The Ulysses mission (a joint venture between ESA and NASA) represents the first attempt in the history of mankind and of space research to explore the third dimension of the solar system—underneath and above the ecliptic plane. The European spacecraft was launched on 6 October 1990 by the American shuttle Discovery in the direction of Jupiter, whose gravitational attraction it uses to acquire the proper velocity and to change the plane of its orbit in order to fly above the poles of the Sun in 1994 and 1995. The objectives of the mission are studies of the solar wind, the heliospheric plasma and the solar magnetic field in that region of the Solar System where it extends radially, i.e. above the poles. The mission can fulfil several other objectives in the field of solar physics and other areas such as the propagation of cosmic rays, the penetration of the interstellar gas in the solar system, gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves. The mission is now fully operating. Preliminary results obtained when the satellite was en route to Jupiter and during the fly-by of Jupiter are presented in the article. Their quality and novelty already indicate that this unique mission will achieve its objectives and be a new success for European space science.

The article restates the theory of Nationalism, which it links to the transition from agrarian to industrial or industrializing society. In an agrarian society, culture is used to underscore a complex and fairly stable system of statuses. Political units themselves are complicated and overlapping and ill-defined, and culture does not demarcate their boundaries. In an industrial society, work ceases to be physical and becomes semantic, and society itself is highly mobile. Under these circumstances, a shared and standardized, codified culture, inculcated by formal education, becomes a precondition of social participation and employability. When shared, literacy-linked culture is very important, people identify with it and thus become ‘nationalists’. The article also traces the five stages which Europe has passed in the course of this transition: the perpetuation of the old dynastic/religious political system in 1815, the century of nationalist irredentism, the setting up of a political system in 1918 based on nationalities which was weak and self-defeating, the most intensive period of ‘ ethnic cleansing’ in the 1940s under the cover of war-time secrecy and post-war retaliation, and finally a certain demolition of the intensity of ethnic feeling during advanced industrialism, thanks to the partial convergence of industrial cultures and the softening impact of affluence.

A fully integrated Europe implies an increased diversity in composition but can only be an association of states which preserve their identity within a framework characterized by mutual tolerance. Historically, nationalities and ethnic groups lived intermingled and in relative harmony, this changed after nations became more separated after 1918. The old concept of nation state is not compatible with contemporary circumstances.

Museums have been increasing in number and the attendance at them has grown tremendously in recent years. During the same period the concept of what constitutes a museum has underdone considerable evolution. This article discusses the changing ideas of museums.

The lecture outlines a conceptual framework for the analysis of changes in those countries going through the transformation from a socialist economy to a market economy. It takes a positive predictive approach. It describes seven tendencies which are very likely to apply.

(1) Marketization replacing the command economy.

(2) The evolution of the private sector—a broad new middle class will develop.

(3) Reproduction of macrodisequilibria. The inherited imbalance, namely chronic and intensive shortage will be eliminated, but inflation, budget deficit, unemployment and foreign indebtedness will remain in various configurations.

(4) Development of a constitutional state.

(5) Development of democratic institutions.

(6) The redefinition of a national community—which tendency might be accompanied by severe tensions and conflicts.

(7) Unequal increase of welfare.

Finally the paper discusses the role of academics in the process of transformation.

We imagine crystals as Platonic ideals of perfection, but real ones are always faulty and impure. Most could not even have formed without faults. The endless variety of crystalline nature, leading for example to mechanical strength, brittleness, plasticity, transparency, reflectivity, colour, electrical conductivity, transistor behaviour, phosphorescence and photographic sensitivity, is largely brought about by faults and impurities.

Glasses can be defined as non-crystalline solids with a disordered liquid-like structure. After recalling the concepts of order and disorder in various states of aggregation of matter, the problem of glass formation by quench of melt is described as well as other ways of obtaining disordered solids. The evolution of the technology of glass-making is outlined and various applications of traditional and novel glasses are presented. The extraordinary development of glasses, which are essential in a modern economy, can be explained by the fact that these non-crystalline materials combine the properties of their parent crystals with those of liquids where the constraints linked with order are no longer present.

