ACTIVITATS SOBRE HISTÒRIA DE LA CIÈNCIA PER A ALUMNES DE
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7L The Solar System and beyond
The brother and sister and the new planet
A short play in two acts.
Cast: William Herschel (WH), born in Hanover (Germany), 1738
Caroline Herschel (CH), his sister, born 1750
King George III (KG)
Scene 1
CH:
WH:
CH:
WH:
The back garden of a house in Bath, at night, in 1781.
How much longer are you spending out here William?
I must make these observations, sister.
But what about your piece for the choir?
Music does not interest me now, Caroline. Astronomy is my life. Come and help me
adjust the telescope.
(They move the seven foot long reflecting telescope)
WH:
CH:
WH:
CH:
WH:
CH:
WH:
CH:
WH:
It is a wonderful night for observation, don’t you think.
It certainly is but the fires from the houses in Bath fill the air with smoke.
You are right, sister. Nevertheless this new mirror is a fine one.
I am so pleased. You spent so long in casting it and polishing it.
(peering down the telescope) Ah, there it is. Here, Caroline, tell me what you see.
(taking WH’s place) Where, oh I see. The faint star. Surely it was not in that
position a few weeks ago.
You are correct, sister. It is not a star shining with its own light, but a planet reflecting
the light of our Sun.
But that cannot be, William. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn are not in that
part of the sky.
I know. That is why I think we have discovered a new planet. One that has never
been seen by man before as no one has a telescope as fine as my own. It is a new
planet beyond Saturn in our Solar System.
Scene 2
KG:
WH:
KG:
WH:
KG:
WH:
KG:
In Windsor Great Park. Night time. 1883
So Herschel, tell me about this new planet of yours.
Not mine your majesty, but yours. I have named it Georgium Sidus, George’s Star.
Ah yes, but I hear that other astronomers prefer the name, Uranus. But tell me, how
do you plan to spend my money now that you are my personal astronomer?
Your majesty, I wish to build a new larger telescope, here, in your park where the sky
is clear. It will be over forty feet long.
And what is the purpose of such a monstrous spyglass.
To see further your majesty. A bigger mirror means that more light can be collected.
The more light, the further I can see into space.
And why do you wish to see further. Do you expect to find more planets?
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WH:
No, I shall be looking far beyond the solar system to the most distant stars. Across the
sky is a faint white band called the Milky Way made up of millions of stars. I believe
that our Earth and Sun and planets form part of a great disc of stars, a galaxy.
(King George and his astronomer stand staring into space)
[pictures (if there is room) either William & Caroline Herschel or Herschel’s 40 foot
reflector]
Questions
1
2
3
4
5
6
Did Herschel’s telescopes use lenses or a mirror?
What do we call Herschel’s new planet?
What was Herschel’s theory about the Milky Way?
Was Caroline Herschel an astronomer too? How do you know?
What was William Herschel’s job before he became the King’s astronomer?
Find out more about the astronomical discoveries of William and Caroline Herschel.
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9D : Plants for food
DDT from miracle to menace
[NB. Each of the following passages should be put in a box in newspaper style print]
1940
Swiss chemist discovers pesticide
Paul Muller has announced that he has discovered a chemical that kills insects. The
substance called DDT can be made cheaply and is harmless to humans and other warm
blooded animals. Dr Muller made his discovery while working for the Geigy dye company in
Switzerland. He joined the company in 1925 at the age of 26. It has taken him five years of
research to test DDT and work out how to manufacture it.
1948
Farmers praise Nobel Prize winner
Farmers around the world have joined in the congratulations to Paul Muller. Dr Muller had
been awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of DDT. Supplies of DDT began arriving
on farms in recent years and farmers are already able to see the benefits. DDT kills all insect
pests and remains in soil for a long time to keep crops pest free. Crop yields have shown a
large increase.
1951
DDT spraying reaches the suburbs
American families can sleep easily knowing that the malaria mosquito is being defeated.
DDT tankers are patrolling the streets spraying the pesticide which kills the disease carrying
insect. Children have been celebrating by dancing in the DDT sprays. Government
spokesmen are confident that malaria will soon be a disease from history.
1962
Silent Spring author calls for end to DDT spraying
Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, has called for the use of DDT to be stopped.
Carson says that the using DDT in huge quantities for the last twenty years has caused the fall
in bird populations. Scientists have noticed the large drop in numbers of birds of prey. They
suspected a disease was responsible for the fall. Carson however says it is because DDT has
built up in the bodies of birds of prey. Pesticide manufacturers have dismissed Carson’s
ideas because there is no proof.
