How Science and Technology Help Each Other

Science is the study of the natural world and how it works. Technology puts scientific knowledge to work to solve problems, either by building things or by finding new ways to do things. In this way, technology depends on science.

Science often depends on technology, too! New technology may make it possible for scientists to study things that are too small, too far away, or too hard to reach for scientists to observe them directly.

The telescope is an example of technology that both depends on science and helps do more science. Early scientists studied how light is bent by lenses. Others used that understanding of light to put lenses together to make a telescope. Once telescopes existed, scientists used them to learn more about planets, moons, and stars.

Another connection between science and technology is that they use many of the same skills and tools. Both scientists and engineers need to think creatively, make observations, measure and record results, and use math to analyze and interpret their results.