The frontiers of physics and their role in society

The current state of astrophysics is surveyed, mainly as concerns the evolution of stars and the universe. Gravitation has of late been successfully formulated within the quantum field theory (the so-called supergravity) showing that the gravitational field is both transmitted by gravitons with a spin of 2 and by gravitinos with a spin of 3/2. The discovery of relict radiation of a temperature of 3 K from the Big Bang period filling the whole outer space allows determining the Earth's motion relative to the radiation and thus relative to the whole universe. Similarity is shown of quantum excitations of various systems, such as a solid semiconductor, the potassium atom, the 25Al nucleus, and baryons. (Ha)