SCIENCE The facts of the Matter

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PART 2 of my occasional series on the Forces of Nature and the Nature of Matter - and news of a breakthrough!

But first a recap:

The universe is made up of matter and energy.

The matter is mainly made up of protons, neutrons and electrons, which are joined together to form the atoms and molecules that make up the universe we know.

The energy mainly exists as the movement energy of these particles and as photons, little packets of light, heat, X-rays, radiowaves, etc, which have no mass and always travel at 300,000 km per second.

The behaviour of matter in everyday life can be explained in terms of two forces - the Gravitational Force, which affects all matter and energy; and the Electro-Magnetic Force, which affects only matter with an electric charge. Both forces act over enormous distances.

There are certain types of behaviour that need to be explained by the existence of 2 other, very short-range, forces - the Strong Force, which holds photons and neutrons together in the nueleus of atoms; and the Weak Force, responsible for some types of radioactive decay.

There may be other forces in nature, but 4 is the minimum number needed to 'explain the phenomena we know.

Back in the 19th Century it was thought that there were only 3 forces - Gravi: tation, the Electric Force and the Magnetic Force. It was the great achievement of the physicist Maxwell to demonstrate that the E and M forces were but aspects of each other - a moving electric field created a magnetic field around it, and vice versa.

The number of basic forces was therefore reduced to two, while a whole range of inventions, from the dynamo to the radio, were made possible.

Since my last article, a similar unification of forces has been achieved - *this time between the EM and the W forces. Each has been shown to be an aspect of an "Electro-Weak' force.

Theoretical physicists in the 60s arrived at a mathe matical model or description of an EW force, which seemed to fit quite well to reality - except that it predicted that the W Force was transmitted by enormously massive particles, called W and 2., and no one had ever "seen' these particles.

Particles

Now, all known particles are capable of being created in particle accelerators. These work by giving some readily available particles an enormous amount of energy and then smashing them into a target. Some of their energy is then converted into new particles (according to Finstein's prediction that matter can be changed into energy and vice versa).

Up to recently, it had not been possible to produce enough energy to make Wor Z particles, but at CERN in Switzerland, researchers got round the problem by accelerating two sets of particles in opposite directions round the same track and smashing them into each other hcadon.

The particles used were the familiar proton (which make up about half our body weight!) and the bizarre anti-proton (identical to protons, but with an opposite electric charge).

When protons and antiprotons meet each other they usually destroy each other in a flash of gammarays, but in the CERN experiment, a few instead produced a very massive but short-lived particle which then broke up into an electron (the negative particles that balance the charges on the protons in our bodies!) and a neutrino (particles with no mass which have virtually no effect on matter -they will pass through the earth as though it wasn't there!).

This is exactly the predicted behaviour of the W particle - and so it seems that another great unification of forces has been achieved.

Whether this has a similar impact on our lives to the unification of the E and M Forces remains to be seen.

In the mean time, physicists are dreaming. of unitying all the forces of nature and arriving at a beautifully simple description of the universe! the struggle of the 6 County Catholics,: the most direct victims of partition.

The way forward for the Protestant working class is within the framework of a united Ireland - and possibly within a wider British/Irish or European framework. But within this, and with these qualifications, we must, as socialists, as internationalists, and as working-class democrats, be concerned for the maximum democratic rights for the Protestant people. • If we do not have a democratic programme, then me rise no higher than the miserable partitionist Southern Irish bourgeoisie — which opposed. and still opposes, partition in words, and yet created and maintains a sectarian Catholic state. We rise no higher than the reflection within the ranks of the petty bourgeois nationalists (both left and right) of this bourgeoisie and the state it has created.

We must instead be ent democrats.

Concluded next

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28,000 jobs have been lost in British Shipbuilders since 1977 company disposals (pri- • for jobs among the yards Mass meetings are the unions.

Organiser no.118 February Page LAY delegates at a conference of the confederation of shipbuilding and engineering union (Confed) workers employed by British Shipbuilders (BS) on January 20 heard of BS management's plans to wreck the industry.

BS's plans include making 2,364 people redundant, 527 of which were left over from the last round of voluntary redundancies, by March this year.

The 'consultative papers' presented to the unions by BS thanks the Confed's shipbuilding negotiating committee for their cooperation with re-structuring in the past. Since 1977 28,000 jobs have been lost in from a total of 93,000.

The documents catalogue the way the economic crisis is hitting BS sector by sector and how BS's original predictions for revival of the industry in 1982 were"totally haywire.

The Merchant Report states that worldwide 19m tonnes of dry cargo carriers and 57m tonnes of GMBATU [B] shop steward Cammel Laird Shipyard fin a personal capacity).

tankers are laid up. This is a record level of 11% of merchant tonnage.

The problem of getting orders is blamed on overstaffing, lack of productivity, foreign competition and under investment.

With 1085 jobs being cut in this sector they still say that more reductions are not ruled out.

WARSHIP BUILDING The cut of 40% to 50% defence expenditure between 1981 and 1986 is cited as a major cause of this sector's problems. Although the Falklands replacement orders are proudly greeted. Most yards in this sector will be facing redundancies starting mid '83 if no more orders are found - and even with orders there will be redundancies.

SHIP REPAIR Most European ship repair yards are facing problems. BS predicts no upturn for at least two years. This sector's answer is to cut Labour and reduce the amount paid to workers on idle time.

ENGINEERING Wolsingham Steel is already on a 3 day week (this fact was not circulated to other yards by the SNC). BS say they have no option but to close.

There is an average of three and a quarter months work left for the present workforce in this division as from October 1982:

the Clark Hawthorn (Tyne) workforce was to be reduced from 1,956 at October '82 to 793 in December '82, none of which have volunteered according to latest information.

BS predict that there will only be enough work employ 80 people December '83.

OFFSHORE There are 12 semisubmersible and 48 Jack up rigs inactive worldwide.

In the quarter ending September ''81 30 major structures were ordered worldwide in the same quarter in '82 only 2 were ordered.

Cammell Laird (Mersey) and Scott Lithgow (Clyde) face "substantial demanning' beginning mid '83.

In his introduction to the document Robert Atkinson (Chair of BS) states that BS has had a constructive (!) relationship with the government since nationalisation, in the work to achieve the basic objective of 'a viable and flourishing shipbuilding industry'.

He also states that management's record was 'a good one' over the last two years and that he had no hesitation over further rationalisation, manpower reductions, closures and to by vatisation).

tal-inna alana hardo laking place Detween now and February 17 when a re-call lay delegates conference will be held to discuss plans for action. One problem is that no récommendation has come from the SNC so mass meetings will either have to blindly support the SNC's proposals without having heard them or come up with proposais themselves.

There is a tendency in shipbuilding to competition and sectarianism between But unity throughout BS and spreading any action to supply industries is the key to winning the fight against redundancies and closures.

Plans

The SNC has gone along with BS in its plans to make viable, read profitable, shipbuilding industry in the past without offering alternatives to those conned into vountary redundancy.

One day strikes and overtime bans will not stop BS this time.

The action must bring in questions such as work sharing, reduction of hours, alternative production, workers' control of the industry and the nationalisation of the merchant fleet and oil production.

Just to add insult to injury BS are proposing that BS workers go without a pay rise for at least 12 months. This must be totally opposed and a rise that at least makes up for inflation must be sought.