Октябрь 2003 г.

Российская наука и мир (по материалам зарубежной электронной прессы)

CONTENTS / ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ


• Two Russians, Briton Win 2003 Nobel Physics Prize
• Argonne physicist wins Nobel
• Physicist, 87, Takes Nobel in Stride
• Russian sciences promised extra funding in 2004
• Russian science to be amply financed
• Russian, Dutch Scientists Optimistic About Outlook for Cooperation
• Sino-Russian Science Park established in Moscow
• Scientists Say Warming Could Cut Crops
• Russian scientist wins NATO research partnership prize
• Poor states scare with powerful science
• Vostok Pop Top
• U.S. patents over 1,000 Russian military inventions over nine years
• A Smart Bracelet
• Scientits find no signs of radiation pollution in Russia`s Kara Sea
• NAVAIR to help Russia test 'flying saucer' UAV
• Diagnostician Laser

RECENTLY two Russian physicists received the Nobel Prize in physics.

In fact, there have been three such laureates from Russia in the last four years. One could, of course, herald these achievements as a sign that Russian science had survived the aftershock, which followed the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Yet these achievements have nothing to do with the success of the post-Soviet era. In fact, they are similar to the light of a distant star reaching the Earth millions of years after the star's death.
Most of these Russian physicists are elderly (one is almost ninety years old), and their groundbreaking work and the education that made their discoveries possible go back fifty years or more - to the last years of Stalin's regime.
The existence of scientific achievement in brutal totalitarian regimes, especially in poor societies, is difficult to understand for modern Westerners, who usually relate scientific achievement to national wealth and, above all, intellectual freedom.
Even Sputnik and later Soviet achievements in rocket building were attributed to the Soviets stealing secrets from the West, or at least to a certain slackening of control over intellectual life following Stalin's death.
STALIN'S LEGACY
YET the very foundation of the USSR's scientific and related military might was laid by 'Uncle Joe'.
It is true that most Soviet intellectuals followed the ossified orthodoxy prescribed from above. But those who were engaged in hard science, especially those related to the military such as physicists, had complete freedom to do whatever they wanted in their research.
It is true that the majority of Soviet citizens lived in horrible, semi-starvation conditions, and that even after the improvements that followed the dictator's death their living conditions were extremely modest by Western standards.
But Stalin's regime, and especially those which followed, always provided a comfortable living for the few scientists who were engaged in research which the regime regarded as essential for the military build-up.
Even more important, the state always provided them with up-to-date equipment and literature.
To some degree, the life of these few scholars was better than that of scholars in the West. They did not worry about tenure - the job became permanent as soon as the person was hired by a top institution.
Neither were they concerned with competition for research funds. A steady flow of funds was ensured for those who were chosen by the state.
So these chosen few could focus their attention on scholarly exploits which could produce the stupendous results that the recent Nobel Prizes reveal.
And, of course, the achievements of Soviet science were manifest much earlier, in an up-to-date nuclear arsenal.

Drilling into Lake Vostok, the alien environment nestled 2.5 miles below the Antarctic ice, could make it blow like a punctured soda can. Vostok is prized for its uniquely cold and isolated state (and the possibility that it harbors exotic microbes), which could serve as preparation for exploring the Jovian moon Europa. Last year Russian scientists announced plans to drill into the lake. Now, based on the gas content of the surrounding ice, a NASA team reports that every liter of Vostok water contains 2.5 liters of compressed gas, about the same pressure as an unopened soda. A borehole would have to be pressurized or allowed to refreeze, the group says; otherwise a geyser like explosion would drain the lake and permit contaminants to enter. The July Geophysical Research Letters has more.

MOSCOW, Oct 10 (Interfax) - Over 1,000 military inventions by Russian scientists have been patented in the U.S. rather than in Russia from 1992-2000, Alexander Yashin, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee for industry, construction, and knowledge-intensive technology, said on Friday. Yashin told the constituent assembly of the expert coordination council, which is concerned with problems pertaining to defense "Over the last nine years of the 20th century, the U.S. patented over 1,000 military and dual-purpose inventions by Russian scientists," industry enterprises, held in the State Duma. He emphasized that it had been possible due to drawbacks, made by Russian legislative and executive powers in the sphere of protecting intellectual property copyrights pertaining to military and dual- purpose technologies, as well as research and development in that area. For details, see the Interfax-Military News Agency newswire.

