Cave diving
Cave diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as a sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for. Recreational cave diving is considered to be a type of technical diving due to the lack of a free surface during large parts of the dive. It originated in the United Kingdom, stemming from the more common activity of caving and its origins in the United States are more closely associated to scuba diving. Compared to caving and scuba diving, there are relatively few practitioners of cave diving and this is due in part to the specialized equipment and skill sets required, and in part because of the high potential risks due to the specific environment. Despite these risks, water-filled caves attract scuba divers and speleologists due to their often unexplored nature, Underwater caves have a wide range of physical features, and can contain fauna not found elsewhere. The procedures of cave diving have much in common with procedures used for types of penetration diving.
This is ensured by the use of a continuous guideline between the team and outside of the flooded cave, and diligent planning and monitoring of gas supplies. Two basic types of guideline are used, permanent lines, permanent lines may include a main line starting near the entrance/exit, and side lines or branch lines, and are marked to indicate the direction to the nearest exit. Temporary lines include exploration lines and jump lines, in some caves, changes of depth of the cave along the dive route will constrain decompression depths, and gas mixtures and decompression schedules can be tailored to take this into account. Most open-water diving skills apply to diving, and there are additional skills specific to the environment. Good buoyancy control and finning technique help preserve visibility in areas with silt deposits, the ability to navigate in total darkness using the guideline to find the way out is a safety critical emergency skill. Emergency skills for dealing with gas supply problems are complicated by the possibility of the emergency occurring in a confined space, Cave diver training stresses the importance of risk management and cave conservation ethics.
Most training systems offer progressive stages of education and certification, Cavern training covers the basic skills needed to enter the overhead environment. Training will generally consist of gas planning, propulsion techniques needed to deal with the silty environments in many caves and handling, and communication. Once certified as a diver, a diver may undertake cavern diving with a cavern or cave certified buddy. Once intro to cave certified, a diver may penetrate further into a cave, usually limited by 1/3 of a single cylinder, or in the case of a basic cave certification. An intro cave diver is not certified to do complex navigation
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, Bats do not flap their entire forelimbs, as birds do, but instead flap their spread-out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane or patagium. About 70% of bat species are insectivores, most of the rest are frugivores, or fruit eaters. A few species, such as the bat, feed from animals other than insects, with the vampire bats being hematophagous. Bats are present throughout most of the world, with the exception of cold regions. They perform the vital roles of pollinating flowers and dispersing fruit seeds. Bats are economically important, as they consume insect pests, reducing the need for pesticides, the smallest bat is the Kittis hog-nosed bat, measuring 29–34 mm in length,15 cm across the wings and 2–2.6 g in mass. It is arguably the smallest extant species of mammal, with the Etruscan shrew being the other contender.
The largest species of bat are a few species of Pteropus, the Mexican free-tailed bat is the fastest flying animal in horizontal flight. An older English name for bats is flittermouse, which matches their name in other Germanic languages, middle English had bakke, most likely cognate with Old Swedish natbakka, which may have undergone a shift from -k- to -t- influenced by Latin blatta, nocturnal insect. They were formerly grouped in the superorder Archonta, along with the treeshrews, genetic studies have now placed bats in the superorder Laurasiatheria, along with carnivorans, odd-toed ungulates, even-toed ungulates, and cetaceans. A recent study by Zhang et al. places Chiroptera as a taxon to the clade Perissodactyla. The phylogenetic relationships of the different groups of bats have been the subject of much debate and this hypothesis recognized differences between microbats and megabats and acknowledged that flight has only evolved once in mammals. Most molecular biological evidence supports the view that bats form a single or monophyletic group, in the 1980s, a hypothesis based on morphological evidence was offered that stated the Megachiroptera evolved flight separately from the Microchiroptera.
The so-called flying primate hypothesis proposes that, when adaptations to flight are removed, one example is that the brains of megabats show a number of advanced characteristics that link them to primates. Although recent genetic studies support the monophyly of bats, debate continues as to the meaning of available genetic. Genetic evidence indicates that megabats originated during the early Eocene and should be placed within the four lines of microbats. Consequently, two new suborders based on molecular data have been proposed and these two new suborders are strongly supported by statistical tests
Geology
Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Geology can refer generally to the study of the features of any terrestrial planet. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth by providing the evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life. Geology plays a role in engineering and is a major academic discipline. The majority of data comes from research on solid Earth materials. These typically fall into one of two categories and unconsolidated material, the majority of research in geology is associated with the study of rock, as rock provides the primary record of the majority of the geologic history of the Earth. There are three types of rock, igneous and metamorphic. The rock cycle is an important concept in geology which illustrates the relationships between three types of rock, and magma. When a rock crystallizes from melt, it is an igneous rock, the sedimentary rock can be subsequently turned into a metamorphic rock due to heat and pressure and is weathered, eroded and lithified, ultimately becoming a sedimentary rock.
