How we breathe or how our heart beats, how the force of gravity works, what lightning is, what water is made of… are aspects that have often captivated human beings and led them to try to find an explanation.
This has led to the emergence of a large number of ideas in this regard, and after the emergence of science, different disciplines have become interested in answering the different questions that arise.
Throughout this article Let’s see what are the branches of natural sciences one of the most important scientific fields.
In science there are multiple objects of study and a great variety of disciplines that are dedicated to studying them. The variety is so great that classifications have often been made in this regard. The best known and probably one of the simplest (and to some extent arbitrary) is which divides the sciences into natural and social
Regarding the former, we can find that those branches that are responsible for studying the natural world, its composition and functioning are part of this group. For example, all the previous examples are studied by different branches of natural sciences.
To talk about the natural sciences is to talk about the type of questions that human beings have been asking about the universe since the dawn of time, being probably the oldest of all the sciences.
The natural sciences are all that set of scientific disciplines that have as a common characteristic the fact of have the natural (material) world as an object of study and the phenomena that occur in it.
They also have in common that they are generally the type of sciences that have focused the most on seeking an explanation. far from subjectivity and based on evidence as well as those most related to the mathematical field and logic.
This is helped by the fact that the object of study is generally directly visible or perceptible (something that in the case of social sciences is much more complex to achieve, which is why they have always been seen as more subjective).
Within the natural sciences we can find a great diversity of disciplines referring to a great diversity of aspects of the natural world.
The main branches of natural sciences
Below we show some of the most relevant disciplines that make up the branches of natural sciences.
1. Physics
Being one of the fundamental basic sciences, physics is one of the best-known branches of natural sciences, which It is dedicated to the study of the properties of matter and energy as well as the laws that govern them and the interactions they maintain with each other.
Physics is one of the oldest natural sciences and one of the first sciences to be considered as such. Although it has a very extensive theoretical body, it is a science that is not limited to mere theory but has great applicability in a wide variety of areas.
In fact, from it Many other subdisciplines emerge such as mechanics, thermodynamics, optics , electromagnetism or acoustics, or it can even be linked to other sciences as is the case, for example, of biophysics or astrophysics. Aspects such as space and time are also valued, and even investigate how these work.
One of the main branches of natural sciences is chemistry, which has as its object of study the composition and structure of matter (whether organic or inorganic), as well as its properties and the interactions between the different types of existing matter.
Chemistry has allowed the development of a large number of elements useful for life and survival, including, among others, the development of pharmacology.
3. Geology
Partly related to the previous sciences, geology is one of the branches of the natural sciences that are least thought about but are of great use to human beings.
Study the Earth and its origin, composition, structure and evolution throughout history Thanks to it we can analyze the soils, the behavior of the Earth’s interior or the movement of tectonic plates, something that facilitates the practice of construction or agriculture or allows us to prevent disasters such as earthquakes.
4. Astronomy
Astronomy is another of the great scientific disciplines within the natural sciences. In this case the object of study is none other than the cosmos, its structure and composition, its behavior and movements
It is deeply related to physics, and can in fact be considered a specialized derivation of it.
5. Biology
Biology is one of the most relevant scientific disciplines and is among those that generally have a more perceptible object of study: living beings, their structure, their functioning and vital processes through which they pass.
Within this macroscience we can find different specializations or sub-branches, such as zoology (animals), ecology (natural systems), molecular biology (cells and molecules), botany (plants), microbiology (bacteria and viruses) or mycology (fungi). We could also consider that anatomy would be part of it.
One of the branches of natural sciences that has been most useful for humanity and its direct survival is medicine, through which it is studied. the human organism, its healthy functioning and possible pathologies or injuries that it can suffer in order to allow us to survive and maintain the state of health of the population.
Within medicine there are also a large number of branches, including cardiology, neurology, pulmonology, psychiatry or obstetrics among many others.
Now, there are other sciences linked to health. Examples of this are nursing, clinical psychology or pharmacology, in addition to veterinary medicine. However, both medicine and all health sciences are considered partly natural and partly social, although they are generally more closely linked to the natural sciences. In the case of psychology, depending on the specific branch it will be one or the other.
