Proceedings of the ISTROS 2013 International Conference Editors: M. Veselský and M. Venhart INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS, SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Bratislava 2015 ISBN 978-80-971975-0-6 Dear participants, we bring to you the proceedings of the conference ISTROS (Isospin, STructure, Reactions and energy Of Symmetry), which took place in the period between Sept 23 – - for meeting of Sept 27 2013 in Častá withPapiernička. experimental The declared and theoretical aim of theaspects conference of physics was of to exotic provide nuclei platform and states of nuclear international and Slovak scientists, active in the field of nuclear physics, specifically dealing matter, and we hope that this aim was fulfilled. presentationDuring the conference, is represented 36 invited in this and proceedings contributed in talks the formwere ofpresented, short artic coveringles, while the otheropen participantsproblems in decidedthe physics to abstain of exotic from nuclei this and thusof the their states presentations of nuclear matter.are represented Part of these only by their abstracts. In general, present time appears to modify traditional procedures and one of the victims are the conference proceedings in their habitual form. We are still convinced complementthat publication the of proceedi proceedingsngs iswith a part a briefof our summaryduties as organizersof history as of a servicenatural to sciences participants and and with this in mind we bring to you these proceedings. Besides the contributed articles, we technology in the territory of Slovakia, which bring some interesting facts about the progress of scientific and technical knowledge in Slovakia. - discussing interesting physics, and thus we aim to bring the second edition of the ISTROS As far as we can judge, you had a productive time at Častá Papiernička, spent meaningfully conference in the near future. We hope to see many of you in Slovakia again. Martin Veselský and Martin Venhart Brief summary of History of Natural Sciences and Technology in Slovakia Dear participants, - Thusmany weof wouldyou visited like to Slovakia present fora short the summaryfirst time ofduring the history the Istros of science conference and specifically in Častá Papiernička, and you may have known only some basic facts about Slovakia prior to your visit. andnatural of natural sciences sciences and technology in particular, in Slovakia. and notable In this pers brief summary, we will mention selected places and historical events in Slovakia, which are relevant for history of science in general ons, who either were born in Slovakia or were closely related to it or lived and worked in Slovakia and contributed to scientific progress.Most ancient signs of technology and of exact thinking in the territory of Central Europe and with only few passages through Carpathians between fertile lowlands of Poland and Hungary of Slovakia in particular can be dated to paleolithic era. Slovakia, due to its mountainous relief used large mammoth bones in analogous way as candles were used in later eras, with bone was inhabited by the mammoth hunters. Archaeological finds show that mammoth hunters awareness of marrow gradually running out and feeding the fire for long periods of time. Such technique can be understood as a primitive tool of time measurement or at least a sign of quantitative nature of time. Paleolithic people of Central Europe to 30 hold thousand also important years, which priority was in technology, since first documented evidence of the ceramics is the famous female clay statuette known as Venus of Dolní Věstonice, old between 25 found in Dolní Věstonice, a village in Czech Republic (Moravia) just about 30 km from trijunctionMost ancient of Czechproof Republic,of existence Slovakia of astronomical and Austria. knowledge (and scientific in general) in settlementsSlovakia was of demonstrated round shape, recentlyattributed by tocollaborative neolithic Lengyel work ofculture scientists and fromdated Archaeological to first half of and Astronomical Institutes of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Monumental neolithic countries5th millenium like Czech B.C., with republic, diameters Hungary, from Austria 50 to 200and meters,a were identified recently using air surveillance in Slovakia (most notably in Svodín, Žlkovce and Bučany) and in neighboring they were in fact astronomical tools, used by the predominantlylso in Germany. agricultural Archaeologist Lengyel Ján culture Pavúk toand determine astronomer important Vladimír dates Karlovský in t studied the shapes or these rondels and concluded that objects, older than the famous heirStonehenge calendar. As(a onecomplex can imagine, analogous such to observatories Stonehenge could was not be built without prior