Man and Technical Progress

Notes

A Long Way to Go

Notes

¹ home life — быт

² applied sciences — прикладные науки

³ pure sciences — фундаментальные науки

Astronomy is almost certainly the oldest of all the scienc­es. Since his beginning, man has gazed up at the stars and wondered what they should be and why they are there. He has even attempted to discover his destiny by observing them. Although most of early man's ideas about the Uni­verse seem comical nowadays, many ancient civilizations achieved a remarkable understanding of astronomy. They not only deduced that the Earth revolves round the Sun, but also measured the distance between them. In particular, the Greeks made very accurate measurements of the posi­tions and apparent movements of the stars, and the star catalogue produced by Hipparchus in 150 B.C.¹ was not improved until the 16th century.

The Chinese, too, had a well-developed knowledge of astronomy. In 1054 A.D.,² they recorded a spectacular cos­mic event - the explosion of a star, which became so bright that it could be seen during the day for several months. The remnants of this event might have formed one of the most beautiful and still one of the most studied objects in the sky, the Crab Nebula.³

One of the tragedies of astronomy is that after the great discoveries made by many of the ancient civilizations, much of the knowledge seems to have been lost for many centuries. The fact that the Earth is round was known to the Greeks, but it took the great voyages of Christopher Columbus in the 15th century to prove it all over again. Even the Greeks didn't get it all right, however. Ptolemy, who, unfortunately, was held in high regard,⁴ placed the Earth and not the Sun at the centre of everything and it was not until the 16th century, in fact, that Copernicus proved once and for all⁵ that some of the earliest astronom­ers had been right the first time.

Man had by this time put a great deal of effort into ob­serving the Universe. But the beginning of modern astron­omy really had to wait until the early 17th century, when Galileo built his first small telescope and was able to catch a glimpse of the true depth and mystery of the Universe.

¹ B.C. = Before Christ — до нашей эры

² A. D. = Anno Domini — нашей эры

³ Crab Nebula — созвездие Рака

⁴ to be hold in high regard — пользоваться уважением

⁵ once and for all — навсегда

***

A little over sixty years ago, on January 28, 1902 And­rew Carnegie founded what was to become a new kind of institution for America: the first to be devoted wholly to fundamental research over wide fronts of science, in the most completely basic aspect.

The Carnegie Institution of Washington was established specifically to encourage, in the broadest and most liberal manner, investigation research and discovery and the appli­cation of knowledge to the improvements of mankind.

The scientists in the Departments of the Institution have no commitment except to carry on research; they are not required to teach; they choose their own fields of in­vestigation.

Carnegie Institution scientists in the last sixty years have made far-ranging major contributions to knowledge in almost every field of science. They have been pioneers in opening areas.

At present, Carnegie Institution's interests are mainly in three broad fields: 1) the form, contents and dynamics of the universe; 2) the structure and evolution of the earth; and 3) the frontiers of biology. Work in these pioneering areas is being carried on in six research centres operated by the Institution and by individual scientists and research teams.

1. The first Industrial Revolution took place between the years 1760 and 1860. It was a revolution resulting from the introduction of a new form of power — steam power. The first industrial revolution gave us machines to do the work that had been done before by men's hands. The second Industrial Revolution is much more complicated than the earlier one. In fact, it is a series of revolutions. The second revolution has produced machines that can do the work of men's brains.

2. In 1957 the launching of the Earth's first man-made satellite ushered in the space age. Since then, automatic space probes have brought information about the Moon's surface and samples of its soil. They reached the planets Mars and Venus and are transmitting back to the Earth singular data about outer space over hundreds of millions of miles. People have learned how to live and work in near space and on the Moon, and are preparing for the day when interplanetary travel will be possible.

3. The population of the Earth is growing rapidly. The utilization of natural resources is growing accordingly. How does the environment influence man and how does society influence nature? Scientists study this problem. Various types of human activity are becoming more and more independent of environmental conditions. All this does not mean that environmental factors and conditions no longer have an effect on our activities. Quite the contrary, the more independent of the environment our actions become, the more fully must we take into Account its properties and conditions. Technical progress has made it imperative.

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