Wider Implications
- An implication of physics is a consequence of scientific knowledge
- The implications could be:
- Commercial - concerning money e.g., the funding for a scientific experiment
- Legal - concerning law e.g., copyright protection for data collections
- Ethical - concerning moral principles e.g., using animals, humans
- Social - concerning society e.g., how the results affect all members of society (children, elderly, disabled etc.)
- For example, when building a new power station, although this will provide an appropriate energy source, the implications could be:
- Commercial - who pays to run and maintain the power station and how much will this cost
- Legal - planning permissions to build the power station which requires a lot of land
- Ethical - is it safe for the wildlife that live around the area when the power station is built
- Social - how will the power station affect the people that live in the surrounding area in both health and economic prospects (e.g., providing more jobs)
- All applications of science will have benefits and risks
- For developing a new type of radiotherapy, designed to treat cancer, the benefits are clear that the treatment could potentially save lives
- However, there are also risks with accidents occurring when using harmful radiation that could cause injury or death to the doctors or the patient
- All new technologies are therefore always tested thoroughly
- Society makes decisions based on scientific evidence
- This is why the evidence must be thoroughly tested and trusted
- Scientific work leads to important discoveries that benefit humankind
- E.g. rigorous testing for medication means we trust that medication is safe consumption to treat symptoms of an illness
- The results are used by society to make decisions about the way we live, what we eat, what we drive, how we work etc.
- All sections of society use scientific evidence to make these decisions
- This is mostly done by policy makers, politicians and government
- Most individuals making these decisions may not be scientists themselves, so they will be trusting the research to base their opinions on
- Other factors can influence decisions about science or the way that it is used
Economic Factors
- The economy is based around money and the cost of implementing changes based on scientific conclusions
- Not only can experiments be very expensive to run, but the cost of buying technology based on science to provide for healthcare or transport costs a lot of taxpayer money
- Therefore, when research is expensive, the Government must justify spending money on new equipment, such as a telescope, instead of another area of society such as schools or the healthcare system
- However, the long-term benefits should also be taken into account
- For example, reducing carbon emissions to limit the human contribution to climate change
- In this case, the current human contribution to climate change will be provided from scientific research, as well as methods to reduce carbon emissions (e.g., solar power)
Social Factors
- Social factors are considered for decisions that affect people's daily life
- This could be how it affects the surrounding area where people live, such as noise pollution
- These factors should take into account all members of society, whether they're young, old, disabled and for all genders
- An example of this is scientific knowledge of a healthy lifestyle informing the choices we make
- E.g., Cycling to work instead of driving in order to exercise and reduce carbon footprints
Environmental Factors
- Environmental factors are taken into account for any decisions that could affect the environment
- This is primarily nature such as plants and animals and the geography of the area
- An example of this is wind farms
- Although they are cheap and environmentally friendly (wind is a sustainable energy source) way to generate electricity, the turbines can harm birds and bats