Уникальное устройство, необходимое для водителей, страдающих диабетом, разработано учеными научно-исследовательского и опытно-конструкторского центра электронных систем диагностики при финансовой помощи Российского фонда фундаментальных научных исследований (РАН). Новый прибор может определять опасное понижение содержания сахара в крови водителя и вовремя дать ему сигнал. Если водитель принимает меры, (т.е. съедает что-нибудь сладкое), прибор больше его не беспокоит. Однако, если меры не приняты, прибор продолжает подавать сигналы и даже может остановить машину

The action of the device is based on the measurement of electrical resistance of the human skin on the wrist. The point is that the sugar content in the blood of people suffering from diabetes is constantly changing. If it is too high, the organism needs an additional insulin dose. However, if the organism consumes all the sugar reserves (for instance, due to physical or mental overwork), and the insulin concentration remains the same, this may bring on the so-called hypoglycemic shock. Experiencing sugar deficit in the blood a diabetic, first, gets pale, then starts perspiring and, finally, loses consciousness. And what if this person is driving a car at that time?
The danger also is that diabetics may not recognize the beginning of the attack in some cases. For such cases a unique device designed by the Moscow scientists comes in handy. The device is made of two parts. One of them has got a form of a small bracelet. It incorporates two sensors which measure the electric resistance value of the skin on the wrist - one on the internal surface, the other - on the external surface. Normally, the average value of this parameter should be constant or change slowly. But if the sweating increases (this sign being an evident indication of the oncoming shock), the resistance will abruptly and drastically decrease. Naturally, any person also perspires experiencing physical overload, but here we speak about drivers, not runners. There is one more sensor which measures the pulse. All these measurements are taken by the device quite frequently - 8 times a second.
After that a special transformer, also built into the bracelet, will digitize the received data and transmit it via the radio channel to the receiver - the data-collecting device. This part of the block is located on the dash-board. It is no bigger than a match-box and is fed by the car power supply.
The inbuilt processor analyses the received data and takes a decision. When the pulse and the skin moisture values are normal, the device does not react, but as soon as these figures begin growing, the device will start attracting the driver's attention by all possible means: blinking, producing harsh unpleasant sounds, even saying something like: "You must eat a sweet immediately!" If, despite all the above measures, the situation does not change for the better (the researches have provided for this possibility), the device will automatically switch on the sound and light alarm, or may even get the car stopped.
Currently only the pre-production model of the device has been built; it is now being tested in the medical clinic. As the next step for the future design the scientists are planning to create a similar device for the drivers who fall asleep driving a car. So far, only the train machinists have been accommodated with such devices also designed and built several years ago by the developers. However, to receive the devices would be a great help for all the overtired drivers.

MOSCOW, 13 October: An analysis of water samples and samples from the sea bed taken by ecologists in the Kara Sea has not revealed any changes in the radiation level in areas where radioactive waste was dumped, Vasiliy Komarevskiy, deputy head of the expedition from the Vernadskiy Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry that worked in the Arctic region, told ITAR-TASS today. The Akademik Boris Petrov research vessel, which was carrying scientists onboard, spent the summer and autumn of this year on the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya. In the 1960s and 1980s fuel cells from the reactors of nuclear submarines were sunk here along with dangerous waste from the Lenin nuclear icebreaker and containers of radioactive materials. "Geologists, chemists and biologists from Russia, Germany and Norway studied the effects of this dumping on flora and fauna in this Arctic region," said Komarevskiy. "The scientists took samples of water and the sea bed in areas where radioactive waste was dumped and examined plankton. Both initial findings and results processed carefully in stationary conditions show that the radiation level there is no higher than the natural level and is not a cause for concern." The scientists work in this region has been going on for 10 years. Foreign experts are taking part in it. "Applications are currently being made for a forthcoming voyage by the vessel into the Kara Sea in 2004. The research topic remains the same - ecological research and control over possible changes to the environment in connection with the intensive industrial development of the Arctic," said the scientist.

