Computer that allows downloading (and uploading in some cases) of files by the use of file transfer protocol (FTP) over the internet. There are over a thousand FTP sites with hundreds of thousands of text, graphics, sound, and video files freely available to anyone. However, a FTP site is not a website because its data cannot be displayed like a webpage. See also anonymous FTP.
Scientific tools for making observations include a microscope, which is a tool used to see very small objects. In your science lab you use a compound microscope to see cells in 2-D, but a scientist can use a scanning electron microscope to view tiny objects in 3-D.
Tools Used by Scientists. Scientists use complex and precise tools to perform research. In the field, scientists use highly accurate measuring devices to find data about how a system or process works. To record and analyze the data they find, scientists often use powerful software programs and computers. Depending on the type of research they do, scientists may use dozens of tools in the course of one research project. (michaeljung/iStock/Getty Images)