Tuesday, May 21, 2019

783: Space, the Final Frontier....

If there is one legacy of the 20th century, that has a huge impact on our daily life, then it is rocket and space technology.
    
It finds its origins in the wish to create weapons of war. It was Hitler, Penemünde, Werner von Braun during World War II, 
  
that directed human creativity to  this path of potential destruction , but also exciting exploration of space.
   
We now take space technology for granted, hardly wonder about it, but in the 1950s it was a dramatic development.
   
The Cold War caused bitter rivalry on either side of the Iron Curtain, a major change from the atmosphere of cooperation that had prevailed among physicists at the start of the century. 
   
Now physics with its shadowy activities had become the most secret discipline. The rivalry was also greatest here.
   
On Friday, October 4, 1957, the world was surprised with the announcement that the Soviets had shot a satellite in orbit. 
  
The Sputnik-1 had a diameter of only 48 centimeters and did not do very much while circling around the earth at a speed of almost 500 kilometers per minute. 
  
But that didn't matter., The mere fact that a satellite hung high in the sky and that had flown four times over America the first day 
  
was a symbol of the Cold War and the competitive battle between the US and Russia. It was a shock for the US.
  
I guess the name will be unfamiliar to you as it was to me and it has been kept secret for decades by Russia, but it is Sergei Pavlovich Korolev  (1907  –  1966)
  
Where the US had its German rocket scientists and Werner von Braun, the Soviets had their Sergie Korolev. You can find him in Wikipedia today.
   
Before his death in 1966 he was officially identified only as Glavny Konstruktor , or the Chief Designer, to protect him from possible cold war assassination attempts by the United States.
  
All these scientific developments were not guided by logical rationality, but by the competition between political powers.
    
In 1959 "The logic of Scientific Discovery" by Karl Popper was published in England. In this book he elaborates on his view 
   
that the scientist approaches the world - nature - essentially as a stranger and that science differs from other approaches 
   
in that the scientist only recognizes knowledge or experience that is falsifiable. 
   
According to Popper, science is different from, for example, religion or metaphysics: there is no place for revelation or belief or intuition, at least no central place; 
   
scientific knowledge continues to increase, but that knowledge is never 'completed' in the sense that we 'know' about something that is true forever.
    
But Popper focused exclusively on the rationalism of science, the logic with which it , often with success, tries to get ahead. 
   
The entire shadow area of ​​activities, the context of rivalry, competition, ambitions, and hidden agendas 
  
of the characters in these dramas was left out of consideration as inappropriate and irrelevant, minor and not essential.
   
In other words, whatever methodology you describe on paper, science is done by humans.
   
This is also very well explained by Thomas Kuhn in 1962 in his book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions". See http://www.herman-bergson.nl/P12/Project012.html  (19 and 20).
  
Thank you for your attention again...
   
