Is Meteorology Science? Essay

Many books and academic articles describe meteorology, the see of the Earths automatic teller machine, as a knowledge. eon this may earn been unquestionably accepted by many students and even scientists, it may well be worth to examine the subject more almost and ask, is brave forecasting really acquisition? cyclopaedia Britannica (2006) defines science as any dodge of knowledge that is interested with the physical world and its phenomena and that entails unbiased observations and imperious experiment. scientific discipline does non regard unverified own(prenominal) beliefs and opinions but instead rely on systematic methods of analysis.The scientific method, as this method is called, is generally addicted to all fields of science through with(predicate) which facts and conclusions argon derived. Accuracy and consistency also matter and thus, amount is important in science. Science in its Latin origin scire means to know and as much(prenominal) reflects the objecti ve of scientific studies to know and understand phenomena that net be observed or detected. For weather forecasting to discard as a science, it should meet the premises that tell on up science itself. meteorology sack be considered as science in that it involves a field of operation of the physical world.Meteorology studies the physical and observable aspects of the atmospheric state much(prenominal) as the formation of rains, thunderstorms and clouds, and weather events such as rainbows, mirages and halos. Meteorology crowd out be considered as science because it does not rely on personal beliefs and opinion but rather on mensural data and analytic observations. In Meteorology, analytic observations are developed based on the measurement of such variables as wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure. These observations and measurements are used to predict weather conditions.Meteorology can be considered as science in that it involves scien tific methods. Meteorologists adhere to a meticulous system before they give weather forecasts. They make observations through satellites and radars so as to be able to find out the necessary data such as Is Meteorology Science? Page_2 variations in temperature and pressure. These data go away be analyzed and made into charts, maps and graphs which will be used to predict weather conditions (Encarta 2006). While Meteorology meets whatever of the requisites of science, it also has its loopholes that can indispose it from be considered a science.In science, subjects must be examined, well-tried and verified. Meteorology comes short in this foundation because meteorologists cannot try the correctness of their hypothesis, which is commonly regarded as the weather forecast, unless the weather phenomenon has already occurred. Meteorology cannot be considered a science because it is lacking in the accuracy and consistency in the variable measured. The direction of the wind, for exa mple is not on the dot measurable and cannot be certainly predicted (Mill).Moreover the atmosphere itself, the main subject of Meteorology has no cognize boundary from the outer space. Meteorology cannot be considered a science because it falls short of the thoroughness in the scientific method. The scientific investigation does not precisely hold on with a conclusion or a purpose but rather in a expectancy which can be regarded merely as a theory. A guess, interpretation, theory and hypothesis are not science (Colby). As contented herein, Meteorology can be considered science in that it has met basic elements that make up science.However, it also has certain flaws that can disqualify it from being considered as such. Regardless of this, it is noteworthy that that the applications of Meteorology especially in weather forecasting have already been considered as among the contribution science can make and as such, Meteorology, with its ambiguity in some of its scientific elements can well be considered as an imperfect science.References Colby, K. M. , & Stoller, R. J. (1988). Cognitive Science and Psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved October 2, 2006, from Questia database http//www.questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=10104147 Meteorology. (2006).Retrieved folk 30, 2006, from Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006 http//encarta. msn. com/text_761571037__1/Meteorology. html Mill, John Stuart. (n. d). The Logic of the Moral Sciences. Retrieved September 30, 2006, from http//www. la. utexas. edu/research/poltheory/mill/sol/sol. b06. c03. html Science. (2006). In Encyclop? dia Britannica. Retrieved September 20, 2006, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online http//www. britannica. com/eb/article-9066286.