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Fifty Years of Soviet Science and Technology

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SCIENCE ET LOGIQUE

A. T. Grigoryan, L. A. Filatova (U.S.S.R.)

FIFTY YEARS OF SOVIET SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The peoples of the m ultinational Soviet Union celebrated the 50th anni­ versary of the G reat October Socialist R evolution in Novem ber 1967. Half a century is not a m om ent on historical scale. And still, th e ge­ neration of the present century perceives a radical trasform ation of the world. W hat principal changes have occured in the cou ntry w hich was the first to choose the socialist way of developm ent? Millions of people all over the w orld w an t to know the advance of science in a classless society as well as th e peculiarities of this advance th a t constituted the great trium phs of Soviet science.

We do not aim to present an exhaustive list of events com prised by the fifty years of the history of Soviet science; nor do we in ten d to characterize this science in detail. We set out to outline in brief some principal trends in the advance of Soviet science and technology.

Im m ediately afte r the victory of th e O ctober revolution th e Soviet governm ent undertook resolute m easures intended to stipulate a com­ prehensive developm ent of science and technology. In his concise and concrete “O utline of Scientific and Technological U ndertakings”, w rit­ te n in A pril 1918, V. I. Lenin has posed the principal directions of go­ vernm ental policy in this field.

Early in 1920 Lenin suggested th a t a d ra ft of the state electrification plan be elaborated. The S tate commission of the electrification of Rus­ sia headed by G. M. K rzhizhanovsky was organized. It m anaged to enlist the co-operation of the most em inent electricians, technologists, builders, economists, heat engineers etc. Thus a detailed plan of recon­ struction of the co un try ’s in du stry on the foundations of advanced science and technology was developed.

A v ery rapid grow th in the num ber of research w orkers occurred in the tw enties and the thirties. Accordingly, the num ber of scientific problems studied in Russia increased.

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66 A. T. Grigoryan, L. A. Filatova

Soviet science has always combined its applied tasks w ith the ela­ boration of fundam ental problems. The Soviet state created possibilities for the grow th of large scientific schools handling both practical and quite abstract topics. Although the la tte r did n o t .promise any im mediate

practical applications of th e results gained by stu d y th e ir fu tu re practical effect proved to be immense. This can be shown in regard to m ath e­ matics.

In the early tw enties a m athem atical school created in Moscow on the eve of the revolution and specializing in the theory of functions of real variables made great progress and contributed im portant discove­ ries to science. We m ean studies on the substantiation of differential and integral calculations. The theory of functions of real variables was thoroughly elaborated in the Soviet Union; these studies make p art of the h istory of w orld m athem atics.

The theory of probabilities was another branch of the application of the th eo ry of function. The axiomatics of th e theory of probabilities suggested by A. N. Kolmogorov was universally recognized. Im portant studies w ere undertaken on problem s of the application of th e theory of probabilities in mechanics, physics, technology. Soviet investigators in this field participated in the w orks on new problem s set by cyberne­ tics and the theory of inform ation.

A large new science of most im portant practical applications, i.e. th at of the functional analysis, has been growing during the recent decades on th e basis of variational calculations, ab stract algebra, the theory of functions, m ultidim ensional geom etry etc.

L et us now consider the subjects w hich are of prim ary im portance for the new image of the world and are most effective for the recon­ struction of industry, transport, com munication, th e whole mode of life on the grounds of new technology. These subjects secure the progress of all scientific fields, of experim ental and theoretical physics. Here Soviet science had made the most amazing advance—from sm all u n i­ versity laboratories of the pre-R evolutionary Russia to the great modern accelerators and other experim ental devices.

The relativist cosmology, i.e. the doctrine of th e universe based on the theory of relativity, is just m aking its first steps: however, this enables us to envisage its fu rth e r progress. This progress not only signifies a new stage of the doctrine of the universe but undoubtedly renders param o­ unt practical results. Suffice it to m ention th a t reactions m aintaining the heat of planets are therm onuclear reactions and w ill be peacefully used for the benefit of industry, culture and science.

Cosmological and cosmogonic concepts proved to be closely connected w ith notions on the ways of atoms, atomic nuclei and elem entary particles.

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astrophysics. Now it is possible to gain from the E arth inform ation on astrophysical processes not only by m eans of visible rays, i.e. electro­ m agnetic waves in th e optical range, b ut also from radiom odification of celestial bodies and X -rays and gam m a-rays.