The Discussion

[13:17] oola Neruda: my husband has just finished reading that book
[13:17] herman Bergson: it is worth reading indeed
[13:17] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): it deals with the issue of Paradigm shifts, right?
[13:17] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): oki
[13:18] herman Bergson: yes Elisabath
[13:18] herman Bergson: And it shows how human science is :-)
[13:18] herman Bergson: That is what we learnt from the 20th century too
[13:19] oola Neruda: i attended a lecture on the space race given by Gorbechov's son  (spelling")  He described the process of staying ahead of us... and it was not easy...
[13:19] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): luckily we now use these techs mostly for good. for ex satellites for tv and radio and also probably the most useful to me the GPS system
[13:19] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): its human because it requires creativity in order to formulate hypothesis
[13:19] herman Bergson: yes...
[13:19] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): also developed by the milirtary but nwadays mostly used for recreation (TURF and Pokemon Go)
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and navigation in general
[13:20] oola Neruda: he named names.... then his wife corrected a name (she was in the audience) and .... ooooooo.... not good... he called her out in front of everyone
[13:20] herman Bergson: and it is interesting to see how all this technology emerged from a race to the moon  in the previous century
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa ye
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): s
[13:21] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): I´ll never forgive the sputnik 2 dudes for what they did to Laika
[13:21] CB Axel rolls her eyes   Men's egos!
[13:21] herman Bergson: the Russians 'lost' due to the death of Kovolev in 1966
[13:21] herman Bergson: The poor dog was fried
[13:21] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): pointless
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaw yes did not survive, so also did not understand why they did it
[13:22] herman Bergson: The capsule didn't got loose from the rocket which caused overheating
[13:22] herman Bergson: and thence the death of the dog
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa ok, did not remember exactly what happened just that something went wrong
[13:23] CB Axel: I thought Laika would have died anyway. Did they plan on bringing her back?
[13:23] herman Bergson: eventually the dog would have died anyway.....
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cosmic radiation
[13:24] herman Bergson: Maybe it is still up there....
[13:24] herman Bergson: no...suffocation...
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm that too
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i mostly know that 1 they sent a dog into space. 2 the dogs name was Laika and 3 that it probably did not made it
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): otherwise not checked it out too much
[13:25] herman Bergson: The dog made it to space....at least that
[13:26] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): the way I see it, the scientific method is just a tool, its ok if its devoid of humanity, we have Philosophy of science to deal with the objectives of science and the ethical implications of scientific projects
[13:26] herman Bergson: It was called a martyrer for  the good cause...
[13:26] herman Bergson: which was developing ICBMs
[13:26] CB Axel: Given the choice, I doubt the dog would have chosen space over life.
[13:27] CB Axel: A dog gave its life so that man could kill many men over great distance.
[13:27] CB Axel: What a cause. :(
[13:27] herman Bergson: And that is our life today....a world filled with intercontinental nuclear missles
[13:28] herman Bergson: and we hardly blink about that
[13:28] herman Bergson: it seems
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): technology which could be used for much better things
[13:28] oola Neruda: a good book to read... it is funny but factual... SURELY YOU'RE JOKING MR FEINMAN
[13:28] CB Axel: I've been thinking a lot about that today. John Bolton seems to want to get us into a war somewhere.
[13:28] oola Neruda: FEYNMAN
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but only when its about wiping each other out money doesnt matter it seems, then there are unlimited resources, sad fact
[13:28] CB Axel: Feynman was a genius. :-)
[13:29] herman Bergson: Yes CB...crossed my mind too....the Iran issue
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): otherwise u always hear ITS TOO EXPENSIVE!
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): why?
[13:29] oola Neruda: HE IS ALSO HILAROIOUS... YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ THE BOOK
[13:29] herman Bergson: It doesn't stop Bolton, oola
[13:29] oola Neruda: it's about building the bomb...
[13:29] CB Axel: Iran, Venezuela, any place. He wants a war and doesn't seem to care where.
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): for ex US planned to build a particle accelerator many times the size of LHC, the so called SSC (SUperconducting supercollider)
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but was deemed to expensive and abandoned
[13:30] CB Axel: I do want to read that, oola. I've heard it's really good.
[13:30] oola Neruda: serious but funny
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the thing is i read somewhere that the amount of money to build the macine the US military use up in 1 day on weapons and other killing machines
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): to build that accelerator
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i don't get it
[13:31] CB Axel: Yep. We spend a ridiculous amount on military crap.
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_Super_Collider
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they could have made this instead much better
[13:32] herman Bergson: Well....with this president perhaps....but fact is that military power also  can be a stabilizing fact in this world
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): instead of all weapons
[13:33] herman Bergson: Already in the 1949s Kovolev stated that possessing the rockets is as important as launching them
[13:33] CB Axel: But look what happened after WWII. Once Germany and Japan were no longer allowed to build up their militaries they're economies grew.
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): a deterrent
[13:33] herman Bergson: which is the present situation
