The Topic of this Issue

Alone in space? Mathematically: NO!

How is it possible that on 500 trillion planets similar to the Earth, in ideal positions li9ke that of the Earth, there is no life? Over the past hundred years, and especially in recent decades, the humanity has been very much preoccupied over the question as to whether there is life outside the Earth or whether we were alone in space. The math is terribly simple: there are about one hundred billion galaxies in the Universe, and a minimum of one hundred billion planets in our Milky Was alone. Using the data collected from the “Kepler” observatory it is estimated that within the Milky Way there is at least 10 billion planets similar to the Earth, of which 500 million are in the inhabitable zone or, like the Earth, at the ideal distance from its star, considering the size of both celestial bodies and the star’s energy. If we consider our galaxy to be the average, it would mean that in Cosmos there are 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 celestial bodies on which aliens could live!

Jubilees

70the anniversary of the Mathematical institut

The oldest scientific-research institute in Serbia (and in former Yugoslavia) – the Mathematical Institute currently employs 45 holders of Ph.D. and 25 Ph.D. candidates. They are privileged to take part in a major jubilee - 70 years since the foundation of this scientific body. The idea for its founding came from Milutin Milanković, the famous Serbian scientist. The initiative was put forward in 1945 by a group of mathematicians,
members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, who were informally gathered before the war around publishing and editing the oldest mathematical magazine “Publications matematiques”. Among them was Mihailo Petrović-Alas, who did not live to see the first session of the newly established Institute in May 1946. This Institute, along with eight more, is among the state owned institutes founded by the Academy, with whom it has special links. Academy members are sitting in the Managing Board and Scientific Council of the Mathematical institute, manage certain seminars, projects, etc.

Transport

Serbian shipbuilders: third in the world!

An exhibition staged in Belgrade at the beginning of this summer brought back to memory the fabulous history of Serbian shipbuilders and of the time of accelerated deve lopment of technological rise of national shipbuilding and decades during which Serbia was among the leaders in this industry worldwide. A small land-locked country, yet in terms of building river ships ranking third in the world, with the design solutions of its engineers well recognized and known and sought after globally. The exhibition is staged in the small gallery of SANU, including as exhibits ship models, drawings, photographs and descriptions of technical features of vessels illustrating this industry which until recently was so powerful and demonstrating the decades of work of national experts.
It relied heavily on experts educated at the Department of Ship-Building of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade. Summary

MEDICINE

Magnetic resonance imaging

As an non-invasive diagnostic method using radio-frequency waves not detrimental to the human body, MRI has a very important role in radiological diagnostics. The achievements and potential of the most state of the art forms of this technique, which is available also at the Bel Medic general hospital Belgrade, is the topic discussed with two experts of the numerous radiological team of this hospital: Đorđije Šaranović, M.D., Ph.D., a specialist of digestive radiology and Katarina Kačar, M.D., neuroradiologist. They answer the questions: how does forgetting look like inside the brain?
Is it possible to enhance the feeling of happiness through practice? Is a person a “recreational” user of a severe addict? Which part of the brain is responsible for a good mood? Thanks to the functional MRI – one of the advanced MRI forms – scientists today can, using sophisticated radiological imaging, answer even questions of this kind, which go beyond the anatomy and into the functioning of the brain, into human behavior and emotions.

MEDICINE

Eating disorders linked to sleep

One of the recently discovered forms of parasomnia can result in obesity and other metabolic disorders. Eating disorders lin ked to sleep, where those suffering from the condition do not remember and are not aware of their overnight “feasts”, is the topic discussed by our reputable neuropsychiatrist Primarius Slavko Janković, a consultant of the General Bel medic Hospital in Belgrade. Primarius Janković explains that this is a sleep disorder from the group of parasomnias, meaning events taking place in parallel with sleeping. Specifically, it is sleeping in which one sleeps (in contrast with the REM phase of sleeping in which one dreams).
Unwilling and unconscious taking of food and water during night sleep usually happens during partial awakening, with different levels of awareness and memory of the events.
Sleepiness, getting up and taking food during sleep, without awareness of the event, is often accompanied by difficult and prolonged awakening.

Interview

The taming of the sun

„Fusion was for the first time achieved on the Earth in 1952 while performing trials of the hydrogen bomb. Despite the huge progress, scientists are still far from the set goal, due to the complexity of forming very hot plasma, on the one hand, and its maintenance, on the other. Fusion plasma or the „star in the laboratory” can be preserved only in a very strong magnetic field”, explains Professor Ivan Dojčinović, Ph.D. of the Faulty of Physics in Belgrade (Department for Physics of Ionized Gases, Plasma and Quantum Optics). The fusion of two atom nuclei results in the formation of a new one with smaller mass, the difference presenting itself in form of energy. This is controlled energy generation, such as the one released inside stars. The key raw material is deuterium, a type of hydrogen atom which is plentiful in water everywhere around us. As for unavoidable and unpleasant residues, the radioactive materials, there will be little of them comparing to the volume of energy generated. There is reason to believe that, thanks to controlled fusion, our civilization for millions of years shall not be facing energy problems.

Astronomy

True revolution around the Sun

The book „True Revolution Around the Sun“ by Božidar Radulović demonstrates that the planets move along wavy routes always in the same direction as the Sun, meaning that no closed circular routes can be closed around the Sun, as Copernicus published in his book „De revolutionibus orbium coelestium“ in 1543. The same was done, according to old records, by the Greek astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus, who determined in the first half of the third century BC the circulation of planets around the Sun. At the beginning of the 20th century astronomers identified that the Sun is moving towards the Hercules constellations;
it was assumed that the speed of such movement was about 35 km/s. By the end of the 20th century astrophysicists determined that the Sun is moving around the center of our Milky Way galaxy at significant speed - from 217 to 250 km/s. Early in 2014 it was determined that this speed is 225 km/s (+ – 3%).

Geology

Serbia on the shores

As a product of Alpine tectonics and the coming out of mountain wreaths there resulted a division of the global ocean Tetis into the Mediteranian (the current Mediterranian Sea) and the Paratetis, in the North. During the late Oligocene and early Miocene, in the regions of Europe a number of basins were created which during their development had many features in common, but each had its own individual history. The basins were filled with waters of the newly formed inland salty sea Paratetis.
The major part of Serbia, during late Miocene, belonged to the Pannonian basin, while a minor eastern part of Serbia was linked to the Dacian basin. Within the Pannonian basin the Pannonian Sea was formed, known as the long lasting sea of about 8 million years. There are records of a high level of evolution of sea shells which happened gradually throughout this period.