Tuesday 17 May 2011

Fermentable world of particles

Discovery nucleus hundred years ago changed the world: in the spring of the 1911th Ernest Rutherford on how informed the Royal Society

In many extraordinary discoveries in the history of mankind, from which resulted in the modern scientific-technological civilization, there are few that can be clearly identified as fatal. In modern times in such a course include - formulation of classical mechanics in the 17th and 18, mastering the electromagnetic phenomena in the 19th and penetration in the final structure of matter in the 20th century.

Opening the door submicroscopic world, the farthest from our sensory experience, the discovery of atomic nucleus was the first and crucial step towards this final breakthrough. In the spring of the 1911th Ernest Rutherford informed the Royal Society that it is interpreting the results of Geiger and Marsden, who under his direction for several years experimenting with the passage of alpha particles through thin gold foil, concluded that virtually the entire mass of the atoms, together with a positive electrical charge must be concentrated in a very small area , around a hundred thousand times smaller than the already hopelessly small atoms.

As after every great discovery, and after the discovery of atomic nucleus - the nucleus - the next 100 years was followed by two intertwined series of connected events consequently, the first semantics, then the

practical level. There was a so-called nuclear era of mankind.

Parallel universe

At the cognitive level discovery of the core is directly led to the formation of images of planetary structure of atoms, then a series of successive knowledge about the laws that govern micro, the modern image of the relativistic and quantum essence of nature. It finally led to the understanding of most chemical and biological processes at the atomic and molecular level.

Interpreting the properties of atomic nuclei themselves, and the phenomena that occur in them, we learned that, besides gravity and electromagnetism, there are two forces that govern nature-later called strong and weak interaction. Probably the most fantastic discovery that was within our world there anti-world, the whole parallel universe, but complementary and incompatible with our own.

Understanding of nuclear processes has led to deciphering the origin of chemical elements - we realized that the whole matter had to go through a complex combination of nuclear processes in nature which can take place only in the interiors of stars, and these atoms from which everything is composed. It is also responded to the question of the powerful and long-lasting energy source of stars, including our sun.

Expanding knowledge of the constituents of atoms gradually turned out to participate in the structure of matter surprisingly small number of different elementary particles, and that the fantastic variety of nature enables their abilities to build their complex-related systems - nucleus, atoms, molecules and the macroscopic and megascopic body. In nature, as we now understand, and does nothing else - it is nothing but a constant fermentable world of elementary particles.

On the applied field methods have been developed for handling core, thus achieving the dream of alchemists, converting a chemical element into another. Thus was produced a number of elements that do not exist in nature. Completely unexpected as the application of exotic phenomena and nuclear techniques in medicine. They range from the therapeutic application of nuclear radiation beams to refined diagnostic methods such as PET scanners and magnetic resonance techniques for noninvasive imaging of structure and function inside the human body.

Knowledge of the nuclei of atoms are used for the development of methods for the release of the largest energy that exists in nature - those which have an atomic nucleus. This energy can be controlled and uncontrolled release. Controlled release of energy nuclei are called nuclear energy, despite a variety of children's diseases, in one or other of a number of safe technology whose development is in full swing, inevitably seen as a final solution constantly increasing demands of mankind.

Savic's legacy

Threat posed by the uncontrolled release of energy through various types of nuclear weapons is, starting from the moment of its use against civilians in World War II, changed forever the political landscape of the world. Since then, the ability to use your most powerful weapons against the civilian population is used as an instrument of intimidation and blackmail in

implementing policies that compromise the interests of those who possess these weapons monopoly. Nuclear knowledge and skills have become the main instrument in all sharpen struggle for survival in the human species.

The world will never be the same as before the nuclear era. Now that the nuclear era in his mature years, consider the soon as the state of nuclear knowledge and skills with us. In the time before World War II, when they were committed to significant discoveries about the characteristics of micro, including that of the nuclei of atoms, here the scientific and technical disciplines remained unknown. After the war, in accordance with the doctrine of "big science", with enormous financial and human efforts, under the leadership of Paul Savic, construction and development of the Vinca Institute (which, incidentally, today bears his name) has successfully caught up with then-state nuclear knowledge and skills in the world, a good part and other disciplines.

Over the years, from the city is scattered almost all of our present-day science. However, since the research in nuclear science conference, a number of papers per unit of time and money invested little in these times when using simplified numerical criteria highly valorized only studies that can be easily and with small investments publishes a number of papers, the nuclear science in our country gradually died out.

There are only accidental and insignificant venerable remains of once competent and coherent scientific and technical group that was able not only to monitor world events in the area, but that they largely participate equally. Having lost the competence stay left at the mercy of those who possess it. Proverbial irresponsibility to the legacy of ancestors and the absence of an overriding sense of the importance of continuity in the most complicated areas of the upgrade, here are once again showed a drastic way.

If you do not want that in the coming renaissance of nuclear power to be just helpless observers, we must, with great efforts and large investments, start virtually from scratch.

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