---
title: "Natural science"
chunk: 3/7
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:23:41.697253+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

This discipline is the science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere. It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, geology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe.
Astronomy includes examining, studying, and modeling stars, planets, and comets. Most of the information used by astronomers is gathered by remote observation. However, some laboratory reproduction of celestial phenomena has been performed (such as the molecular chemistry of the interstellar medium). There is considerable overlap with physics and in some areas of earth science. There are also interdisciplinary fields such as astrophysics, planetary sciences, and cosmology, along with allied disciplines such as space physics and astrochemistry.
While the study of celestial features and phenomena can be traced back to antiquity, the scientific methodology of this field began to develop in the middle of the 17th century. A key factor was Galileo's introduction of the telescope to examine the night sky in more detail.
The mathematical treatment of astronomy began with Newton's development of celestial mechanics and the laws of gravitation. However, it was triggered by earlier work of astronomers such as Kepler. By the 19th century, astronomy had developed into formal science, with the introduction of instruments such as the spectroscope and photography, along with much-improved telescopes and the creation of professional observatories.

== Interdisciplinary studies ==

The distinctions between the natural science disciplines are not always sharp, and they share many cross-discipline fields. Physics plays a significant role in the other natural sciences, as represented by astrophysics, geophysics, chemical physics, and biophysics. Likewise, chemistry is represented by such fields as biochemistry, physical chemistry, geochemistry, and astrochemistry.
A particular example of a scientific discipline that draws upon multiple natural sciences is environmental science. This field studies the interactions of physical, chemical, geological, and biological components of the environment, with particular regard to the effect of human activities and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability. This science also draws upon expertise from other fields, such as economics, law, and social sciences.
A comparable discipline is oceanography, as it draws upon a similar breadth of scientific disciplines. Oceanography is subcategorized into more specialized cross-disciplines, such as physical oceanography and marine biology. As the marine ecosystem is vast and diverse, marine biology is further divided into many subfields, including specializations in particular species.
There is also a subset of cross-disciplinary fields with strong currents that run counter to specialization by the nature of the problems they address. Put another way, In some fields of integrative application, specialists in more than one field are a key part of most scientific discourse. Such integrative fields, for example, include nanoscience, astrobiology, and complex system informatics.

=== Materials science ===

Materials science is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field that deals with the study of matter and its properties and the discovery and design of new materials. Originally developed through the field of metallurgy, the study of the properties of materials and solids has now expanded into all materials. The field covers the chemistry, physics, and engineering applications of materials, including metals, ceramics, artificial polymers, and many others. The field's core deals with relating the structure of materials with their properties.
Materials science is at the forefront of research in science and engineering. It is an essential part of forensic engineering (the investigation of materials, products, structures, or components that fail or do not operate or function as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property) and failure analysis, the latter being the key to understanding, for example, the cause of various aviation accidents. Many of the most pressing scientific problems that are faced today are due to the limitations of the materials that are available, and, as a result, breakthroughs in this field are likely to have a significant impact on the future of technology.
The basis of materials science involves studying the structure of materials and relating them to their properties. Understanding this structure-property correlation, material scientists can then go on to study the relative performance of a material in a particular application. The major determinants of the structure of a material and, thus, of its properties are its constituent chemical elements and how it has been processed into its final form. These characteristics, taken together and related through the laws of thermodynamics and kinetics, govern a material's microstructure and thus its properties.

== History ==