astronomical observations and accumulated knowledge. These unearthed also in Slovakia in the city of Holíč, unfortunately it happened during construction andworks existen and when experts were notified important archaeological evidence was already destroyed), demonstrate the considerable level of civilization in the society which built them, ce of the class, most probably priests of the cult of the Sun, who devoted their time to astronomical observations. al and later as a material for weapons and Another important progress in the knowledge of natural sciences was achieved when the metals started to be used, first as a valuable materi tools. The knowledge of metallurgy arrived into Slovakia around 4000 B.C. At the time, the Lengyel culture was superseded by Corded Ware culture (known in Western Europe also as the Battle Axe culture, named after weapons made of quartz), and knowledge of metallurgy located,was brought and fromfrom the the West Sou thby- the Bell Beaker culture, in the process forming the mixed- FÚněticeü and Nitra cultures in Western Slovakia and southern Moravia where Únětice site is as Hungary, Rumania and PolandEast and via had Balkans, a trade withforming the regionamong of othersAegean the sea Otomani(thus the namezesabonyi Carpathian culture, Troy), which was located in Eastern Slovakia and in neighboring countries such as documented by some Minoian finds. The mountainous relief of scientificSlovakia provided prog many sites where raw metals, such as copper and gold, could be found, and mining became important economical activity, which determined the civilizational and ress in the territory of Slovakia ever since then. After 7th century B.C. invasion of Celts from the West lead to introduction of iron metallurgy to territory of Slovakia. hed its Next civilizational impulse came with expansion of the Roman empire, which establis border on the Danube river (which is a southern border of present Slovakia) military and organizedcampaign military campaigns and set up trade contacts across the river. Besides this general civilizational influence on immediate Celtic and later Germanic neighbors, against Germanic Markomans brought to the territory of Slovakia one of the most learned workedpersons onof hishis era philosophical and a great treatise humanist, Meditations, the emperor which Marcus is thus Aurelius. first documented During the campaign, scientific spent mostly in the vicinity of the river Granua (nowadays called Hron) in Central Slovakia he text, which was (partially) written on the territory of Slovakia. After collapse of Roman empire and invasion of Huns the territory of Slovakia entered the cultureMigration of theperiod Roman in Europe, era was which lost and resulted it started in arrival to reappear of Slavic only tribes, after most the probablyrise of the from state the of territory to the East of Vistula river. During this period of instability the knowledge and th Great Moravia, along the rivers Morava (which joins Danube below Devín castle in Bratislava) and Nitra. In 9 century the Great Moravian ruler Rastislav invited a mission from Byzantine empire, which brought to the territory of Slovakia one of the most learned men of that time, Constantine the Philosopher (later known as St. Cyril), together with his brother Methodius. Along with Eastern Christianity they introduced first system of writing in Slavic language (glagolitsa), used it to translate the Bible, and also founded in the city of Nitra first higher empire,educational where institution they founded in Slavic kyrillitsa world, writing, teaching used innowadays Slavic language. by many EasternAs it is andknown Southern from history, their pupils were later expelled from Great Moravia, emigrated to the Bulgarian Slavic nations. al of Magyar (Hungarian) tribes again led to a period of instability, which ended by the rise of the multi-ethnic Kingdom of Hungary, of which territory Fall of Great Moravia and arriv th century when most of of Slovakia became a northern part (except for a period of about 20 years in 11 the Slovak territory belonged to Poland of the Boleslaw the Valiant) in the formments, of depopulationNitra principality. of the Not country, much is destructionknown about of thethe first abbeys, period then until centers the year of 1241,learning, when and a Mongolian (known also as Tartar) invasion lead to destruction of most of the settle consequently to the loss of practically all written records. In terms of natural sciences, Mongolian invasion introduced to Europe black powder and the principle of reactive propulsion, however other, more peaceful achievements of Chinese civilization remained obscureRest of the for 13 Europeansth century untilwas spent Marco by Polo. construction of a system of fortified castles (which made - l impulse was Slovakia