The im mense acceleration of scientific progress promises th e study and conquest of the ou ter space by m eans of space-ships and satellites. The theoretical foundations for the space travels w ere elaborated by K. E. Tsiolkovsky who form ulated the speed of rocket-flight and laid th e foundations of rocket-dynam ics. Soviet science and technology occupies a num ber of leading positions in this field; some principally new stqps w ere made in this country (the first satellite and th e first m an-ship w ere launched in th e Soviet Union; the first m an to q u it the board of a space ship in flight was a Soviet cosmonaut). This created the possibility to judge of astrophysical processes from X -radiation and gam m a-radiation, for such radiations w ith short waves are absorbed by the atm osphere of the E arth. The contribution of Soviet science in this respect is very im portant. New studies rendered the notions of atm osphe­ ric processes more precise and gave practical resu lts em ployed in w eather-forecasting, radio and TV-communication. This, how ever, is but a small portion of fu tu re practical gains coming w ith th e conquest of th e outer space.

The stu d y of the m icro-world, of the increasingly sm aller space and tim e fields is another capital task faced by science. This task requires the application of very high energies. P articles w ith high energies are subjected to regularities of the special theory of relativity. This pertains to nuclear processes educing great energy under the u ranium division, th e division of some other heavy elem ents and under the influence of the nuclei of the lightest elem ents placed by M endeleev at the beginning of his periodical table.

The developm ent of qu antum mechanics was an exam ple of in te r­ national scientific co-operation. Soviet science participated in th e crea­ tion and generalization of quantum m echanics and in the attem p ts to elaborate the relativist q u antum physics. A num ber of w orks resulting in the highly im portant theoretical generalizations and practical appli­ cations w ere realized in the Soviet Union. N um erous experim ental stu ­ dies m aking use of the quantum th eo ry enabled Soviet physicists (A. F. Yoffe, Ya. I. F renkel et a l.) to elaborate foundations of the mo­ d ern physics of semiconductors.

Also im portant w ere Soviet investigations in low tem p eratu res w hich led P. L. K apitsa to the discovery of a pure quantum effect of th e su p er­ fluidity of helium. Theoretical studies of Soviet physicists form the basis of the use of superconductivity in radio-and electrotechnology.

Discoveries in th e field of radioactivity, especially artificial radio­ activity, discoveries of new nuclear reactions and new elem entary p

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ar-68 A. T. Grigoryan, L. A. Filatova

tid e s w ere quite frequ ent in the thirties. Science has made a significant progress in the doctrine of the atomic nucleus ascertaining its compo­ sition. The bom bardm ent of atoms w ith rapid particles provided ab u n ­ dant inform ation on atoms and nuclei. Cosmic radiation, system atically studied by physicists throughout the w orld enriched the tab le of the discovered elem entary particles. The study of elem entary particles was considerably facilitated by the devices founded on the so-called “Che- renkov’s lum iniscence”, a phenom enon discovered by the Nobel Prize w inners I. E. Tamm, I. M. F rank and P. A. Cherenkov and postulated by particles w hich move in a given m edium quicker th an light.

A scientific school system atically studying cosmic rays and phenom ena which appear during the interaction of cosmic rays w ith nuclei of atoms was created in the Soviet Union. A great num ber of new experim ental plants, including m ountain laboratories, w ere built for its needs.

D uring the forties, sim ultaneously w ith th e A m erican scientist Mac­ M illan V. I. V eksler suggested a new principle of constructing accele­ rators which furnished possibilities for a lim itless enhancem ent of the energy of particles.

Soviet scientists w ere active in the exceptionally im portant series of experim ents and generalizations leading to the release and application of nuclear energy. The theory of th e heavy nuclei division suggested by Ya. I. F renkel (sim ultaneously w ith the Danish scientist N. Bohr and the A m erican physicist G. W ilier) was very im portant for the study of th e atomic nucleus and the use of nuclear energy. Soviet scientists w ere the first to m ake in 1940 an im portant discovery enabling them to realize the process of uranium -division w ith insignificant dressing of the n a tu ral m ixture of isotopes. Soviet physicists headed by I. V. K u r­ chatov solved in brief tim e the task of creating th e atomic and therm o­ nuclear weapons and of the peaceful em ploym ent of atomic energy. The series of experim ental and theoretical w orks resulted in th e creation of peaceful nuclear energetics; the first large atomic pow er stations and th e atomic ice-breaker “Lenin” w ere built.

