1. Thermodynamics and information systems

Data processing requires prior compilation under conditions that ensure quality and homogeneity. Equipment costs in the 1970s forced data producers scattered across universities, public and professional research centers to pool their efforts in national and international cooperative ventures. At the time, there were very few digital databases available.

The emergence of new technologies, particularly in microcomputing and telecommunications, has enabled many laboratories to gain a degree of independence. The enormous and rapid growth in storage capacities and computing speeds has been the driving force behind the individualization of data production and dissemination. The surveys of factual sources carried out by ICSTI