Date of this Version From the history of science we can learn
not only some science and some history, but also something about
how science is done and how it interacts with technology. The
First case study chosen illustrates the development of an
understanding of a phenomenon of nature-one that has been
observed with awe and wonder for as long as man has walked the
Earth, but has only been well understood in the last 200 years.
Some of the greatest thinkers of all time have worked on the
problems of the rainbow. The second study shows how an important
invention became possible only when nature was well enough
understood. It also illustrates the interaction of science and
technology, that is, between understanding and application.