1972
Government bans DDT
The United States government has today banned the use of DDT. Scientists have proved that
DDT is carried through the food chain. It is concentrated in birds and other animals at the top
of the food chain. The high concentrations in birds make their egg shells thinner so fewer
eggs hatch successfully. The pesticide industry has reluctantly accepted the ban and is
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looking for substances that kill pests but do not remain in the environment. However nothing
has yet been found that is as successful as DDT in fighting malaria.
Questions
1
Why do you think Paul Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1948?
2.
Why was DDT originally thought to be a miracle substance?
3.
Why did it take nearly twenty years for the harmful effects of DDT to be noticed?
4.
It was nearly ten years from Carson’s warning to the ban on DDT. Why do you think
it took this long?
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From “The World through a Micrscope”, Museum for the History of Science, Oxford,
2003.
Part 1
- Mr Hooke and his microscope
Robert Hooke
In 1665 The Royal Society published a wonderful book by Mr Robert Hooke. It was
called Micrographia. It was full of carefully drawn pictures and descriptions of objects
that cannot be seen clearly with the eye. Robert had seen these things through his
microscope.
Robert Hooke was born on the Isle of Wight in 1635. His
father was a clergyman. Robert was a sick child but
loved to make wooden toys. The family was not rich but
Robert was sent to Oxford University. He had very little
money for food or books so he had to serve the richer
students.
In Oxford, Robert became friendly with Robert Boyle.
Boyle was a rich man who spent his life studying
science. Boyle gave Robert a job as his assistant. Boyle
soon discovered that Robert could make any bit of
scientific apparatus that he wanted.
Boyle was in a group of men that met to discuss
scientific ideas. In 1660 the group formed the Royal
Hooke’s air pump built for
Society in London. Boyle suggested that Robert Hooke
Robert Boyle
should work for the Royal Society as its Curator of
Experiments. In 1662, Robert moved to London. He lived in Gresham College where
the Royal Society met. Every week he demonstrated two or three new experiments to
the members. It was a lot of work but he was soon making discoveries in many areas of
science.
Robert carried on working for the Royal Society until he died in 1703. He became quite
wealthy, especially after the Great Fire of London in 1666. He was an architect as well
as a scientist. He designed many of the new buildings that were built after the fire.
Robert Hooke’s microscope
Microscopes appeared in the early seventeenth century.
Spectacles had been used for centuries. Then someone
put one lens in front of another. Things looked bigger. By
arranging the lenses in different ways they made
telescopes and microscopes.
Galileo heard about the
inventions. In 1610 he made his own telescope. He used
it to look into the sky at night. Some of Galileo’s friends
made microscopes and looked at the world around them.
Robert Hooke knew about microscopes and was always
improving instruments.
He worked with instrument
makers to improve the design of microscopes. Robert
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practised using the microscope and became expert at making observations.
practised drawing what he saw.
He also
Activity: Looking at an early
microscope
Look at the microscope but do not touch it.
The microscope is over three hundred years
old and can easily be damaged.
Answer these questions.
What is the microscope made of?
Where can you see the lenses are fitted?
What source of light does the microscope use?
How did Robert Hooke make sure that the object being studied was well lit?
Where does light enter the microscope?
What can you see through the microscope? Lower your head carefully and look through
the eyepiece with one eye. Close or cover your other eye. Do not touch the microscope.
Describe what you can see and draw a diagram.
Micrographia
Micrographia was Robert Hooke’s collection of his observations.
He drew careful
diagrams of the things he saw through his microscope and described them as well. He
looked at lots of different objects.
You can look at a copy of the book.
Why do you think that Robert Hooke was surprised when
he first looked at the point of a pin through the
microscope?
When some people saw Hooke’s diagrams they didn’t
believe them. They thought Hooke was imagining what
he saw. Why do you think they thought this? Do you
think Hooke’s diagrams are accurate?
This is what Robert Hooke wrote when he looked at a
piece of cork through his microscope.
“ I…perceived it to be perforated and porous much like a
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honeycomb but that the pores were not regular.
… the walls of the pores were not as thin as those of a honeycomb which enclose hexagonal
cells.
…these pores or cells consisted of a great many boxes.
…I found there were about threescore of these small Cells in an eighteenth part of an inch,
(less than 2 millimetres) about 12 hundred million in a cubic inch. (about 80 million per
cubic centimetre)”
Why does Hooke compare the cork to a honeycomb?
In what ways does Hooke say that the “cells” in the cork differ from a honeycomb?
This was the first use of the word “cell” to describe parts of an organism. What does
“cell” mean to you?
How is Hooke’s use of the word “cell” different to your own?
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