iran - Science and technology
Picture of An eighteenth-century Persian astrolabe. Throughout the Middle Ages, the natural philosophy and mathematics of the ancient Greeks and Persians were furthered and preserved within Persia. During this period, Persia became a center for the manufacture of scientific instruments, retaining its reputation for quality well into the nineteenth century.
[[eighteenth-century Persian astrolabe. Throughout the Middle Ages, the natural philosophy and mathematics of the ancient Greeks and Persians were furthered and preserved within Persia. During this period, Persia became a center for the manufacture of scientific instruments, retaining its reputation for quality well into the nineteenth century.]]
Picture of 13th century manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi, a Persian astronomer. The image depicts an epicyclic planetary model.
[[century manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi, a Persian astronomer. The image depicts an epicyclic planetary model.]]
Science in Iran, as the country itself, has a considerable history. From the Qanat to the Yakhchal, to the windmill, to the IMOD, Iran has reached scientific achievements and influenced world cultures for thousands of years. Iranians contributed significantly to the current understanding of astronomy, nature, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. To mention just a few, Persians first invented Algebra and discovered alcohol.
Iran strives to revive the golden age of Persian science. The country has increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 through 2004, and has been ranked first in terms of output growth rate followed by China. 1
Despite the limitations in funds, facilities, and international collaborations, Iranian scientists remain highly productive in several experimental fields as pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, organic chemistry, and polymer chemistry. Iranian scientists are also helping construct the Compact Muon Solenoid, a detector for CERN's Large Hadron Collider due to come online in 2007.
In the biomedical sciences, Iran's Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics is a UNESCO chair in biology, 1 and in late 2006, Iranian scientists successfully cloned a sheep by somatic cell nuclear transfer, at the Rouyan research center in Isfahan. http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=17674
The Iranian nuclear program was launched in the 1950s. Iran's current facilities includes several research reactors, a uranium mine, an almost complete commercial nuclear reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include a uranium enrichment plant. The Iranian Space Agency launched its first reconnaissance satellite named Sina-1 in 2006, and a "space rocket" in 2007, [http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070225/afp/070225120805top.html which aimed at improving science and research for university students. Iran Says 'Space Rocket' for Research. NewsMax.com
Iran is now a world leader in theoretical disciplines like string theory. [http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/v443/n7110/nature-2006-09-28.html Iranian scientists are a significant portion of international scientific community. In 1960, Ali Javan invented first gas laser. In 1973 fuzzy set theory has been developed by Lotfi Zadeh. Iranian cardiologist, Tofy Mussivand invented the first artificial heart and developed it further afterwards. HbA1c was discovered by Samuel Rahbar and introduced to medical community. Vafa-Witten theorem was proposed by Cumrun Vafa, Iranian string theorist and his co-worker Edward Witten. KPZ equation has been named after Mehran Kardar, notable Iranian physicist.