Five-Year Plans (sh) and Bode's law (sh)

Five-Year Plans (sh)

Method of planning economic growth over limited periods, through the use of quotas, used first in the Soviet Union and later in Other socialist states.

In the Soviet Union, the first Five-Year Plan (1928-32), implemented by Joseph Stalin, concentrated on developing heavy industry and collectivizing agriculture, at the cost of a drastic fall in consumer goods. The second plan (1933-37) continued the objectives of the first. Collectivization led to terrible famines, especially in the Ukraine, that caused the deaths of millions. The third (1938-42) emphasized the production of armaments. The fourth (1946-53) again stressed heavy industry and military buildup, angering the Western powers. In China, the first Five-Year Plan (1953-57) stressed rapid industrial development, with Soviet assistance; it proved highly successful. Shortly after the second plan began in 1958, the Great Leap Forward was announced; its goals conflicted with the five-year plan, leading to failure and the withdrawal of Soviet aid in 1960.

Bode's law (sh)

Rule giving the approximate distances of planets from the Sun.

First announced in 1766 by the German Johann Daniel Titius (b. 1729
d. 1796), it was popularized, from 1772, by his countryman Johann Elert Bode (b. 1747
d. 1826). It may be given as follows: To each number in the sequence 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and so on, add 4 and divide the result by 10. The answers closely approximate the distances from the Sun, in astronomical units, of the first seven planets. Bode's law also suggested that a planet should be found between Mars and Jupiter, where the asteroid belt was later discovered. Once thought to have some significance regarding the formation of the solar system, it is now regarded as a numerological curiosity.

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