A Russian company, the Saratov Aviation Plant, signed an agreement with NAVAIR in September to jointly pursue a new flying vehicle concept of an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle that for more than a decade has been dubbed the Russian "flying saucer."
Not only could this new technology revolutionize aviation, but the cooperation between the two countries could also transform their respective traditional research and development methodologies.
Scientists at Saratov have developed a new concept that allows efficient flight of odd-shaped objects using vortex-oscillating propulsion systems.
"[The technology] could allow for development and design of a whole new class of aircraft we've never even considered before - a whole new range of aerodynamic shapes," said Dr. John Fischer, director of NAVAIR's Research & Engineering Sciences Department.
The protocol was signed by Fischer and Saratov's general director, Aleksandr Ermishin. The plan initially is to develop a small, unmanned, amphibious, disk-shaped aerial vehicle called the EKIP project that will validate new aircraft concepts and propulsion systems. Following successful tests of the vehicle at Webster Field in three to five years, a larger variant could be pursued. The name EKIP is the abbreviation of the Russian words "Ecology and Progress," though the dome-shaped craft also goes under the Russian nickname "Tarielka."
Several prototypes of the EKIP, designated L2-1 and L2-2, have already been built and flown in Russia, and a larger, 360-ton version is on the drawing boards. Photographs and drawings plus detailed specifications and technical articles about the Tarielka have been available on the Internet for some years.
The project was begun in the former Soviet Union in 1980 with various laboratory studies and engineering work, and the first two prototypes were built beginning in 1992. In that year a Russian scientist sent a letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin advising him of the success of the top-secret project and referring to the craft specifically as a "flying saucer." The letter told Yeltsin two EKIP vehicles, L2-1 and L2-2, had been built at Saratov, but that lack of funding had slowed progress. The letter asked Yeltsin to approve the final phase of testing with a budget of 13 billion rubles. The subsequent era of Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union soon brought the EKIP project out into the open, and development of the project has continued, albeit it slowly, ever since. In 1995 the project was patented in Russia, Canada, Europe and the United States.
The concept of vortex oscillation appears to have started in the 1960s, when Russian scientists established an institute to develop a secret weapon that basically used a "controlled tornado" as its main focus. When the Cold War ended the technology was shifted to use in the pharmacy and food production industries, as well as in aviation, using the "controlled tornado" vortex to steer aircraft somewhat like a hovercraft.
As a provider of advanced warfare technologies for DoD, as well as the Navy, NAVAIR is in a unique position to take on the Russian partnership.
"One of our jobs at NAVAIR is to constantly be on the lookout for new ideas that could revolutionize aviation," said Fischer, who believes this initiative has the potential to do just that. "But research is always a risk. It could go nowhere at all. Research requires patience to see what will develop."
The preliminary testing was impressive enough, though, to bring NAVAIR and Saratov to a letter-of-intent to jointly pursue the technology, and Fischer sees that cooperation as a win-win situation for all parties involved.
"This program will connect our scientists and engineers with Russia's scientists and engineers, exposing everyone to technological enrichment," he said. "If this new technology proves viable, not only will new aircraft types be possible, but, a commercial market may develop. And we will perform the flight test program here at Webster Field."
Saratov Aviation has produced the Yakolev (better known by its abbreviation, Yak) series of military aircraft, including the Yak-38 Forger, the Soviet counterpart of the Harrier jump jet, as well as various components for MiG fighter jets. Since the founding of the Russian Federation, Saratov Aviation has moved into aerospace research and development as well as commercial aircraft.
According to Fischer, the opportunity to develop a relationship with a world-class aerospace company that has non-traditional perspectives provides strong motivation to form a strategic partnership.
"This kind of technology has the potential to be utilized in the development of new aircraft types which supports the NAVAIR strategic goals of providing next generation technology to the Navy" Fischer said.
NAVAIR's technology focus includes aircraft, communications, launch and recovery, sensors, training and weapons.
Fischer is excited about this technology and the potential for more joint research and development with the Russians.
"I've always admired what they could do - and here's an opportunity for us to see something developed first hand."
The Saratov company is located in the city of Saratov in the Volga region 530 miles southeast of Moscow. It has been producing aircraft for nearly 75 years, including the famous Yak-3, one of the best fighter planes of World War II, and the famous MiG-15 jet fighter of the Korean War era. Saratov builds the popular Yak-54 stunt airplane often seen at U.S. airshows, and it has an American sales company, Yakolev Aircraft of USA, LLC.
The radio-controlled UAV Tarielka designated L2-3 weighs about 12 tons, has a fuselage about 40 feet long and has a wingspan of about 60 feet, though the small appendages on the craft are referred to as control surfaces, not wings. The Tarielka has a payload capacity of about four tons, and flies in the region of 325 to 550 kilometers per hour. Since it uses a hovercraft type of air cushion, it can land on and take off from either land or water, and requires about 500 yards of runway to do so.
On the drawing board is a much larger L3-2 version, which is projected to weigh 360 tons with a 120-ton payload. This will be a manned version projected to fulfill a number of roles, from cargo transportation and firefighting to carrying some 70 passengers. Its fuselage is projected to be nearly 200 feet long and more than 300 feet wide.
Although dozens if not hundreds of scientists and engineers have worked on the EKIP project, the chief designer is Lev N. Schulkin and the chief engineer is Alexander Sobko.