R ecently a num ber of studies in the field of quantum generators and accelerators of radiation (lasers and masers) w ere und ertak en in the Soviet Union. The practically suitable lasers w ere created in th e fifties and the sixties owing largely to the works of Soviet physicists who thus laid foundations of quantum electronics. Soviet physicists N. G. Basov and A. N. Prokhorov (and the A m erican scientist Ch. Towns) w ere aw arded th e Nobel Prize for these studies in 1964.

Evidently the best perspectives are to be ascribed to an already developed branch of science studying increasingly higher energies—the physics of high energies. Soviet science has larg ely contributed to the study of cosmic rays. No less im portant is its contribution to the acce­ lerators of particles. The greatest accelerator of the w orld is now being

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built in Serpuhov. This accelerator will im p art to particles an an erg y of 70 billion electron-volts.

Thus, the Soviet Union possesses the m ost im portant conditions for the study of high energies. Rocket technique makes possible th e stu d y of particles of an energy yet unattainable w ith accelerators, for instance, particles coming to the E arth from the outer space (we can cite studies by means of heavy “P ro to n ” type satellites investigating cosmic rays). The most pow erful accelerators are also available for Soviet scientists.

A ttem pts to synthesize heavy tran su ran iu m elem ents constitute one of the most significant directions in the physics of the atomic nucleus. Soviet scientists w ere among th e first to discover one of the isotopes of such an elem ent, nam ely an isotope of th e 102nd elem ent. The joint effort of scientists from the Soviet Union and th e Socialist countries w orking in Dubna helped to study the characteristics of fou r other iso­ topes of the elem ent. The 104th elem ent of the periodic system was la ter discovered in the Soviet Union and nam ed “K urchatovy” .

The influence exerted by modern physics upon th e scientific, c u ltu ­ ral and technological advance is not lim ited to the physical discoveries exclusively. The influence of physics upon other fields of science is one of th e most fru itfu l tendencies of the present epoch. This m ight be shown in regard to Soviet chem istry; the related fields and problem s are very significant for th e successes of the chemical sciences in th e Soviet Union. In the field of physical chem istry the use of rontgenoscopy, spectro­ scopy and other physical methods enabled to define interatom ic distances and other values of p rim ary im portance for th e solution of chem ical problem s proper. The quantum chem istry emerged.

A school of radiochem istry comprising all th e trend s in this field developed in the Soviet Union in the tw enties. At p resent radiochem istry, owing to the construction of nuclear reactors and pow erful accelerators, possesses some new est fields—th e chem istry of nuclear transform ations and the chem istry of tran su ran iu m elem ents.

The com bination of wide theoretical generalizations and applied results is quite peculiar to the doctrine of the rates of chemical processes. The Soviet scientist, Nobel P rize w inner N. N. Semionov, created a th e ­ ory of chain reactions rendering it one of the fundam ental directions in m odern science. The theory of chain reactions had led to th e in vesti­ gation of a num ber of chemical processes em ployed in industry.

The doctrine of catalysis was also intensively developed in th e So­ viet Union. The Soviet school of electrochem ists carried out num erous studies in th e field of theoretical and applied electrochem istry.

W ithin recent decades a new branch of chem ical industry, the che­ m istry of oil, has grown in the Soviet Union. This in d u stry produces hundreds of valuable items of obviously high technological im portance. The rapid progress of the chem istry of oil was secured by the in v esti­

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70 A. T. Grigoryan, L. A. Filatova

gations of Russian organic chem ists under the guidance of N. D. Zelin­ sky. Studies in the field of chem istry and physics of the high-m olecular compounds w ere also advanced in the Soviet Union. A num ber of re­ searches leading to theoretical foundations and im m ediately contributing to the technological progress w ere devoted to polymers. Owing to the w ork of S. V. Lebedev, an intensified in d ustrial production of synthetic ru bber was started in the Soviet Union as early as in 1930.

The fundam ental advance of Soviet electrochem istry was largely due to the native w ork leading to the developm ent of some new divisions of theoretical electrochem istry.

The sciences of the E arth are w idely developed in th e Soviet Union. Here th e use of th e newest physical and chemical m ethods of investi­ gation played a great role. Studies by the em inent Soviet scientists V. I. V ernadsky and A. E. Fersm an created a new branch of science—ge­ ochem istry engaged in the study of the history of chemical elements in the earth-core and of their behaviour under different therm odynam ic, physical and chemical conditions existing in nature. M ethods of abyssal sounding of the e a rth w ere suggested by geophysics; apparatuses for geophysical study of the earth-core, hydrosphere and atm osphere appe­ ared. A netw ork of seismic stations was created. Aided by geophysics and geochem istry Soviet geology secured th e solution of some cardinal problem s of th e earth-core stru ctu re and development.

