The scientific and technological revolution (NTR) characterizes the current level of scientific and technological progress, a feature of which is the rapid development of fundamentally new industries and the discovery of previously unknown laws of nature. Moreover, the result of success is not only technological development, but also the expansion of theoretical knowledge. There are different stages of scientific and technological progress, which have their own character, developmental features and influence on the further course of progress. At the same time, the negative aspects of scientific and technological development are noted. They also contribute to the pace of progress.
The essence of STR and its features
Revolutionary changes in the scientific and technical sphere can be considered as an urgent problem of social and social development. Formally, NTR represents time periods associated with certain historical processes. However, its influence on the remote and immediate aspects of the social environment was and remains paramount.
There is no consensus on the nature of scientific and technological progress. Some experts define it through the process of changing the production forces of society, while others understand it as a way to create super-powerful automated machines. In a broader sense, it is proposed to consider the stages of scientific and technological progress as chronological processes of the increasing role of science in the development of information technology infrastructure and new generation hardware. In each case, the essence is reflected through individual signs of progress, but there are also common distinguishing features and features.
First of all, scientific and technological progress is a different quality of technological progress, fundamentally changing the nature of the interaction of production and science. Therefore, the main feature of scientific and technological progress is determined by the pace of the merger of science and technology into a single process. Moreover, scientific development in relation to technology acts as a leading factor in determining the path of further movement and distribution of production forces.
You can also highlight the following characteristics of the stages of scientific and technological progress:
- Accelerating transformations in the manufacturing sector. The time for opening new production facilities, their arrangement and putting into operation is reduced.
- Universality. New discoveries and developments to varying degrees, but affect all sectors and spheres of human activity.
- Military-technical development. New types of weapons are improving and appearing.
- Increased demands on raw materials and labor. Improving the quality of hardware, respectively, is not without improving the quality indicators of related factors of production.
Background of NTR
Although the main stages of revolutionary progress in the scientific and technical sphere fall on the 20th century, it cannot be said that the entire previous history did without such jerks. Another thing is that technical and scientific revolutions took place separately, clearly not intersecting. The first signs of such a merger began to be traced only from the sixteenth century, when, with the emergence of manufactory production, increasing requirements for logistics, the development of trade relations and shipping, the need for solving specific practical problems grew. They were sharper formulated and gradually found answers in theoretical knowledge, which passed into experimental and applied forms. The eighteenth century was a fundamentally new stage in the merger of science and technology, when new concepts of machine production led to an industrial revolution for the next 100 years.
In the XX century, the initial stages of the development of scientific and technological progress were supported by a series of scientific studies related to the discovery of an electron, the study of the relationship between energy and mass, etc. Subsequently, the nature of the combination of scientific knowledge and technologies for improving physical instruments with tools acquired a more obvious appearance and was predictable .
The main stages of scientific and technological progress
It is customary to distinguish two stages of the scientific and technological revolution. They are considered the main, although today is the third, modern stage, demonstrates an unprecedented development in a variety of industries. One way or another, in the XX century the following leaps in the development of scientific and technological progress took place:
- From 1940 to 1960 This is the first stage of scientific and technological progress associated with the unprecedented pace of development of a whole group of industrial countries. During this period, television networks were widely distributed, transistors, conceptual computer models, satellite systems, etc. appeared.
- From the 1970s to the present. The second stage, characterized by the desire of the largest developed countries to get out of the systemic crisis and transform the economy into a post-industrial state. At this time, microprocessors, production robots, fiber optic networks, information technology, etc. are being created.
Characteristics of the NTR process
As a result of the main thrusts of development, at the first stage, an increased growth of economic and production indicators around the world was noted. Against the backdrop of industry success, there has been an increase in the share of employed workers in the service sector. Accordingly, the requirements for professional skills of personnel, their qualifications and the level of general education increased. Until today, the main stages of scientific and technological progress in one way or another affect the economy. The following structural shifts have been noted since the 1970s:
- Slowdown in the demand for production in traditional raw materials, materials and fuels.
- General increase in labor productivity.
- Optimization and increasing the efficiency of logistics models in production.
- The growth of high technology in production, which determines the increase in the share of costs for design and research.
- Increased demand for new materials, types of energy, etc.
- Speeding up the process of updating fixed assets.
- The formation of new industries and the change in the classic production configuration.
- Change in the structure of employment. The first place in demand goes to the field of services.
STR structure
As already noted, the fundamental sign of scientific and technological progress is the interaction of science and technology. In more detail, a more complex structure is presented, which also includes production, management, and technology is closely associated with technological developments. The basis, both for the emergence of new technologies, and for the theoretical concepts of their implementation, is still scientific knowledge.
What is science as an element of scientific and technological revolution? This is a complex set of knowledge. It covers all areas of human activity where certain skills are applied. At each stage of the development of scientific and technological progress, the importance of science in production only increases, as evidenced by the increase in the costs of leading countries and corporations in research.
A bunch of "technology-technology" acts as a transitional link from science to direct production. In this case, the development process can be revolutionary and evolutionary. Moreover, the second way is continuous improvement and modernization, which allows to increase the capacity of equipment, machines and assemblies. To illustrate this process, one can give an example with marine tankers, which in the 1950s carried up to 50,000 tons of oil, and by the 1970s the most powerful models began to service up to 500,000 tons.