Московские физики разработали уникальный прибор - лазерно-акустический томограф. За несколько минут прибор может точно и совершенно безболезненно определить наличие опухоли в молочной железе

The unique device was designed by the physicists of the International Scientific and Educational Laser Center (Lomonosov State University, Moscow). The device is called laser-acoustic tomograph, it is intended for examination of neoplasms in mammary glands. The device through the radiation of a certain wave-length helps to discover heterogeneity as small as the match head in the patient's breast, the radiation of a different wave-length allows to determine whether the neoplasm is benign or malignant. Although the method provides for striking accuracy, the procedure is absolutely painless and takes only a few minutes. The development has been successfully completed thanks to support by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, which highly appreciated this innovation project. The tomograph prototype model has been designed with the help of the "ANTARES" Research-and-Production Company.
The devise is based on two methods. Figuratively speaking, the laser makes the tumor sing, and the acoustic microscope finds it by sound and determines the tumor nature by the timbre of phonation. To implement this principle in "metal", i.e. to pass from the concept to the prototype model, the inventors had to develop not only the tomograph construction, but also the appropriate software. That allows to get optical image of the tumor hidden at the depth of up to 7 centimeters and to precisely determine its location.
First comes the laser, which is able to generate radiation at two wave-lengths in the short-distance infra-red waveband - they are certainly generated consecutively. Initially, the operator scans the patient's breast by a beam of one wave-length - that is the search for tissue heterogeneities. The tissue gets slightly warmer - by fractions of a degree - in the location of irradiation due to heating the tissue expands. Since the impulse time makes fractions of microsecond, the expansion also happens quickly. When expanding, the tissue produces a faint acoustic signal -it squeaks quietly. Certainly, the squeak can be picked up only with the help of an extremely sensitive receiver and aerophones. The new tomograph is already equipped with all that.
As the tumor has more blood vessels, it gets warm stronger than the normal tissue, and the ultrasonic signal is generated upon heating with different parameters. Therefore, "X-raying" and "auscultating" the breast from all sides, the source of "incorrect" acoustic signal can be found and its borders can be determined.
The next stage is the neoplasm diagnostics. Diagnostics is based on the fact that blood supply of the tumor also differs from the standard one - there is less oxygen in blood of the malignant growth than in the benign one. Since the absorption spectra of blood depend on the content of oxygen in blood, that gives the opportunity to determine the nature of neoplasm. The method is noninvasive - that means it is painless, quick and secure. For this purpose, the researchers suggested that laser infrared radiation should be used with a different wave-length.
As a result, having processed the obtained acoustic signals the operator can get the real-time image on the display of the device, the image being 5х5 centimeters of the tumor of 2-3 millimeters located at the depth of up to 7 centimeters. That allows to determine whether the tumor is benign or malignant. "So far, we have a functioning model of the device, says Alexander Karabutov, Doctor of Science (Physics&Mathematics), project manager. We hope that the prototype of our laser-acoustic tomograph will be ready soon, we are planning to prepare it for testing in the clinic already by the end of the next year. There is high demand for this device in clinic."

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