UN Secretary General Ban Ki-mun declared 2014 as the "International Year of Crystallography" and said that the UN aimed to raise awareness in this area.
According to the written statement made by the UN Information Center, 2014 will be celebrated as the International Year of Crystallography, and the meeting to be held in Paris today will be the first of the year-long activities.
In his message on the subject, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-mun emphasized that 2014 marks the centennial of the birth of modern crystallography. Stating that crystallography is the basis for understanding the structure of matter, Ban stated that crystallography is of great importance in the progress achieved in the fields of science, health, agriculture and biotechnology.
Reminding that thanks to crystallography, new generation materials and life-saving drugs can be produced today, Ban declared 2014 as the International Year of Crystallography and emphasized that the UN aims to raise awareness in this area.
Ban also called on scientists to use the power of science more to support sustainable development.
– Why International Year of Crystallography?
In the statement, it was pointed out that although it contributed to the achievement of serious advances in many areas of great importance for human life, from the protection of health to energy production, from mining to agricultural production, to obtaining clean water, it was pointed out that crystallography is not sufficiently recognized by many people, and to raise awareness in this field and to use crystallography. It has been reported that the United Nations will celebrate 2014 as the International Year of Crystallography in order to increase support at the national and global level.
– What does crystallography mean?
Crystallography, which studies the atomic and molecular states of matter, is therefore of great importance for modern science, engineering, chemistry, physics and mathematics, and all other applications used in industrial production.
Crystallography is also used in space studies. The vehicle named Curiosity, sent to Mars by the American space agency NASA, examines the Martian soil using x-ray crystallography technology.
In the statement, it was mentioned that the examination of atoms through crystallography has become much more successful thanks to the new x-ray devices and similar devices that have emerged with the development of technology today.
“Now, crystallography has become widely used in the fields of biology, chemistry, industry, physics, archeology and geology. In this way, archaeologists can determine the exact age of the items found in the excavations, geologists can analyze meteor and moon stones, the production of insulation materials used to reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming is provided, and important steps are taken especially in the chemical industry to prevent environmentally harmful wastes.
Thanks to crystallography, new materials used in many fields from computer memory cards to smart televisions, from cars to airplanes can be developed. Thanks to crystallography, not only the atomic structures of substances are examined, but also materials can be provided to have different properties. Manufacturers can leave “fingerprints” on their goods, thus playing an important role even in the copyright field.”
The International Year of Crystallography (IYCr2014), jointly organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), will officially launch today with meetings at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The meeting is expected to take place with the participation of leading scientists, well-known industrialists and personalities.
Source : spothaber
📩 21/01/2014 23:27
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