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): which hopefully newer vill be used
[13:34] herman Bergson: I hope there won't be another Cuba crisis indeed
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa puh that was a close call
[13:34] herman Bergson: But  with Bolton..........?!
[13:35] CB Axel: I've been trying to figure out why Bolton wants a war so much.
[13:35] oola Neruda: nothing unites a nation like being at war
[13:35] CB Axel: Is it just hyper-macho bullshit or does he have money in weapons manufacturing?
[13:35] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cause he is insane
[13:36] herman Bergson: It would be a brilliant distraction from Mueller and tax returns of Trump
[13:36] oola Neruda: right
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm ok
[13:36] oola Neruda: and suddenly everyone would be patriotic
[13:36] herman Bergson: right
[13:36] herman Bergson: The idea scares me
[13:37] oola Neruda: YES
[13:37] CB Axel: I believe Bolton wanted war before Trump was elected.
[13:37] herman Bergson: I guess you are right CB
[13:37] CB Axel: If he wants to blow things up so badly, he should go work for Michael Bay.
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): why not do as I and a  cousin did before a lot, go to an abandoned quarry and play with some dynamite
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that made me enough bang happy
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehe
[13:39] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): :))
[13:39] CB Axel: I'll give Bolton all the dynamite he wants if he uses it to blow himself up.
[13:39] herman Bergson: you did, Bejiita????
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehe yep and i still know how to use the stuff properly
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but was long since
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): you have still all your fingers?
[13:40] SAHUD 10.0.34 BETA (WEAR ME!): Enter SIM: Melkor87 Resident
[13:40] Lecturehall: 2019-05-14  [22:40]  Melkor87 Resident
[13:40] herman Bergson: Hello Melkor
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): there is an abandoned one a bit from here though where it could be fun doing a Friday salute after work but as soon someone hear an explosion today they think its a terrorist or shooting so probably no good idea now
[13:40] CB Axel: Oh yes! TNT was invented by Nobel from Sweden.
[13:41] Melkor (melkor87): Hello everyone.
[13:41] oola Neruda: hello
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): no Dynamite was his creation
[13:41] CB Axel: Hello, Melkor.
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): TNT is a different substance'
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hi oola
[13:41] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): hey Melkor :)
[13:41] CB Axel: Ah, dynamite. Sorry.
[13:42] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): im somehow more worried about biological weapons or even chemical weapons than by the worlds nuclear forces for some reason
[13:42] CB Axel: Yeah. Those are nasty, Elisabeth. Very scary.
[13:42] herman Bergson: Apart from Syria there is little talk about those weapons these days Elisabeth
[13:43] herman Bergson: which is interesting too
[13:43] herman Bergson: also a legacy of the 20th century
[13:43] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): nods
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:44] herman Bergson: In general you could say that all we have now as threats created by science come from the  previous century
[13:44] oola Neruda: What Do You Care What Other People Think is another book by Feynman... a bit more serious...tho sometimes still funny... talks about glitches in the process of building the bomb and space race... where he identified problems for them
[13:45] CB Axel: We have a lot of good from science, too.
[13:45] herman Bergson: Yes there were a lot of mistakes oola....also due to personal conflicts among scientists
[13:45] CB Axel: Modern computers, medicine, diagnostic tools...
[13:46] herman Bergson: all spin offs of this process, I'd say CB
[13:46] CB Axel: Yes, but still good.
[13:46] herman Bergson: yes
[13:46] herman Bergson: so far it seems we enjoy the good things
[13:47] herman Bergson: maybe in politics too
[13:47] oola Neruda: the girls of atomic city describes the secret activities at Oak Ridge in developing the bomb.... you learn a LOT in that book
[13:47] oola Neruda: all three of the books i have mentioned are easy reads
[13:50] herman Bergson: SO, thiis our world of today....created in less than a hundred years
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:50] Anuska (anuska.loon) is offline.
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and most of it benefits us
[13:50] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): has it become a better world?
[13:50] herman Bergson: Any suggestions how to save it?
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): get rid of the nukes first of all
[13:51] CB Axel: Execute US Republicans and religious leaders?
[13:51] oola Neruda: with climate change coming...it will become worse... in many ways...including politics and war
[13:51] herman Bergson: I only can say it is a different world from say 1750, Beertje
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and terrorists and other extremists
[13:51] Netty (netty.keng) is offline.
[13:52] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aa and also try to pollute a bit less, something have indeed changed with the climate
[13:52] oola Neruda: and will become worse... food... security and turf... will be at great risk...
[13:52] herman Bergson: It crossed my mind Bejiita, but it's not the subject of today :-))
[13:53] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): turf a great risk?
[13:53] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): shortly we should use technology in a good and wise way
[13:53] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and all will be good
[13:53] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hopefully
[13:53] CB Axel: Dry turf, Beertje. High about rising sea levels.
[13:53] oola Neruda: yes, Beertjie
[13:53] CB Axel: *above
[13:54] oola Neruda: and forest fires... landslides... places that will still be able to grow food.... food will be the core subject tho
[13:54] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): ?
[13:54] herman Bergson: As you see, this 20th century has a huge impact on our lives today
[13:55] oola Neruda: already many of the immigrations issues have climate change at the root
[13:55] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa we se forest fires like never before here