Sedimentary rock may be re-eroded and redeposited, and metamorphic rock may undergo additional metamorphism, all three types of rocks may be re-melted, when this happens, a new magma is formed, from which an igneous rock may once again crystallize. Geologists study unlithified material which typically comes from more recent deposits and these materials are superficial deposits which lie above the bedrock. Because of this, the study of material is often known as Quaternary geology. This includes the study of sediment and soils, including studies in geomorphology and this theory is supported by several types of observations, including seafloor spreading, and the global distribution of mountain terrain and seismicity. This coupling between rigid plates moving on the surface of the Earth and the mantle is called plate tectonics. The development of plate tectonics provided a basis for many observations of the solid Earth. Long linear regions of geologic features could be explained as plate boundaries, mid-ocean ridges, high regions on the seafloor where hydrothermal vents and volcanoes exist, were explained as divergent boundaries, where two plates move apart.
Arcs of volcanoes and earthquakes were explained as convergent boundaries, where one plate subducts under another, transform boundaries, such as the San Andreas Fault system, resulted in widespread powerful earthquakes. Plate tectonics provided a mechanism for Alfred Wegeners theory of continental drift and they provided a driving force for crustal deformation, and a new setting for the observations of structural geology
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase that translates literally to on site or in position. It means locally, on site, on the premises or in place to describe an event where it takes place, in the aerospace industry, equipment on-board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may work but interference from nearby equipment may create unanticipated problems, special test equipment is available for this in situ testing. In archaeology, in situ refers to an artifact that has not been moved from its place of deposition. In other words, it is stationary, meaning still, an artifact being in situ is critical to the interpretation of that artifact and, consequently, of the culture which formed it. Once an artifacts find-site has been recorded, the artifact can be moved for conservation, further interpretation, an artifact that is not discovered in situ is considered out of context and as not providing an accurate picture of the associated culture.
However, the out of context artifact can provide scientists with an example of types, when excavating a burial site or surface deposit in situ refers to cataloging, mapping, photographing human remains in the position they are discovered. The label in situ indicates only that the object has not been newly moved. Thus, an archaeological in situ find may be an object that was looted from another place, an item of booty of a past war. Consequently, the in situ find site may not reveal its provenance. It is possible for archaeological layers to be reworked on purpose or by accident, for example, in a Tell mound, where layers are not typically uniform or horizontal, or in land cleared or tilled for farming. The term in situ is used to describe ancient sculpture that was carved in place such as the Sphinx or Petra. This distinguishes it from statues that were carved and moved like the Colossi of Memnon, which was moved in ancient times. In art, in situ refers to a work of art made specifically for a host site, for a more detailed account see, Site-specific art.
The term can refer to a work of art created at the site where it is to be displayed, rather than one created in the artists studio. In architectural sculpture the term is employed to describe sculpture that is carved on a building, frequently from scaffolds. A fraction of the star clusters in our galaxy, as well as those in other massive galaxies. The rest might have been accreted from now defunct dwarf galaxies, in biology and biomedical engineering, in situ means to examine the phenomenon exactly in place where it occurs
Cave
A cave is a hollow place in the ground, specifically a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. Caves form naturally by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground, the word cave can refer to much smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos. A cavern is a type of cave, naturally formed in soluble rock with the ability to grow speleothems. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves, visiting or exploring caves for recreation may be called caving, potholing, or spelunking. The formation and development of caves is known as speleogenesis, which can occur over the course of millions of years, caves are formed by various geologic processes and can be variable sizes. These may involve a combination of processes, erosion from water, tectonic forces, pressure. Isotopic dating techniques can be applied to cave sediments, in order to determine the timescale when geologic events may have occurred to help form and it is estimated that the maximum depth of a cave cannot be more than 3,000 metres due to the pressure of overlying rocks.
For karst caves the maximum depth is determined on the basis of the limit of karst forming processes. Most caves are formed in limestone by dissolution, solutional caves or karst caves are the most frequently occurring caves and such caves form in rock that is soluble. Most occur in limestone, but they can form in other rocks including chalk, marble, salt. Rock is dissolved by acid in groundwater that seeps through bedding planes, joints. Over geological epochs cracks expand to become caves and cave systems, the largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3, the dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes and underground drainage. Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation and these include flowstones, stalagmites, soda straws and columns. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems, the portions of a solutional cave that are below the water table or the local level of the groundwater will be flooded.
Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico and nearby Carlsbad Cavern are now believed to be examples of type of solutional cave. They were formed by H2S gas rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes and this gas mixes with ground water and forms H2SO4. The acid dissolves the limestone from below, rather than from above, caves formed at the same time as the surrounding rock are called primary caves
Speleothem
A speleothem, commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave. Speleothems typically form in limestone or dolostone solutional caves, the term speleothem as first introduced by Moore, is derived from the Greek words spēlaion cave + théma deposit. The definition of speleothem in most publications, specifically excludes secondary mineral deposits in mines, the cave environment has influenced the minerals deposition. More than 250 cave mineral deposits exist, the vast majority of speleothems are calcareous, composed of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or aragonite, or calcium sulfate in the form of gypsum. Calcareous speleothems form via carbonate dissolution reactions, calthemites which occur on concrete structures, are created by completely different chemistry to speleothems. Speleothems take various forms, depending on whether the water drips, condenses, many speleothems are named for their resemblance to man-made or natural objects. Speleogens are formations within caves that are created by the removal of bedrock, although sometimes similar in appearance to speleothems in caves formed by dissolution, these are formed by the cooling of residual lava within the lava tube.
Speleothems formed from salt and other minerals are known, most cave chemistry revolves around calcium carbonate, the primary mineral in limestone and dolomite. It is a slightly soluble mineral whose solubility increases with the introduction of carbon dioxide and it is paradoxical in that its solubility decreases as the temperature increases, unlike the vast majority of dissolved solids. This decrease is due to interactions with the carbon dioxide, whose solubility is diminished by elevated temperatures, as the dioxide is released. Most other solution caves that are not composed of limestone or dolostone are composed of gypsum, samples can be taken from speleothems to be used like ice cores as a proxy record of past climate changes. A particular strength of speleothems in this regard is their ability to be accurately dated over much of the late Quaternary period using the uranium-thorium dating technique. These can provide clues to past precipitation and vegetation changes over the last ~500,000 years, the radiation centers must be stable on geologic time, i. e. to have a very large lifetime, to make dating possible.
Many other artifacts, such as, e. g. surface defects induced by the grinding of the sample can preclude a correct dating, only a few percents of the samples tested are in fact suitable for dating. This makes the often disappointing for the experimentalists. ESR dating can be tricky and must be applied with discernment and it can never be used alone, One date only is No date, or in other words, multiple lines of evidence and multiple lines of reasoning are necessary in absolute dating. However, good samples might be if all the selection criteria are met. The occurrence of calthemites is often associated with degradation, but could be linked to leaching of lime
Caving equipment
Caving equipment is equipment used by cavers and speleologists to aid and protect them while exploring caves. The term may be used to refer to equipment used to document caves, such as photographic, due to the greatly varying conditions of caves throughout the world there is a multitude of different equipment types and categories. Cavers exploring a largely dry system may wear a fleece one-piece undersuit with a protective oversuit while cavers exploring a very wet cave may opt to use wetsuits. Explorers of the early 1800s, when caving began to more common, caved in tweed suits. Exploration was usually limited to drier caves as there was little to protect cavers from the cold once they became wet, cavers began to adopt miners lamps, which were designed for underground use and were reasonably reliable, though their light was not especially powerful. Lighting magnesium strips was a way of illuminating large chambers. Martel, a French caver, created a collapsible canvas canoe which he used to explore several caves containing long flooded sections, acetylene lamps, powered by carbide, was one of the main light sources used by cavers during the 20th century.
Electric miners headlamps, powered by lead-acid batteries were used, eventually superseded by LED lighting. Vertical caving was undertaken with rope ladders and these were cumbersome and unwieldy, especially when wet and sometimes requiring teams of donkeys to carry them. The French explorer Robert de Joly pioneered the use of ever lighter rope ladders until developing the Elektron Ladder, a light wire ladder with aluminium rungs. Single rope technique began to be developed in the US in the 1950s, a system was developed in Europe in the late 1960s. The increasing popularity of caving during the 1960s and 1970s led to the creation of specialist caving equipment companies, such as Petzl, cavers adapted equipment from other sources, such as using miners helmets and electric lamps, or made their own equipment. Caving equipment made today conforms to high safety standards, decreasing the amount of injuries and fatalities experienced by cavers, caves in temperate regions such as Europe and North America maintain an average yearly temperature of 11–13 °C.
