TWO YEARS AFTER THE CATASTROPHE
The Polish science has duties towards the Polish society, duties in which nobody can relieve it of its tasks. Just after the Smoleńsk catastrophe the investigation was carried out – as the former Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz said – as if it was a matter of the burglary into a garage in Praga. Now, after two years this evaluation seems undeserved compliment; for obvious procedures were not done, and the results of kinematical and laboratory experiments were not presented, and the confrontation with the results of independent scientific is avoided, whereas assumptions are publicised, even without any bases, relying on the credulity or/and the lack of knowledge of citizens. It has nothing to do with the scientific methodology. We cannot agree on it because it insults us, first of all, as scientists – consent to it would be a compromise of the Polish science, it also insults us as the citizens of the Polish Republic and the European Union, it insults us as free people. Scientists of physics and many technical specialisations, seeing an extreme lack of professionalism of the so-far proceedings, undertook an initiative of methodically correct organisations and practicable scientific experiments on the mechanics of destroying the aeroplane. They are not interested in politics; neither big or small, or favourite politicians, these or those, but they want to use scientific methods investigate something which does not depend on politics at all: how this event was going from the point of view of the laws of physics. This will to highlighting the issue is impossible to stop, also in respect of unusual possibilities of today’s technology. It cannot be so that in our work we can investigate the slightest effects and see single atoms, whereas we are not able to see or identify micro-traces....of the airplane paint on the section of wood. Let’s simply look, as most carefully as possible, how the same laws of nature were working, which we use everyday in our investigations. We do not imagine a scientist who would say that these investigations should not be carried out. And why wouldn’t it be allowed to carry out such investigations? Each catastrophe, if its reasons are explained, is not only a tragedy, but also a lesson and valuable material which may contribute to improving the safety of the future flights. For everybody who knew after a few minutes and without any investigations what had happened, it is going to be a teaching observation about what the methodology of scientific experiments really looked like, about the rules of making conclusions, and how the explanation of doubts works in an empirical way, etc. The initiative group of professors of mechanics and physics from the whole Poland wants to intensify and coordinate carried out complex scientific experiments and is searching for the broadest support for the professors and assistant doctors from the area of technical science. The declaring support of the competent environment is needed to gain financing for the investigations in specialised experimental units. The declaration of the professors and assistant professors of science from the Warsaw University (everybody can contact Professor Piotr Witakowski from the University of Mining-Metallurgy: witakowski_p@poczta.onet.pl) would be very important, because it would show that the scientists think that the mechanical event should be investigated by scientific methods, instead of leaving the defined laws of physics to politicians. ‘Everybody has their Westerplatte in his life’ – these are the words of John Paul II. It is Westerplatte of the Polish science, also our personal Westerplatte as investigators: Are we supporters for solving the problems of the area of mechanics or chemistry by the method of scientific investigations or are we interested in the truth at all?
Article signed by:
Prof. Assoc. Lucjan Piela – former Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University, a quantum chemist, member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences;
Assoc. Leszek Plaskota – UW professor, associate dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, Warsaw University, specializing in numerical analysis;
Dr. Piotr Romiszowski – Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, founder of the protein folding models;
Prof. Assoc. Rafał Siciński – former Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of Warsaw University, author of nearly hundreds of patents (USA) in the field of pharmacology;
Assoc. Adrzej Sikorski – Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, founder of the protein folding models;
Assoc. Janusz Stępiński – Department of Physics, Warsaw University, co-operator of patents (USA) in biochemistry;
Assoc. Leszek Z. Stolarczyk – Department of Chemistry, Warsaw University, a quantum chemist;
Prof. Assoc. Henryk Woźniakowski – former Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Warsaw, a professor at Columbia University (USA), Corresponding member in Academy of Sciences, Honorary Doctor of the University of Jena;
Prof. Assoc. Krzysztof Woźniak – Department of Chemistry, Warsaw of University; crystallographer;
Adam Chajewski MA – Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, a member of the second cycle of publishing, an activist of the underground Solidarity and independence;
Prof. Assoc. Zbigniew Czarnocki – former Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw;
Prof. Edward Darzynkiewicz – Department of Physics, Warsaw University, biochemist, founder of anti-cancer vaccines;
Prof. Assoc. Jan S. Jaworski – Department of Chemistry, Warsaw University, specializing in organic electrochemistry;
Prof. Assoc. Marek K. Kalinowski – former deputy Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, long-time chairman of the Central Committee of the Chemistry Olympiad;
Prof. Assoc. Tadeusz M. Krygowski – former Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University, winner of the FNP (‘Polish Nobel’), his works are cited around 7 thousand times in world literature;
Prof. Assoc. Krzysztof A. Meissner – Department of Physics, Warsaw University, theoretical physicist, a spokesman of axiological experiment at CERN near Geneva;
Dr. Christopher Pecul – Department of Chemistry, Warsaw University, a quantum chemist;
Assoc. Marek Pękała – Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, magno-chemist
(AA)
"Niedziela" 15/2012