Ours is a scientific world. We depend on (cannot do without) science in a great many ways. We know that science is necessary for the progress of any country. Scientists have made use of science for the benefit of man and society. They have used scientific principles, laws and facts to invent and develop machines of different kinds.
For example, the motor-car, aeroplane and railway engines, printing machines, tube-well engines, different kinds of machines used in factories producing things of daily use like match-boxes, cloth. paper, shoes, and so on have been invented by scientists. The radio, television, DVD player, the telephone, the calculator and computer are among the latest electronic inventions that have made our life modern.
Scientists and doctors have invented and developed medicines that can cure speedily dangerous disases like typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis. Now human beings can live much longer than in olden times. Even animals and birds get the finest medical treatment in modern hospitals where effective medicines and suitable facilities are all the time available.
The technological advances of modern science have revolutionized our life patterns. The electronics industry, started in the-early 20th century, has reached unimaginable heights of development. The radio, television, radar, transistor, laser, mobile phone and computer are some of the breathtaking electronic devices. Laser technology, to explain one example is based on the control of beams of light for special purposes. Lasers are used in industry for cutting and boring metals and other materials. In medicine. they are used in surgical operations. The use of laser beams in sound transmission is becoming common.
Science has transformed transportation magically, as now the supersonic jet can take man to the farthest end of the world in hours, and the rocket can take him to the moon and even beyond. The fast-moving submarine can pierce through the seawater under the surface to long distances, with the help of the radar, for scientific and business purposes.
Scientists are now working to control the environment through artificial rainfall and by shifting hurricanes (violent windstorms) from one place to another. New sources of energy are being developed to check the fast depletion (using up) of regular fuels like oil and gas. In this connection. the use of atomic energy for the generation of electricity and working of ship and plane engines is notable.
Scientists have also put science to harmful or destructive uses. For example. they have prepared harmful drugs and intoxicants and weapons of war. They have invented and developed all kinds of small and big arms and weapons like the rifle, machine gun, the tank and the missile. They have prepared bomber and fighter planes, warships and submarines. They have developed bombs giving out poisonous gases and setting huge areas on fire. Then they have produced the atomic, hydrogen, cobalt, nitrogen and neutron bombs, which can destroy whole cities, countries and civilizations in minutes. The large-scale killing and destruction caused by the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during the Second World War is a constant warning to the world.
In fact, science teaches us to work without prejudice. Scientists in all countries use the same scientific formulas, laws and results. They should, therefore, work together for the advancement of humankind. They should not, in any case, prepare weapons of mass destruction. Science is supreme knowledge, and it should be used for the supreme good of all human beings.
We come to the conclusion that science should be used only for the benefit of human beings. Scientists should work for their advancement in peace. To make this possible, all countries should decide to give up war and try to settle their disputes through international agencies like the UN.
