science: Improved Communication of Scientific Knowledge

Another important factor in the scientific revolution was the rise of learned societies and academies in various countries. The earliest of these were in Italy and Germany and were short-lived. More influential were the Royal Society in England (1660) and the Academy of Sciences in France (1666). The former was a private institution in London and included such scientists as Robert Hooke, John Wallis, William Brouncker, Thomas Sydenham, John Mayow, and Christopher Wren (who contributed not only to architecture but also to astronomy and anatomy); the latter, in Paris, was a government institution and included as a foreign member the Dutchman Huygens. In the 18th cent. important royal academies were established at Berlin (1700) and at St. Petersburg (1724). The societies and academies provided the principal opportunities for the publication and discussion of scientific results during and after the scientific revolution.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Promise and Problems of Modern Science
• Modern Science and Technology
• Astronomy beyond the Visual Spectrum
• The Abstraction of Mathematics
• Biology Becomes an Interdisciplinary Science
• Advances in Chemistry
• Quantum Theory and the Theory of Relativity
• The Impact of Elementary Particles
• Revolutions in Modern Science
• Science and the Industrial Revolution
• New Ideas in Biology
• Birth of Modern Geology
• Advances in Astronomy
• Innovations in Chemistry
• The Evolution of Mathematics and Physics
• The Age of Classical Science
• The Impact of Sir Isaac Newton
• Improved Communication of Scientific Knowledge
• The Rejection of Traditional Paradigms
• The Scientific Revolution
• The Craft Tradition and Early Empiricism in Europe
• Muslim Preservation of Learning
• Scientific Progress in China and India
• Influence of the Alexandrian Schools
• Early Greek Contributions to Science
• Practical Applications in the Ancient Middle East
• The Beginnings of Science
• Branches of Specialization
• Role of Measurement and Experiment
• The Scientific Method
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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