Dissertativa 25 - Português e Inglês - IME 2004

Traduza os textos abaixo para o português.

Texto 1

There was an interesting thing on the radio last week. It seems that a bunch of scientists are getting themselves hot under the collar over what drives them to be scientists; the expression ‘because it’s there’ springs to mind. Sure we all know it’s the age-old quest for knowledge, the desire to understand everything from the atom to the black hole. But what these guys want to know is why we want to know all of this in the first place and why can’t science explain why we want to know? Surely, it’s more important to know whether what we scientists are doing is right, rather than get bogged down in debates over the point of it all. I would have thought that the crucial issue here is not why we pursue it, but to recognize that science is a tool, and we are the ones who should decide how, where, when and why to use it.

Texto 2

The laws of classical mechanics and gravitation, which allows us to predict with remarkable accuracy the motions of the several parts of the solar system (including comets and asteroids), have led to the prediction and discovery of new planets. These laws suggest possible mechanisms for the formation of stars and galaxies, and, together with the laws of radiation, they give a good account of the observed connection between the mass and the luminosity of stars. The astronomical applications of the laws of classical mechanics are the most beautiful but not the only successful applications. We use the laws constantly in everyday life and in the engineering sciences. Our contemporary ventures into space and the use of satellites are based upon refined applications of the laws of classical mechanics and gravitation.