FYS 1147 - Scientific Revolutions

Credits: 4.0
Until the eighteenth century, most Western scientists believed that any item that could be burned must contain phlogiston, a colorless, odorless, and massless substance that was consumed by fire. Today, this theory is nearly forgotten. How was this theory disproved? Who decided to challenge the existence of phlogiston, and how did they do so? How was the rejection of this popular idea received? This course will explore how new scientific ideas are introduced, and how they come to be accepted (the Germ Theory of Disease, the Theory of Relativity, Calculus, and Plate Tectonics) or rejected (Spontaneous Generation, Alchemy, and Cold Fusion).
Offered: Fall only, on demand
McDaniel Plan: First-Year Seminar