The directions of research that underlie a wide variety of scientific disciplines that affect all determining conditions and laws and direct absolutely all processes are fundamental research.
Two types of research
Any field of knowledge that requires theoretical and experimental scientific research, the search for patterns that are responsible for the structure, form, structure, composition, properties, as well as for the processes associated with them, is a fundamental science. This applies to the basic principles of most natural sciences and humanities. Basic research broadens the conceptual and theoretical concepts of the subject of study.
But there is another kind of cognition of the subject. These are applied studies that are aimed at solving social and technical problems in a practical way. Science replenishes the objective knowledge of mankind about reality, developing their theoretical systematization. Its purpose is to explain, describe and predict certain processes or phenomena where it opens laws and theoretically reflects reality on their basis . However, there are sciences aimed at the practical application of those postulates that provide basic research.
Subdivision
This division into applied and fundamental research is rather arbitrary, because the latter very often have high practical value, and scientific discoveries are often obtained on the basis of the former. Studying the basic laws and deriving general principles, scientists almost always have in mind the further application of their discoveries directly in practice, and it is not very important when this happens: melt the chocolate right now using microwave radiation, like Percy Spencer, or wait almost five hundred years from 1665 to flights to neighboring planets, like Giovanni Cassini with his discovery of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter.
The line between what basic research and applied research are almost illusory. Any new science at first develops as fundamental, and then goes into practical solutions. For example, in quantum mechanics, which arose as a kind of almost abstract branch of physics, at the first moment no one saw anything useful, but not even a decade had passed before everything changed. Moreover, no one expected nuclear physics to be so widely used in practice so soon. Applied and fundamental research is strongly interconnected, the latter are the basis (foundation) for the former.
RFBR
Domestic science works in a well-organized system, and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in its structure occupies one of the most significant places. The RFBR covers all aspects of the scientific community, which helps maintain the country's most active scientific and technical potential and provides scientists with financial support.
It should be specially noted that the Russian Foundation for Basic Research uses competitive mechanisms to finance domestic scientific research, and real experts evaluate it, that is, the most respected members of the scientific community. The main objective of the RFBR is to conduct a selection through a competition for the best scientific projects provided by scientists on an initiative basis. Then on his part follows the organizational and financial support of the winning projects.
Support Areas
The Foundation for Basic Research provides support to scientists in many fields of knowledge.
1. Computer science, mechanics, mathematics.
2. Astronomy and physics.
3. Materials science and chemistry.
4. Medical science and biology.
5. Earth sciences.
6. The sciences of man and society.
7. Computing systems and information technology.
8. The fundamental foundations of engineering sciences.
It is the support of the Fund that drives the domestic fundamental, applied research and development, therefore, theory and practice complement each other. Only in their interaction is general scientific knowledge found.
New directions
Fundamental and applied scientific research is changing not only the basic models of cognition and styles of scientific thinking, but also the entire scientific picture of the world. This is happening more and more often, and the “culprits” are the new directions of basic research unknown to anyone yesterday, which are finding their application more and more quickly in the development of applied sciences. If you carefully consider the history of physics, you can see truly revolutionary transformations.
They characterize the development of an increasing number of new areas in applied research and new technologies, which are caused by the rapidly growing pace of basic research. And faster and faster they are embodied in real life. Dyson wrote that previously it took 50-100 years of journey from fundamental discovery to large-scale technological applications. Now, time has seemed to shrink: from a fundamental discovery to implementation in production, the process takes place right before our eyes. And all because the fundamental research methods themselves have changed.
The role of the RFBR
First, projects are selected on a competitive basis, then a procedure for reviewing all works submitted to the competition is developed and approved, and an examination of the studies proposed for the competition is conducted. Next, financing is carried out for the selection of events and projects with subsequent monitoring of the use of allocated funds.
