Exploring the Universe [antikvár]

The Astronomer-Magicians "Will the Sun rise tomorrow?" the student asked the astronomer. "No," came the answer. "I say that the Sun will not rise tomorrow. Can you prove that it will?" "Well," said the student, "my star book says that tomorrow, December 28, the Sun will rise at 7:12 a.m. Isn't that proof enough?" "No," answered the astronomer. "That isn't proof. Your star book tells me only that some writer thinks that the Sun will rise tomorrow. Give me proof." After a while the student gave up. He had to admit that he could think of no way to prove that the Sun would or would not rise the next day. This little exchange tells us something very important about how astronomers and other scientists think and how they have tried to solve some of the mysteries of the universe we will be talking about in this book. They begin by asking themselves a question. Then they devise a test to find an answer. Nearly every day in your own home you devise tests or perform experiments, too, but you are usually not aware that you are acting like a scientist. For example, if it's a cloudy day, before going to work your father might ask you, "Is it raining out?" Chances are you will go to the window or stick your head outside to find out. On the other hand, you might tell him, "Well, I think it must be raining. Last night the newspaper said 'Rain Tomorrow.' " In this case your father probably would become impatient and find out for himself by looking out the window. He wants to know if it is actually raining. To depend on today's newspaper for tomorrow's weather puts you in the same boat with the student who looked at his star book to convince his teacher that the Sun would rise the next day. But the student was asked to prove something beyond his power. All the star books in the world couldn't help him. All they could do was strengthen his belief that