On the importance of basic scientific research in combination with the development of science and technology in Europe, America and Japan

Basic research and its importance What is "basic research"? 1945 in the research report "science: the never-ending frontier" submitted to president Roosevelt in July, V. Bush, director of the American scientific research and development agency (OSRD), wrote: "basic research does not consider practical purposes, but produces universal knowledge and understanding of nature and its laws. This common sense provides a way to answer a large number of important practical questions, but it cannot give a completely specific answer to any question. It is the duty of applied research to provide such a satisfactory answer. " The National Science Foundation of the United States defines a basic research institute as: "To develop original research of scientific knowledge, … it has no direct commercial purpose." Now it seems that these two definitions and other similar definitions have certain limitations, because with the development of the times, the division between basic research and corresponding applied research is becoming more and more relative. The "traditional" basic sciences (such as physics and mathematics) recognized by people in the past also have quite complicated structures today (such as physics can be divided into theoretical physics, experimental physics and applied physics, and mathematics can be divided into pure mathematics and applied mathematics); Moreover, today, it is regarded as a branch or topic of basic research or applied research, and it may change with the passage of time. If we can compare basic research with applied research, especially in nature and characteristics, it will help us understand its concept. The difference between basic research and applied research lies in the following points: 1. Motivation and purpose of research. Basic research is mainly curiosity-oriented, with the aim of increasing human understanding of the surrounding things. This is a study of "science for science's sake". Applied research is a kind of research oriented to a predetermined goal, that is, for a practical purpose. Basic research is called "curiosity-oriented" and applied research is called "Misson-oriented". The former has no direct commercial purpose, while the latter can generally produce direct economic benefits. This may be the essential difference between the two. 2. In chronological order of application. Generally, basic research is first applied to specific fields, and the interval between them may be very long. No matter how abstruse, abstract and divorced from reality, basic research will generally find its place. However, the more "basic" research, the longer it takes to find its use. Maxwell established the basic equations of electrodynamics through the mathematical study of electrodynamics, and predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves in 1864. Hertz successfully proved electromagnetic waves in 1887; It was not until 1895 that Marconi used electromagnetic waves to communicate. Riemann sum Hamilton's profound mathematical research in19th century was not applied in physics until more than half a century later. The problem of prime numbers, which has been studied since ancient Greece, was not applied to cryptography until thousands of years later. In contrast, applied research must transform the research results into practical technology in a short time in order to obtain economic benefits. This is a significant difference between basic research and applied research. 3. As far as the freedom of researchers is concerned. Because basic research is interest-oriented, and the research process is exploratory, original and unpredictable, researchers have more freedom in topic selection, interest transformation, research process and planning arrangement, which is very important for basic researchers. As Bush pointed out in the research report of Science: Never-ending Frontier: "Because of the unpredictability of pure science, it is necessary to provide a quite special environment for its research. Pure science needs researchers' freedom of thinking and looks at familiar facts from a brand-new perspective. Pure scientific research is always unsuitable to be organized and planned, and it is insensitive to the instructions from the above-mentioned organizational plans. In fact, nothing is more important than the principle of freedom for great achievements. "Because applied research can often define goals and make plans in advance and is suitable for organized research, researchers have much less freedom. Moreover, the achievements of basic research will generally be announced to the public in time, and there is no need to keep them confidential; The corresponding applied research is often protected by patent application or shielding for commercial or military purposes. This also limits the freedom of applied researchers to a great extent. 4. As far as the time to achieve the effect is concerned. Generally, it doesn't take a long time for applied research to achieve results, because it is carried out in an orderly manner according to the predetermined goals and careful plans, and the actual commercial purpose does not allow the research plan to be extended, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve immediate economic benefits or win in commercial competition. In contrast, basic research often takes a long time, ranging from several years to decades, and some even require a person's life-long energy or the unremitting efforts of several generations. Maxwell spent more than ten years exploring the theory of electromagnetic field. Einstein spent nearly ten years thinking about special relativity and general relativity, and devoted the rest of his life to the study of unified field theory, but there was still no result. In order to solve the problem of Goldbach's conjecture, generations have struggled for it, but so far this "fortress" has not been overcome. People engaged in basic research should have the spirit of "grinding a sword for ten years" and "sitting on the bench", and learn to "enjoy loneliness" and not be moved by money or fame and fortune. Of course, society should understand them, give them encouragement and help, don't always accuse them of being divorced from reality, and don't disturb their free and peaceful hearts with various temptations. Because basic research can not bring considerable economic benefits and commercial profits quickly, it is often ignored to varying degrees. Due to market orientation and the law of economic value, developed countries naturally invest more money in applied scientific research. However, developing countries suffer from lack of funds, so they have to invest in the sectors related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and few people pay attention to the basic research regarded as "Chun Xue". Politicians have to make or implement short-term plans ranging from four to five years in order to win votes or show their achievements. Science and basic research are not suitable for such a short period. As a result, under the pressure of getting practical results immediately, applied research always excludes basic research of pure science. The moral of this result is very clear: the basic research of pure science needs special protection. Therefore, in addition to formulating feasible policies and regulations and establishing corresponding funds and management institutions, it is particularly important to solve problems from people's hearts and let the society and the public fully realize the importance of basic research. So where is the importance of basic research? This can be seen from the following aspects. 