The pace of increasing production capacity is determined not only by specific technical means, but also by logistics with the organizational structure of the enterprise. A fundamental improvement in production at the initial stages of scientific and technological progress was electrification and mechanization. To date, technological development allows us to organize not only work sites with the smallest units and mechanisms, but also to transform the adjacent elements of the production structure.
Management in the STR structure also deserves special mention. Today, its significance is growing due to the information boom, changes in communication tools, security systems, etc. One of the last areas that directly affects the concepts of modern management can be called cybernetics and, in general, methods of processing information.
Features of modern scientific and technological revolution
The second stage of the scientific and technological revolution, by many estimates, has not yet ended and largely determines the development of certain areas. Mostly these are industries in which mechanization, manual power and traditional raw materials are still not complete. At the same time, the modern stage of scientific and technological progress began in XXI, although, again, the time frame is rather arbitrary, since progress is characterized by the properties of direct development.
It can be said that the transition to a new concept of scientific and technological revolution was marked by the entry into the era of the information society. The very understanding of the scientific and technological revolution in the modern world is becoming multifaceted and complicated. Differences from the previous stages are in the characteristics that determine the changes in the technical and industrial complex. For example, progress in information communications is being added to the traditional components of STR. He, in turn, determines not so much the impact on production as on the social life of society. The factor of changes in society, which is radically changing the key parameters of people's lives, is gaining weight.
But what are the features of the current stage of scientific and technological research in relation to the production sphere as such? New generation technological systems today are based on chains of equipment, moreover, automated and robotic. Diverse teams are involved in the maintenance of equipment, therefore new principles for organizing work activities also come to the fore. The processes of research, design, construction, control and direct manufacturing are intertwined, begin to depend on each other. In this regard, there are difficulties in production in the new conditions. In order to meet the new challenges of increasing the complexity of collective work, new concepts of self-government are introduced on a scientific basis with the connection of modern computers, organizational and communication tools.
The main directions of scientific research
The most significant and rapidly developing areas include microelectronics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, catalysis, laser systems, etc.
In particular, microelectronics provides a vivid example of how one industry can influence a wide range of life spheres - from multimedia entertainment systems to the medical and military industries. Moreover, in our time the stages and directions of scientific and technological progress are in a particularly close connection. For example, the same microelectronics deals with issues of improving ergonomics, accuracy and efficiency of metrological equipment. In parallel with this, laser technologies offer a number of optical recognition methods, which quite organically complements instrumentation.
Directions appear that are associated not only with technology, but also with the person directly. The introduction of integrated systems in a new generation of computers allows you to increase the intellectual abilities of people. At the household level, they replace a person in solving typical business problems. Similar systems existed almost from the first years of the scientific and technological revolution since the intensive development of household appliances. What, from the point of view of an ordinary person, will the main features of scientific and technological progress at the present stage be? As a rule, the following advantages of a product are distinguished, which, at the output, make it possible to obtain NTR funds of the current time:
- Performance.
- Infallibility.
- The ability to solve specific and non-standard tasks.
- The ability to use funds in extreme conditions.
- Self-learning.
The consequences of modern scientific and technological revolution
It is believed that the development of the electronic information environment has led to the formation of a "high-tech society." The processes of complex robotics of production were launched, which led to a multiple reduction in simple mechanical units and assemblies, as well as maintenance personnel. The third stage of scientific and technical research is closely related to the integration of CNC machines, the introduction of high-precision machining and control centers in production lines. Along with this, automated systems have not bypassed the sphere of marketing and financial services. Science itself with the institution of knowledge has turned into a powerful industry, the fruits of which have ceased to be perceived as purely theoretical.
Of course, all of the above processes have also caused global social changes. Labor has become more intellectual, and the working class is losing its position as the largest part of the population. By the way, the ratio of different strata of society was opposed by the initial stages of scientific and technological progress. Consequences of a negative property also occur. One of the most painful phenomena caused by scientific and technological revolution can be called mass unemployment, and the situation, according to experts, will only worsen. At the second stage of scientific and technological development, many Western countries were faced with the need for socio-political reforms in parallel with technical transformations - otherwise the risk of a socio-political crisis increases.
The Importance of Biotechnology
These areas of scientific and technological development can lay the foundation for study for many years to come. In a global view, the goal of the development and implementation of biotechnology should be an economically and environmentally safe transition from traditional energy to the use of alternative energy sources based on renewable resources. As in the initial stages of scientific and technological research, the main areas of science in high-tech fields open up opportunities for a wide variety of applications. Moreover, bio-and nanotechnology, if successfully developed, can create a whole platform to support industry and energy in a broad sense. The tasks set can be solved by using new mechanisms for mining, through more waste management and obtaining new materials.
What is more important, the current stage of scientific and technological progress does not disregard the problems of food security. The growing resource and environmental crisis is closely linked to biotechnology and today a number of developments can alleviate or at least slow down the burden of many problems in agricultural production. It is enough to note the development of effective means of preventing plant diseases, new ways to increase productivity, breeding methods, etc.
Conclusion
The degree of influence of scientific and technological progress in the 20th century on the future of mankind can be compared with the peak of agrarian development in the Neolithic or with the industrial boom at the end of the 18th century. Moreover, if in earlier times the intensive development impulses in various fields were local and affected mainly the technical side of the life of society, the new stage of scientific and technological progress leads to serious structural changes not only in the production and technological niche, but also concerns social relations of society. At the same time, the social system and the results of technological advances cannot be considered in isolation from each other. It is with this that not only the positive phenomena of the new era of scientific and technological revolution are connected, but also the problems that face the ideologists of technological progress, and not only.