstractions with that data.

Related to the study of entities similar to molecules, but created with atoms different than common atoms, entities which can then by called exomolecules, the field of study can be called exochemistry.

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science whose object of study are the atoms, the molecules and the chemical reactions.

The atoms are the constituents of the molecules. Inside the molecules, they are represented as spheres joined with other atoms through chemical bonds, which are represented as cylinders.

The matter, which is the solids, liquids and gases are all composed of molecules and atoms, and only of those, there's nothing more that composes matter.

Gases are composed of free molecules floating around the space, not interacting between them. Not all molecules have color, and that's why gases are transparent. The air, which is the gas of the planet, is composed of nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), water vapor (H2O in gas state), among other gases in lower amounts than those. The air doesn't has to be confused with the other gases, the other gases can be composed of any molecule in gas state.

Liquids are composed of molecules that aren't free, as in gases. The difference is they have intermolecular forces between them enoughly strong to make them to stay together and move jointly. Then, they aren't naturally separated of each other, and, instead, they remaing together and move together with change in the environment. Solids are composed of molecules with intermolecular forces strong enough to be maintained together instead of falling apart by the force of gravity. Then, a solid remains being a solid independent of the force of gravity or of the electromagnetic forces, without being separated by interactions with them. Plasmas are composed of charges molecules, which the difference related to gases being that the separated molecules are charged. Then, plasmas are dangerous, and can be seen as electric rays. Only when there's a circulating current plasmas appear as circulaing rays, otherwise they can't be seen, as gases. Substances are composed of more than one molecule, instead, they are composed by millions or billions of them. Pure substances are substances that are composed of only one molecule, mixtures are instead composed of more than one different kind of molecule. Periodic properties of atoms are the properties of atoms. Because the properties of atoms are related to their position in the periodic table, that's, to their periodicity and their family, their properties are then called periodic properties. The periodic properties are the atomic radius, the ionization energy. Properties of molecules Mole Reactions with moles Equipment of a laboratory for chemistry Organic molecules and inorganic molecules Pharmaceuticals Materials

Biology

Physics

Laboratory

Advanced machines

Medical machines with scientific utility

Informatics

Notes system

Open science

Important scientists

Scientific method and object of study

Branches of science

Other branches of knowledge

Organizations of science

Careers of science

Careers of engineering

Careers useful in science

Careers not so directly related to science

First concepts

The first concepts to know about science are the following (you should memorize all that you don't know yet):

• Atom: Basic component of matter, which bonds with other atoms to form more complex forms of matter known as molecules.
• Electron: Atomic particle that orbitates through an atom, it's responsible of the atomic bonds.
• Atomic orbital: Trajectory done by an electron around an atom.
• Molecule: Matter formed by two or more atoms bonded to each other through an atomic bond.
• Compound: Synonym of molecule.
• Pharmaceutical: Molecules that, when ingested, do an effect inside the organism.
• Drug: Pharmaceutical that alters the state of consciousness of a person.
• Chemical reaction: Phenomenon in which two atoms start to share two or more electrons between them, inside hybrid atomic orbitals.
• Matter: Everything that exists is matter, and is composed of matter smaller, arriving to the atomic scale, where there are just atoms joined together by atomic bonds to other atoms.
• Substance: Matter formed of one or more different species of molecules, which are present in high amounts. They can be in solid state, liquid state or gas state. Exceptionally, they can be in plasma state.
• Mixture: Matter formed by two or more different substances.
• Alloy: Matter formed by two or more metals joined together.
• Material: Matter that is used to build objects.
• Exotic matter: Matter that is not composed of atoms.
• Natural: Everything that has its origin on the environment, not of artificial origin.
• Artificial: Everything that has its origin in human activity.
• Virtual: Something abstract or concrete that's similar or pretends to be something real, without being really that. This concept can be widely used with scientific disciplines to pretend fantasies to be real, which is interesting. Partial antonym of real, without being inexistent, but existing aparenting being something that exists or that has existed.
• Real: Something that really exists and that is what it's. Partial antonym of virtual.
• Digital: Something that exists virtually due to computational technology. Partial antonym of real. Some uses are synonym of virtual.
• Science: Areas of knowledge whose concept of study is part of the natural world.
• Technology: Application of knowledge to achieve some objective.
• Ancient technology: Technology created during the old age, during years previous to the common age.
• Knowledge: Truths known about an area of facts and believes.
• Philosophy: Discipline of knowledge about how to live life, which knowledges and skills are more important, all kinds of knowledge about how to ammeliorate the way persons live their life (which isn't similar to math or to the laws of the country), and even which can be the purposes of life.
• Science-fiction: Genre of literature which deals about future technologies that can be created reasoning realistically related to scientific evidence, their impact on life, which sometimes is positive and sometimes is negative, and any application that the technology can have.

