Article: Physics in the Service of Humanity

A scientist looks for the secrets of life. He cannot escape the fact that survival of mankind in itself is one of the greatest and noblest of the goals. Physics in the post-war world has ushered in a new era and given mankind unlimited power for development and destruction. The Physicists cannot isolate themselves from the consequences of this development for the world and for the communities to which they belong. The very fact that they are responsible for fundamentally altering the course of events and human history saddles them with the moral responsibility to see that it is used for the betterment and survival of mankind. Sometimes, it is questioned whether science has brought any happiness to mankind by the worst of all discoveries which have been made. The scientists must re-assure the people.

During the Third College, Professor M. J. Moravscik gave two inspiring lectures on the role of science for development which would be of interest to all of us working in the developing countries in the formulation of science policy matters. It was emphasized that planning in the formulation of the science policy should take the least effort. It is in fact the right decision and effective implementation that should need the maximum stress and efforts. He emphasised that it is important to make a distinction between science and technology since the expectations from them and their end products are different. Hence their evaluations are also different. He also emphasised that modern technology is based on science in contrast to old technology which had very little to do with science. Moreover the time between a scientific discovery and its application in technology is getting shorter. It has important implications in the training of engineers and technologists since scientific knowledge doubles itself in ten years. He also emphasised the importance of scientific method and the attitude of problem solving and the optimism that a problem has a solution. According to him the problems of science and technology could be brought into three categories:

• Science is the basis of technology
• Science is a human aspiration
• Science has influence on the man's view of the world