An Analysis of Some Aspects of Co-evolutionary Development of Jet Fighter Generations in the Second Half of the 20th Century

The importance of studying developmental dynamics of global aircraft pool is unquestionable: this knowledge allows a substantive analysis of the history of development of aircraft engineering. At the same time, introducing for consideration some a priori notions such as e. g. “aircraft generations” allows to more fully demonstrate an interrelated development (co-evolution) of aircrafts and social institutions. This article considers as an example of co-evolution the opposition between jet fighter parks of the Warsaw Pact countries and NATO in 1954–1989. The dynamics of the development of jet fighter parks are examined and the causes of some of its characteristics are explained. Thus, it is shown that the Cold War as an opposition of two political and military alliances has been spurring the quantitative and qualitative development of fighter aircrafts. The end of the Cold War was one of the factors that slowed down the development of fighters. The results of this works clearly demonstrate that the development of aircrafts is inseparable from global social processes.

Thermodynamics of James Watt – Ignored or not Understood?

In the analysis of the development of thermodynamics as a science, the theoretical work of Sadi Carnot, published in 1824, is generally considered to be the starting point. Carnot studied the cycle of an ideal heat engine and formulated the condition for its maximum efficiency. In this article we examine James Watt’s contributions to the formation of fundamental concepts of thermodynamics, made in the course of his work on improving the Newcomen engine and developing his own steam engine. It is shown that Watt was the first to characterize thermodynamic properties such as latent heat and vapor density. The authors prove Watt’s priority in the studies of the dependence of saturated steam pressure on temperature, in which a critical point was found when the latent heat disappears. These results of Watt anticipated by many decades the studies on the thermodynamic critical state by Th. Andrews and J. Thomson. The article also discusses Wattʼs research on thermodynamic cycles. It is shown that he was the first to study the Rankine cycle with superheated steam, known from the history of thermodynamics. Watt was also the first scientist to introduce the concept of a steam engine’ volumetric work as the product of pressure and volume, and developed a device, the steam pressure indicator, to measure its value. We show the results obtained by Watt with steam to be considerably ahead of Prescott Jouleʼs work on the cooling and condensation of gases during expansion. The article presents an interpretation of Watt’s 1769 patent that is very important as the primary source for a subsequent study and establishment of the principles of energy conversion. The factual material presented in this article suggests that Watt’s scientific research have not been properly understood or simply went unnoticed.

German-Russian Company for Air Transport Deruluft (In Commemoration of Its Centennial)

This article describes the history of creation and operation of the German-Russian company for air transport, the Deruluft airline. It launched its operation with the first international air line in Soviet Russia, an airlink between Moscow and Königsberg, and new lines were opened subsequently. Deruluft mostly used German aircrafts; Soviet aircrafts were also used although to a lesser extent. The aircrews included both German and RSFR (USSR) citizens. Deruluft operated for 15 years and was dissolved for political reasons. The airline’s activities had promoted the development of the Soviet civil aviation and training of skilled cadre of Soviet professionals.