A 15-volume collective w ork on the Foundations of Paleontology issued recently presents a new system atics of th e whole stock of fossil organism s; this is a b rillian t achievem ent of Soviet science.

Achievements in the study of geological processes and the stru ctu re of the earth-core enabled Soviet scientists to begin in the fifties investi­ gations on the general regularities of the distribution of m inerals. Some im portant discoveries of th e last decade (diamonds in Y akutia, large oil and gas deposits in W estern Siberia, great gas layers in Milddle Asia etc.) are a d irect consequence of scientific forecasts m ade previously w hen the problem was approached theoretically.

Theoretical w ork in geology was oriented tow ards th e creation of sufficient basis of m ineral resources for Soviet industry. Owing to the wide range of these studies the rapidly developing native industry was always provided w ith m ineral raw m aterials and no need of im port emerged. Soviet stores of m any m inerals are the largest in the world; this secures the satisfaction of the needs of perspective planning of many industries for decades ahead.

The explorations of Soviet scientists in the Arctic and the A ntarctic brought significant achievements. G reat subm arine ridges and new is­ lands and archipelagos were discovered in the A rctic basin. Some 500 n a ­ mes appeared on the map of the A ntarctic since 1955 owing to Soviet studies.

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In the field of th e doctrine of life Soviet scholars studied th e pro ­ blems of heredity and favoured the advance of m olecular biology. They are also active in the field of cosmic biology and in th e studies of th e influence displayed by radiation upon h ered ity in radiational genetics.

I. P. Pavlov revealed an objective approach to the knowledge of th e regularities of m ental activity and, proceeding from here, elaborated a doctrine of higher nervous activity. Aided by m odern electrophysio- logical tenets and certain new principles, his successors pen etrated fu rth e r on into the m echanisms of conditioned reflexes. The new appro­ ach h a s also led to a decisive advance in the know ledge of th e brain structures.

Zoologists made a capital job of studying the anim al kingdom of th e Soviet Union. Animals of economic value w ere studied most thoroughly. The results of these studies are contained in th e num erous m onographic editions on the fauna (90 volumes) and determ inators for separate syste­ m atic groups of anim als (93 volumes).

The different branches of parasitology im p o rtan t for the public health and the advance of ag ricu ltu ral productivity w ere also developed in the Soviet Union. Here we should m ention E. N. Pavlovsky’s doctrine of n atu ral nidi of transm issive diseases w hich is recognized throughout the w orld and w idely used by medicine, v eterin ary science and general biology.

Successes of Soviet helm inthology, connected w ith K. N. S criabin’s doctrine of the devastation of helm inths, are universally famous.

The progress of Soviet botanies was intense w ithin the last half-cen­ tu ry . A capital 30-volume guide Flora of the U.S.S.R. contains ch aracte­ ristics of some 17,000 species of plants.

To sum up our b rief account of the advance of Soviet science and technology we m ust emphasize th a t the Soviet contribution to th e w orld science and the role of science in the progress of the Soviet Union are immense. Scientific developm ent in the Soviet Union displays great influence on th e rise of productivity of th e public labour, upon the perfection of the conditions of life. It brings a colossal broadening of the hum an view of the Universe. The progressive advance of scientific thought in the Soviet Union is connected w ith th e principal tra its of Soviet society and w ith the tasks set by the Soviet people before itself.

The country struggling for peace and liquidation of th e th re a t of a new w ar was th e first country to sta rt the peaceful use of the atomic energy. It was th e first country to p en etrate into the outer space.

The country w here ind u stry and science develop system atically and harm oniously for th e benefit of m an gives an instance of th e most effective practical use of scientific discoveries.

The country w here the people is for ever lib erated from exploitation and oppression gives rise to thousands of gifted investigators of nature.

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72 A. T. Grigoryan, L. A. Filatova

The country w here science is guided by a strictly scientific outlook is rapidly accum ulating data on the m aterial processes underlying the phenom ena of nature.

Such is the country w here, in V. I. L enin’s words, “all m arvels of technology, all achievem ents of c u ltu re” became pro p erty of the whole people.

The g reater are the people’s dream s and intentions, the more im ­ po rtant is science to realize them. Therefore in th e Soviet Union which solves great economic and cu ltural tasks, science is an im portant state domain, an object of care and help from the whole of the people.

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