[13:55] oola Neruda: that will get sworse
[13:55] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at let it have come some rain now but also was snowstorm before, also never happened that it swings back to winter like that
[13:55] oola Neruda: the army expects conditions to cause conflicts and deprivation... therefore probably wars
[13:56] herman Bergson: We shouldn't be too pessimistic.....
[13:56] herman Bergson: I recall the report of the Club of Rome.....
[13:56] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ill hope for the best anyway
[13:57] oola Neruda: i disagree... we need to prepare... and try to change things while we are able to
[13:57] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): wars (if they use nuclear weapons) would only alter the climate even more, resulting in starvation of a billion people
[13:57] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): nuclear winter yes
[13:57] herman Bergson: That report scared the world too
[13:57] oola Neruda: a lot of it will happen because it has already begun and we havent
[13:58] herman Bergson: Yes elisabeth...that is what I am thinking too..... the costs might be too high to start wars in the industrialized world
[13:58] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): detonating 100 nuclear weapons similar to the ones used at hiroshima, no matter where, would be enough to disrupt earths climate and kill us all, nods
[13:58] oola Neruda: Merchants of Doubt... and other important book ...describes how those who make money with the status quo... are behind the denial... you do not have to prove a thing (therefore can lie) all you have to do is make people doubt
[13:59] CB Axel nods
[13:59] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): if we don't die from the hockwaves and radiation
[13:59] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): I don´t know why they keep investing in armament, they have enough to devastate our planet several times
[13:59] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): so hopefully these horrible devices will indeed never be used
[13:59] oola Neruda: money, money, money
[13:59] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm
[14:00] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): what is the use of money on a planet without people?
[14:00] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): use that nuckear material to generate electricity to my welding machine at work instead so i can finish that big rig we are making at the moment for a golf course
[14:00] oola Neruda: they live in the now...
[14:00] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): play golf is a MUCH better way to spend time then blowing each other up
[14:01] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako) whispers:
[14:01] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehe
[14:01] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): :))
[14:01] CB Axel: I agree, Bejiita, and I HATE golf. lol
[14:01] oola Neruda: and money now will buy them protected land etc. where they can hide out from the problems being caused
[14:01] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): FOOOOOOOOOOORRRRREE!
[14:01] herman Bergson: We have a US president that plays golf Bejiita....:-)
[14:01] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): shudders
[14:01] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hi destroys the reputation of the game
[14:01] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): with his image
[14:01] oola Neruda: fresh water sources are already being bought... made into private land
[14:02] CB Axel: We've had a lot of presidents who played golf. It's just that this one does it instead of being president.
[14:02] herman Bergson: Water will become an issue in the  future too, indeed
[14:02] oola Neruda: in Bolivia... they even have armed guards protecting the bought waterways...
[14:02] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm water is important, nothing survives without water
[14:03] herman Bergson: Well, I guess you've got a lot to think about today....
[14:03] oola Neruda: glaciers that feed the Ganges (India.... and the river in the capitol of Bolivia... are melting.... they are the water source for thousands and thousands of people
[14:03] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[14:03] oola Neruda: other glaciers also
[14:03] herman Bergson: Time to give your minds a rest, I'd say :-)
[14:04] CB Axel: Here in the midwest of the US we have too much water right now. :(
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm, ill go and finish a script in Unreal now i have finally figured out(i think) all details to make it work
[14:04] herman Bergson: So, unless you have the  world saving solution......
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that will be some nice occuption before sleep
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[14:04] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): can I share an article with the group before we leave?, its related to the topic somehow :)
[14:04] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): sure
[14:05] oola Neruda: hope that some of it goes into the underground resevoir... because the farmers have been demptying it for irrigation for years and it is not being renewed
[14:05] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): https://qz.com/967554/the-five-universal-laws-of-human-stupidity/
[14:05] herman Bergson: I want to thank you again for your participation........
[14:05] herman Bergson: Ahh that can be a nice link Elisabethe :-))
[14:05] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): :)
[14:05] CB Axel: I can't wait to read that! LOL
[14:05] herman Bergson: I'll dismiss class so everyone can have a look there :-))
[14:05] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehe ok ill check that
[14:05] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cu next time
[14:05] CB Axel: Thank you, Elisabeth.
[14:05] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[14:06] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[14:06] Elisabeth (elisabeth3210): see u xx
[14:06] CB Axel: And thank you, herman.
[14:06] herman Bergson: Thank you all again...class dismissed ^_^
[14:06] CB Axel: I'll see you all Thursday.
[14:06] herman Bergson: I'll be there CB :-))
[14:06] Melkor (melkor87): Thank You Herman.
[14:06] herman Bergson: You're welcome
[14:06] bergfrau Apfelbaum: thank you Herman nad class
[14:07] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): have a good night< Gute Nacht, welterusten
[14:07] CB Axel: Welterusten


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