International cooperation is being established and maintained in the field of scientific basic research, and financing of joint projects is included here. The preparation and release of informational materials on this activity is being carried out, and they are widely distributed. The Foundation actively participates in the formation of state policy in the scientific and technical field, which further shortens the path from basic research to the advent of technology.
The purpose of basic research
The development of science is always fixed by social transformations in public life. Technology is the main goal of every basic research, because it is it that moves civilization, science and art forward. There is no scientific research - there is no applied application; therefore, there are no technological transformations.
Further along the chain: development of industry, development of production, development of society. In fundamental research, the whole structure of cognition is laid down, which develops the basic models of being. In classical physics, the initial basic model is the simplest ideas about atoms as the structure of matter plus laws on the mechanics of a material point. Hence, physics began its development, generating ever new basic models and more complex ones.
Merge and Separation
In the relationship between applied and basic research, the most important is the general process that drives the development of cognition. Science goes on an ever wider front, every day complicating its already difficult structure, like a living highly organized entity. What is the similarity? Any organism has many systems and subsystems. Some support the body in an active, active, living state - and only in this is their function. Others are aimed at interacting with the outside world, so to speak, at metabolism. In science, everything happens the same way.
There are subsystems that support science itself in an active state, and there are others - they focus on external scientific manifestations, as if they include it in extraneous activities. Basic research is aimed at the interests and needs of science, at supporting its functions, and this is achieved through the development of methods of cognition and generalizing ideas, which are the basis of life. This is what is meant by the term "pure science" or "knowledge for the sake of knowledge." Applied research is always directed outward, they assimilate theory with the practical activities of man, that is, with production, thus changing the world.
Feedback
New fundamental sciences are also being developed on the basis of applied research, although this process is fraught with difficulties of a theoretical cognitive plan. Typically, basic research contains a lot of applications, and it is completely impossible to predict which one will lead to the next breakthrough in the development of theoretical knowledge. An example is an interesting situation that is taking shape in physics today. Its leading fundamental theory in the field of microprocesses is quantum.
She radically changed the whole way of thinking in the physical sciences of the twentieth century. She has a huge number of diverse applications, each of which is trying to "pocket" the entire legacy of this section of theoretical physics. And already many have succeeded in this way. Applications of quantum theory, one after another, create independent areas of fundamental research: solid state physics, elementary particles, as well as physics with astronomy, physics with biology, and much more to come. How can one not conclude that quantum mechanics has radically changed physical thinking.
Development of directions
The history of science is extremely rich in the development of fundamental research areas. This is classical mechanics, which reveals the basic properties and laws of motion of macrobodies, and thermodynamics with its initial laws of thermal processes, and electrodynamics with electromagnetic processes, a few words have been said about quantum mechanics, and how much would have to be said about genetics! And this is far from an end to a long series of new areas of basic research.
The most interesting thing is that almost every new fundamental science led to a powerful surge in a variety of applied research, and almost everything was covered in the field of knowledge. As soon as the same classical mechanics, for example, acquired its foundations, they began to intensively apply it in the research of a wide variety of systems and objects. From here came the mechanics of continuous media, solid mechanics, hydromechanics, and many other directions. Or take a new direction - the organism, which is being developed by a special academy of basic research.
Convergence
Analysts argue that academic and industrial research in recent decades has become much closer, and for this reason, the share of fundamental research in private universities and business organizations has increased. The technological order of knowledge merges with the academic one, since the latter is associated with the creation and processing, theory and production of knowledge, without which it is impossible to search, organize, or use existing knowledge for applied purposes.
Each science with its fundamental research has the most significant impact on the worldview of modern society, changing even the basic concepts of philosophical thinking. Science today should have reference points in the future, as far as possible. Forecasts, of course, cannot be harsh, but development scenarios must be developed. One of them is necessarily being implemented. The main thing here is to calculate the potential consequences. Recall the creators of the atomic bomb. In the studies of the most unknown, the most complex, the most interesting, progress will inevitably move forward. It is important to determine the goal correctly.