Human migration has a long and complicated history. A survey of the various migration streams reveals that between 1492 and the present, Europeans have benefitted in much greater numbers from the ‘migration escape hatch’ than have Africans and Asians.

At a time when nationalism grows more strident, the role of national museums assumes great importance. National museums encourage not only an understanding of national identity, but also patriotism. While this is natural, it has dangers in that the museum can be used politically to endorse racial and other charged emotions. The great international museums have provided an antidote to such tendencies by providing a universal view of the culture and natural history of the world from the earliest times. Because these museums have important material from other countries they are often attacked as odious relics of colonialism. Rather they should be seen as representative of internationalism and encouraged to collect as widely as possible—within the law. They should not be pressurized into returning material to its country of origin for narrow nationalistic purposes. National museums should themselves collect outside their own national boundaries so that countries can see themselves against the background of other cultures. As nationalism grows, internationalism must be stressed in national museums so that countries may understand each others' culture and points of view.

This essay discusses, from a historical and contemporary perspective, the processes of state and nation building. The difficulties of making every nation a state and every state a nation, and the fact that people live intermingled within the borders of states and have different and often dual identity leads to arguments for multi-national states, states which abandon the dream of becoming nation states and ‘nations’ willing to live in a multi-national democratic liberal state.

The immigration pattern in Germany has changed from emigration to immigration. The state has yet to recognize this fact and to come to terms with the social requirements that this entails. Public attitudes emphasize the difficulties that emigrants bring but are insufficiently attuned to the positive economic and cultural aspects of emigration.

Archaeological sites can be excellent alternative museums. They need appropriate enclosures and an imaginative arrangement of archaeological objects or replicas.

The common cork stopper takes advantage of the peculiar properties of the bark of the cork oak. This has very low permeability to both gases and liquids due to suberin and waxes; the cellular structure makes possible the deformation that gives a secure fit in the bottle neck.

The article starts with an analysis of minority protection in Tito's Yugoslavia, and points out the merits and the shortcomings of this system. It has been suggested that after the collapse of Tito's Yugoslavia the standard was lost, and there were no more confines halting the escalation of ethnic hatred and violence. In this situation, setting new standards deserves an utmost priority. The article suggests some starting points for new standards. In doing so, an endeavour has been made to define the notion of minorities on the territories of the former Yugoslavia. The article also pleads for the recognition of collective minority rights in addition to individual human rights. Suggestions are made regarding appropriate internal and international legal mechanisms for the protection of minority rights.

A large part of the migration of Europeans overseas was to colonial possessions. With the dissolution of colonial ties, large-scale repatriation of individuals to the home countries has occurred with many dispersed indigenous people, who for political or economic motives, no longer found their circumstances favourable. These secondary migrations have had important economic and sociological effects.

Habitat dioramas are natural history scenarios which typically feature mounted zoological specimens arranged in a foreground that replicates their native surroundings in the wild. Ideally, the three-dimensional foreground merges imperceptibly into a painted background landscape, creating an illusion—if only for a moment—of atmospheric space and distance. More profoundly, some of the major controversies hidden in the diorama concept are: taxonomic versus ecologic understanding; art versus science; popular education versus scientific documentation; culturally biased perception versus ‘objectivity’; and ‘Omni-max’ versus diorama.

We still have much to learn about the morphologies of natural and synthetic polymers crystallized in bulk. Nevertheless, conventional X-ray and thermodynamic studies of crystallinity in polymeric materials over the past 60 years have given us a clear picture of the concept of crystallinity and the molecular features which promote crystallinity in these substances. Apart from issues of chain connectivity, the science of conventional molecules proved adequate for the task!

The paper examines the background of current national and minority conflicts in Eastern and Central Europe and argues that a deeper-going analysis of these phenomena calls for a reconsideration of the traditional European territorial-administrative institutions. It argues that the European State-structure as shaped in the 17–19th centuries is the greatest obstacle to the prevention of global dangers, then looks at the typical arguments against dismantling the present national-state borders.

The conclusion is that European nations are primarily cultural nations and they have to survive in that form for the 21st century.