Details: Visited on 24 April; Personal Field Trip
Reflections:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1F6UsIptJFNPNUbIxt4Lg4Kcc2V5KzXvpyuBBNOxZvaI/edit (Powerpoint Presentation)
2. Sultans of Science Exhibition
Details: Visited this exhibition on 18 May, during Science Sabbatical @ Singapore Science Centre; Organised by school
Reflections:
Before we entered this exhibition, we first went to a talk on this exhibition, so that we will be able to know what to expect in the exhibition itself. We were educated about the Islamic Golden Age, which was the main theme in this exhibition. I was very fascinated as I had always thought that modern day science was developed by the Europeans during the Renaissance period. However, we were told that if not because of this Islamic Golden Age, modern day science would never be what it was today - which means that the Islamic Golden Age was a period of great scientific development which contributed to the advancement of science. After we learnt more about the Islamic Golden Age, we were then brought to the exhibition itself to find out more on what was actually discovered during the Islamic Golden Age.
We first visited the developments of optical science during the Islamic Golden Age. We went through the different optical illusions and I was simply blown away by these illusions as theses visually perceived objects and images differ from reality. We then learnt more about the pioneer of Muslim optics - Ibn al-Haitham. He was a great researcher and could be named the father of optics. He did experiments after experiments, and researched outdoors to develop many theories. We then saw one of his discoveries, of the laws of reflections - and saw how it developed into the modern day telescope - it was simply amazing!
After visiting the optical science area, we then proceeded to the development made in medicine during the Islamic Golden Age. This included the treatment of many different diseases, discovery of medical tools. These developments helped to improve the healthcare in that Era, as well as the welfare of the people then. Proceeding on to the aviation section, we saw how Abbas Ibn Firnas created a glider from simple materials, after studying the flight of birds. We also experienced the upwards and downwards movement of the wings of the birds. We also learnt that he was actually the first man to experience the freedom of flight. Although it was not very successful, this contributed to the development of flight and airplanes we see today.
After which, we went to the mathematics, art and architecture section. I was shocked that algebra was actually founded then by Islamic scholars and it is still taught in our syllabus now. Fibonacci sequences, geometry and trigonometry were also developed during the Islamic Golden Age. I was also impressed by how the people then were able to apply mathematics in architecture to create bridges simply by connecting different parts together. Then, astronomy. We saw how astronomy was advanced during the Islamic Golden Age - many tools and observatories were developed at that time, which led to the discoveries of many planets in the solar system. One example was the Celestial Globe, which were used to represent the stars and constellations of the night sky and record their positions in respect to each other.
Last but not least, we explored the Elephant Clock, one of the biggest exhibit in this exhibition. This elephant clock was founded by a famous Muslim inventor, Al Jazari. This elephant clock consists of a weight powered water clock in the form of the elephant, It uses a water-filled bucket hidden inside the elephant to mechanize the time. It was cool how water can be used to power a clock. This was one of the greatest invention in the Islamic Golden Age.
In conclusion, I was able to explore the discoveries and innovations of the Islamic Golden Age in this exhibition. This included the discovery of flight, mathematical concept, astronomy, medicine as well as optical science. I also learnt how these discoveries influenced European science which led to the Renaissance Era and the development of modern science.
Here are some of the photos taken:
3. Talk on Sustainable Energy
Details: Went for this talk on 18 May @ Singapore Science Centre; Organised by school
Reflections:
When the talk first started, we were introduced to the key issues in our world today - climate change and limited fossil fuel resources; only when there is a problem must be find a solution (sustainable energy) to tackle this problem. Although I already knew about the effects of climate change beforehand, I did not realise the severity of this and the controversy surrounding it. We were then informed on the general consensus needed for this topic and the causes and effects of Greenhouse Gases and Emissions. I was thus able to understand why economic growth can leading to the demand on fossil fuels. This is because with economic growth come urban expansion. This will lead to increasing energy demands which would put a strain on the world fossil fuels reserves.
After understand the problems in the globalizing world today, we learnt about how we can tackle this problem with technology and how this is seen in Singapore. This include nuclear energy and other renewables. Bio-technology can also be used to ensure sustainable energy. And some of the issues for Singapore in the manufacturing sector is the fact that pharma and chemicals manufacturing contributed to 54% of its carbon emissions. This is a problem as these two sectors are a great significance to Singapore's economy. We were also introduced to Jurong Island, a 7.5 billion reclamation project which houses over 30 billion investments and serves as Singapore's chemical hub. After learning about the issues in Singapore, we were shown how some examples of sustainable technologies can be used for chemicals, fuels and energy. For example, biomass, which includes sugars, starch and plant oil can be turned into chemicals using technological, synthetic and biotechnology routes. Biobased polyethanol can be produced from lignocellulose. Biobased Adipic Acid has also been filed as a patent application and many researchers has thus been working on this process. We were also told that more and more traditional chemical companies are looking at biobased alternatives to reduce carbon footprints, which a very encouraging sign.
In conclusion, I feel that we have to act quickly and develop new technologies in order to ensure sustainable energy for all in the future as resources on Earth is decreasing rapidly as the years goes by. We must come up with not one solution, but many and everyone plays a part in ensuring this. We are also told that science is the key to solving all these and if we were to be a scientist one day, we will have a responsibility to ensure that new sustainable process can be developed to make sure that the world's resources can support us forever.
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