While this is not especially cold, exposure to water and fatigue can increase the risk of hypothermia, cavers usually wear a one-piece undersuit made of fleece or fibre pile, sometimes used in tandem with thermal underclothes. In warmer caves, such as those in France and Spain, when caving in wet caves neoprene wetsuits provide superior insulation to fleece underclothes. While cavers often use wetsuits designed for surfing or diving, specialist caving wetsuits are available with reinforced elbows, hybrid fleece/wetsuit undersuits are used. Cavers commonly wear protective oversuits, similar to boiler suits but made of heavily abrasive resistant material such as cordura, in wet or windy caves PVC oversuits may be preferred, as they provide a greater degree of protection against getting wet and keep the caver warmer. Oversuits often come with reinforced areas, especially at points such as the elbows, seat
Biospeleology
Biospeleology, known as cave biology, is a branch of biology dedicated to the study of organisms that live in caves and are collectively referred to as troglofauna. The first documented mention of a cave dates back to 1689, with the documentation of the olm. Discovered in a cave in Slovenia, in the region of Carniola, the first formal study on cave organisms was conducted on the blind cave beetle. Found in 1831 by Luka Čeč, an assistant to the lamplighter, the specimen was turned over to Ferdinand J. Schmidt, who described it in the paper Illyrisches Blatt. He named it Leptodirus Hochenwartii after the donor, and gave it the Slovene name drobnovratnik, the article represents the first formal description of a cave animal. Subsequent research by Schmidt revealed further previously unknown cave inhabitants, which aroused considerable interest among natural historians, for this reason, the discovery of L. hochenwartii is considered as the starting point of biospeleology as a scientific discipline.
Biospeleology was formalized as a science in 1907 by Emil Racoviţă with his seminal work Essai sur les problèmes biospéologiques, cave organisms fall into three basic classes, Troglobites are obligatory cavernicoles, specialized for cave life. Some can leave caves for short periods, and may complete parts of their life cycles above ground, examples include chemotrophic bacteria, some species of flatworms and cavefish. Troglophiles can live part or all of their lives in caves, examples include cave crickets, millipedes and spiders. Trogloxenes frequent caves, and may require caves for a portion of its life cycle and the Daddy-Long-Legs are trogloxenes. Parahypogean environments are the regions near cave mouths that extend to the last penetration of sunlight. These can be in contact with the surface via wind and underground rivers, or the migration of animals. Deep hypogean environments can host autonomous ecologies whose primary source of energy is not sunlight, Emil Racoviță Alfred Pierre Chappuis Bruno Condé Claude Delamare-Debouteville Carl Eigenmann Louis Fage René Jeannel Curt Kosswig Albert Vandel Bernard Collignon, scientific approaches.
Edisud 1988 Fabien Steak, Approach biospéologie, File EFS Instruction No, Delamare-Debouteville, Life in caves, PUF, Que sais-je
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Zoroastrianism and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire.
The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River.
The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
Sicily
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, literature, cuisine. It is home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria.
To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981.
It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano and Lipari are currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
Rome
Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was taken up by Ovid and Livy. Rome is called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism.
Famous artists, painters and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum.
Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Physics
Physics is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion and behavior through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. One of the most fundamental disciplines, the main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves. Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy, Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the mechanisms of other sciences while opening new avenues of research in areas such as mathematics. Physics makes significant contributions through advances in new technologies that arise from theoretical breakthroughs, the United Nations named 2005 the World Year of Physics. Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, the stars and planets were often a target of worship, believed to represent their gods. While the explanations for these phenomena were often unscientific and lacking in evidence, according to Asger Aaboe, the origins of Western astronomy can be found in Mesopotamia, and all Western efforts in the exact sciences are descended from late Babylonian astronomy.
The most notable innovations were in the field of optics and vision, which came from the works of many scientists like Ibn Sahl, Al-Kindi, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farisi and Avicenna. The most notable work was The Book of Optics, written by Ibn Al-Haitham, in which he was not only the first to disprove the ancient Greek idea about vision, but came up with a new theory. In the book, he was the first to study the phenomenon of the pinhole camera, many European scholars and fellow polymaths, from Robert Grosseteste and Leonardo da Vinci to René Descartes, Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton, were in his debt. Indeed, the influence of Ibn al-Haythams Optics ranks alongside that of Newtons work of the same title, the translation of The Book of Optics had a huge impact on Europe. From it, European scholars were able to build the devices as what Ibn al-Haytham did. From this, such important things as eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, Physics became a separate science when early modern Europeans used experimental and quantitative methods to discover what are now considered to be the laws of physics.
Newton developed calculus, the study of change, which provided new mathematical methods for solving physical problems. The discovery of new laws in thermodynamics and electromagnetics resulted from greater research efforts during the Industrial Revolution as energy needs increased, inaccuracies in classical mechanics for very small objects and very high velocities led to the development of modern physics in the 20th century. Modern physics began in the early 20th century with the work of Max Planck in quantum theory, both of these theories came about due to inaccuracies in classical mechanics in certain situations. Quantum mechanics would come to be pioneered by Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, from this early work, and work in related fields, the Standard Model of particle physics was derived. Areas of mathematics in general are important to this field, such as the study of probabilities, in many ways, physics stems from ancient Greek philosophy