Important concepts of biology:

• Homunculous: Life form created by artificial means, through the use of technology, instead of being created by reproduction.
• Biomolecule: Molecules that are part of the body, they are present in cells, blood vessels, etc.
• Cell: Functional unit of the body that does chemical reactions using enzymes and other types of proteins during the process, in order to contribute to maintain the equilibrium and the total energy of the body, which maintains the body alive.
• DNA: Structure of the cell that contains the genetic information of the organism, which resides inside the nucleus of the cell.
• RNA: Structure of the cell that contains genetic information, or similar information derived from genetic information, that is also used in the genetic processes that the cell uses to function.
• Tissue: Structure of the body formed by a lot of cells joined together. It does a function in the body, which contributes in maintaining the body alive.
• Organ: Structure of the body formed by various tissues, each of which doing a different function that joined with the functions of the other tissues of the organ gives as result the function of the organ, which is important in the total physiology of the organism, that maintains it alive.
• Carbohidrate: Molecule of the organism consisting on one or more rings of carbon of four, five or six atoms each ring. They provide energy to the organism.
• Lipid: Molecule of the organism consisting of one or more chains of carbon.
• Phospholipid: Molecule of the organism consisting of a polar head and two apolar tails. They compose the cell membrane.
• Aminoacid: Molecule of the organism that compose proteins.
• Protein:
• Transport protein:
• Enzyme:
• Hormone:
• Cell culture:
• Tissue engineering:

Important concepts of zoology and botany, which are branches of biology:

• Taxonomy: System of classification of life forms, with the categories kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.
• Binomial name: Name of a species using the taxonomy, it consists of the genus followed by the species. Example: Felis catus.
• Kingdom:
• Phylum:
• Class:
• Order:
• Family:
• Genus:
• Species:

• Biword:
• Glyph:
• Paper:
• Review:
• Science journal:
• Glossary:
• Bibliography:
• Reference:
• ISBN:
• Intellectual property:
• Authorship:
• License:
• Copyleft:
• CC license:
• Open source:
• Open science:
• Copyright:
• Patent:
• Industrial design:

• Microscope:
• Essay tube:
• Flask:
• Ernlenmeyer flask:
• Pipette:
• Burette:
• Burnchen:
• Distillation equipment:
• Bioreactor:

• Endoscope:

• Area:
• Surface:
• Volume:
• Figure:
• Vertex:
• Edge:

• Acceleration:
• Force:
• Energy:
• Potency:
• Pressure:

• Program:
• Programming language:
• Specification:
• Protocol:
• Software:
• Hardware:
• Compiler:
• Library:
• Code:
• Script:
• Byte:
• Bit:
• UTF8:
• UTF16:
• UTF32:
• Unicode:
• File:
• File format:
• Directory:
• File system:
• Formatting:
• Defragmentation:
• Archive:
• Operating system:
• Terminal:
• Desktop environment:
• Boot:
• Process:
• User:
• Service:
• Thread:
• User Interface:
• User Experience:
• Mouse:
• Keyboard:
• Motherboard:
• Processor:
• Cooler:
• Power supply:
• RAM memory:
• Hard disk:
• Monitor:
• Speakers:
• Graphics card:
• Network card:
• Sound card:
• Input device:
• Output device:
• Driver:
• Modem:
• Router:

• UNIX:
• Linux:
• Debian:
• Ubuntu:
• Fedora:
• LibreOffice:
• VLC:
• GEdit:
• Microsoft word:
• Microsoft excel:
• Microsoft powerpoint:
• Notepad:
• WinZIP:
• WinRAR:

• Algorithm:
• Artificial intelligence:

Medicine

• Surgery:
• Biopsy:
• Imaging:

Starting topics

In some weeks of lecture, the topics that should be learned of science to start on it are:

Branches of science

Laboratory

• Microscopy.
• Electronics.
• Nanotechnology.

Chemistry

• Organic chemistry.
• Analytical chemistry.
• Inorganic chemistry.
• Physical chemistry.
• Quantum chemistry.

Biology

• Biochemistry.
• Cell biology.
• Nutrition.
• Anatomy.
• Physiology.
• Zoology.
• Botany.
• Mycology.
• Genetics.
• Neuroscience.

Physics

• Mechanics.
• Classical mechanics.
• Continuum mechanics.
• Solid mechanics.
• Fluid mechanics.
• Gas mechanics.
• Fluid statics.
• Fluid dynamics.
• Aerodynamics.
• Hydrodynamics.
• Rheology
• Classical statistical mechanics.
• Electromagnetism.
• Electrodynamics.
• Thermodynamics.
• Energetics.
• Quantum physics.
• Particle physics.
• Nuclear physics.
• Condensed matter physics.
• Relativity.
• Cosmology.
• Optics.
• Acoustics.
• Laser physics.
• Plasma physics.

Informatics

• File formats.
• Programming languages.
• Operating systems.
• Hardware.
• Databases.
• Networking.
• The web.

Science software

• GNU Octave.
• Mathlab.

Science editorials

Science-fiction ideas

Important scientists