1. Basic research is the pioneer of technological progress and economic development. Basic research leads to the reserve of new knowledge, which is the scientific capital to invest in the future. New technologies, new processes, new processes and new products are all based on new knowledge, and "capital" should be extracted from the reserve of new knowledge. Without the continuous theoretical research of Faraday, Maxwell and Hertz for more than half a century, how can mankind enter the electrical age? Without the theoretical achievements of modern physics at the beginning of this century, how can there be a high-tech industry in the middle of this century? With the rapid development of science and technology, the period from basic research to applied research or direct productivity has been greatly shortened. In the 1920s, Rutherford loudly declared that his research on atomic structure was useless, but the first atomic reactor was miraculously put into operation in 1942. At present, some theoretical research projects of basic medicine and genetic engineering have not been used for clinical medical treatment and drug production for a long time. The basic research of mathematics is also widely used in finance, insurance and other industries, and even national policy decisions. It is more certain than ever that basic research is the pioneer of technological progress and economic development. In this sense, it can be said that basic research is the foundation of modern society. 2. Basic research can improve a country's (potential) comprehensive national strength and international prestige. Nowadays, the competition between countries is no longer the competition of military power or economic power, but the competition of comprehensive national strength. One of the important ways to improve a country's comprehensive national strength is to effectively support basic research. Because if a country does not have original basic research, its basic knowledge depends entirely on foreign countries, its technological and industrial progress will be slow, its competitive position in world trade will be weak, and it will be difficult for it to absorb and digest foreign new knowledge and technologies, thus losing in global competition. Moreover, a country's international reputation depends to some extent on its contribution to basic knowledge, although this reputation is mainly limited to the scientific community. In the history of science, Italy, Britain, France, Germany and the United States have all played the role of science centers, and they have been "leading the way" for decades or even hundreds of years. Since the 1920s, the United States has been a leader in basic science, which obviously helps to enhance its international prestige. Science is universal, and its achievements belong to all mankind, and every member of society can enjoy it free of charge. On the other hand, if knowledge is not produced, it will be difficult to "introduce" knowledge from others. 3. Basic research is helpful to train specialized talents and further improve people's intelligence level. It is difficult to build a developed modern society without a large number of well-trained professionals and the general improvement of the national intelligence level. Through strict training in basic research, a group of specialized talents can be trained and assembled. They can not only become the backbone of domestic R&D and innovation, but also become a bridge to introduce new knowledge and technology from abroad. Basic research can also improve the level of higher education and cultivate high-level scientific and technological reserve forces. It is difficult for universities without basic research to improve their scientific education level and establish their international prestige. In addition, studying pure science and engaging in basic research for a certain period of time is also of great help to improve the intelligence level of the people, and is influenced by scientific methods and scientific spirit to cultivate noble moral sentiments. 4. Basic research can be called a culture. Science (especially pure science) is not only an intellectual culture, but also an anthropological culture. Can be said to be the highest and most unique achievement of human culture. Basic research aimed at improving scientific knowledge is the culmination and acme of human activities, which fully embodies the cultural value of science and is a valuable cultural activity. As a research activity in the process of basic research, it takes the pursuit of truth as its ultimate goal, showing and realizing the value and significance of life; The scientific method used in the process of pursuing truth not only ensures the objectivity, rationality and perfection of scientific theory, but also enables people to develop the habit and character of seeking truth, being pragmatic and rational, thus helping to weaken dogma, get rid of superstition and cultivate mind. Because the cultural value of basic research is intangible, abstract and imperceptible, we should emphasize it and make it become everyone's conscious consciousness. If we say that when controlling applied research, we must realize the responsibility of science to society, then when controlling basic research, we must realize the responsibility of society to science. Our society owes the realization of a great deal of value to the application of science, but seldom to the undertaker of scientific spiritual value such as scientific thought, scientific method and scientific spirit temperament. It is necessary for the public, especially decision makers, to understand that all research should be closely related to our social needs. This kind of public demand is fair, kind and harmless on the surface, but in fact it is one of the biggest dangers of scientific progress and therefore one of the biggest dangers of long-term satisfaction of social needs.