The 20th century revolution.

By the end of the 19th century, the dream of the mastery of nature for the benefit of mankind, first expressed in all its richness by Sir Francis Bacon, seemed on the verge of realization. Science was moving ahead on all fronts, reducing ignorance and producing new tools for the amelioration of the human condition.

The discovery of X rays and radioactivity revealed an unexpected new complexity in the structure of atoms. Max Planck's so?-lution to the problem of thermal radiation introduced a discontinuity into the concept of energy that was inexpiable in terms of classical thermodynamics.

Most disturbing of all, the enunciation of the special theory of relativity by Albert Einstein in 1905 not only destroyed the ether and all the physics that depended on it but also redefined physics as the study of relations between observers and events, rather than of the events themselves.

There is still no doubt that science in the 20th century has worked wonders. The new physics-relativity quantum mechanics, particle physics-may outrage common sense, but it enables physicists to probe to the very limits of physical reality.

It is easy to illustrate mentioning the telephone, the radio, the television, the automobile, and the airplane, or any of the countless devices invented by the application of science. There is hardly an article used in the homes, in the places of work, or in the places of enjoyment that has not been modified by technology based on science; the means of communication that bind the continents into a single community depend on scientific know-how, without modern sanitation it would be impossible to have large centre of population; without modern industry and agriculture it would be impossible to feed, to clothe, and to provide the "abundant life" "to this large population.

There is, however, another part of the story less obvious and less well known, but far more important. It is a story of expanding intellectual horizons - the impact of science on the mind of a man. Fundamentally, science is an intellectual enterprise, an attempt to understand the world in a particular way. All the developments mentioned above are but the results, the outcomes of this intellectual activity.

Over the past 150 years the range of human knowledge has been doubled every twelve to fifteen years. In 1930 man knew four times as much as he did in 1900; by 1960 his knowledge had grown sixteen-fold , and by the year 2000 it can be expected to be a hundred times what it had been a century previously.,

The second part of the twentieth century has brought a number of technical innovations, which are still very young but which are taken so much for granted that it is as if they have always existed.

Two outstanding facts need to be kept in mind in any appraisal of the impact of space activities upon our present and future. First we must recognise that science has undergone a lasting transformation in this area of exploration. No longer is scientific endeavour one-man show as it was in the days of Faraday and Edison of their counterparts. Instead we have learned it must be pursued collectively by groups of specialists who In the fifties of the running century hardly anyone would probably have believed that we should be able to sit at home and watch astronauts walking in space or that, people could be kept alive by the heart of a dead man.

The transistor was not invented until 1948. This piece of electronic equipment found wide use in space technology, computers transistor radios, medical instruments, television sets - in fact wherever precise control and modulation of electrical signals was required. It seemed absurd to suppose that it could ever be replaced, however, the invention of ICs (integrated circuits)

in 1958 brought in a new era of change in the field so fundamental, that it already has the characteristics of a second industrial revolution

The revolution in physics has spilled over into chemistry and biology and led to hitherto undreamed of capabilities for the manipulation of atoms and molecules and of cells and their genetic structures. Chemists perform molecular tailoring today as a matter of course, cutting and shaping molecules at will. Genetic engineering makes possible active human intervention in the evolutionary process and holds out the possibility of tailoring living organisms, including the human organism, to specific tasks. This second scientific revolution may prove to be for good or ill, the most important event in the history of mankind.

A mere twelve years separated the launching of the satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957 and man's first landing on the Moon in 1969. The first long-term orbital station Salyut launched in 1971 opened a new era in space research, providing the possibility of conducting investigations in the field of astrophysics, space technology, medicine, biology, etc. under conditions inconceivable on the earth. Another period of ten years and in 1981 we could witness the launching of a typically new cosmic vehicle - the Shuttle.

Science occupies a central position in modern society. It dominates man's whole existence. Research and innovations in technology should improve society's living and working conditions and remedy the negative effects of technical and social changes.

Recent developments of nuclear weapons, satellites, space platforms and intercontinental ballistic missiles have attracted7 and rightly so public attention throughout the world. They make wars of annihilation possible and forcibly thrust upon us the necessity of coming to an understanding with the other nations. It is not merely a matter of peace, but, rather, poses the question of the very survival of the human race.

Today we have the scientific know-how to release such tremendous amounts of energy as would destroy the earth's civilization if misused. All the physical operations of our world can be carried out automatically. The three technological factors -nuclear energy, electronics and space technology - stand out among all others in the strength of their influence on civilization during the next century.

As far as the development of science in the Ukraine is concerned, it is associated with the names of Vladimir Vernadsky, a geochemist, Nikolai Vavilov, a geneticist, Nikolai Strazhesko, a physician. The Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1919. The Ukrainian scientists have contributed much to the following fields: cybernetics, hydraulic extrusion (i.e. processing of metals with high pressure liquids), welding, special metallurgy, manufacture of artificial diamonds, powder metallurgy, electrochemistry of ionic alloys, neurophysiology, and membrane physiology. Among the world-known research institutes there is the Institute of Electric Welling, which is unique in the world and the Institute of Cybernetics, one of the country's biggest research centres working in the field of computing technology and computing mathematics. A lot is to be done by scientists to protect environment.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1298