Erm…a lot of the things you would rather have research done on directly benefit from high energy physics.
Medicine makes use of accelerators these days.
Beams of neutrons or protons are used in cancer treatments.
CAT scanners came from detection equipment used for particle accelerators
MRI in hospitals evolved from initial work done on powerful magnets used in particle accelrators.
PET scanners work because of a material developed for use in detectors for particle physics.
Synchrotron radiation (long thought a useless but inevitable energy bleed in accelerators) is used in so many things I couldn’t begin to list them here. A few are x-ray lithography (used in making computer chips) and studies of large biological molecules. “One team of scientists working at SLAC was recently able to determine the structure of the gene responsible for Lou Gehrig’s disease. Another group is using this radiation to develop drugs to block the action of a key enzyme in the replication of the AIDS virus.” (cite ).
Whoa! Hey! Look at that last thing! AIDS research from particle physics!
Thing is no one knew before these things were invented that they could be used in these ways. As noted at first synchrotron radiation seemed more of a hassle than anything useful. Yet from that many, many nifty things you take for granted have been developed.
If they had followed your notion that it is all a waste then advanced computer chips would not exist, treatments for AIDS and cancer would not exist. Various medical scanners would not exist and they’d be back to slicing you open to see what is up.
Will the LHC provide any noticeable benefits? Well, some new technologies have been developed for its construction. There is the new analogue to the Internet they have developed to manage massive data transfers which may well trickle down to the rest of us someday. Whether the LHC research will produce something practical no one knows. How could they? Could be profound…could be nothing. It may take decades to know. Einstein’s figures on time dilation seemed purely academic. Took 75 years or so for those equations to find a use in GPS satellites which would not work without the adjustments to their clocks informed by the theory of relativity.
Basic science is good generally.
And to reiterate…the LHC will NOT destroy the world.
Well, you know, a little babelfish here, a little babelfish there and suddenly they think you’re invading Poland. Streak of bad luck there bud, see you after WWIII.
“Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloddier wars than anything else in the history of creation.”
For what it’s worth, NOVA has made some episodes dealing with string theory. Three hours of stringy goodness. I can’t speak for the accuracy of the videos but I sure enjoyed watching them, although I can’t help but feel nervous at the idea of another brane crashing into ours and restarting the universe.
I enjoyed watching them a year or so ago… I think I’ll re-watch, they were excellently produced. In case you didn’t know, that’s Brian Greene (author of The Elegant Universe, and The Fabric of the Cosmos) in much of those videos. He does a good job, the ham!
The U.S. government estimates the cost of the War on Drugs by calculating the funds used in attempting to control the supply of illegal drugs, in paying government employees involved in waging the war on drugs, and to satisfy rehabilitation costs. … In total, roughly $45.5 billion was spent in 2005 for these factors…
Just to emphasise:
the **total cost ** of the collider is currently estimated at $5-10 billion
the US spends **5-10 times this amount annually ** on the War on Drugs
And here’s what you get for your $45.5 billion annually:
Drug use has increased in all categories since prohibition
increased potency and growth of marijuana crops within the United States, and an increase in cocaine smuggling which is easier to move and yields a higher profit margin
marijuana could be the single most targeted drug in the drug war. It constitutes almost half of all drug arrests…As of 2006, marijuana has become the United States of America’s biggest cash crop
Lemme see if I got this straight: The Europeans are going to turn on a big whatzit. One that could’ve been built at Fermilab, with lots of financial benefits coming to the western suburbs of Chicago and, IIRC, the ring passing under my house. A whatzit which, despite all of the publicity surrounding it, will almost absolutely NOT unleash forces that will destroy the universe.
So, where’s the fun in that? I’m becoming impatient with physicists. First, the atomic pile under Stagg Field did not destroy the University of Chicago, much less the world. Then the first atomic bomb test did not set fire to the atmosphere. And now this?
Feh. Wake me when the scientists have something real to back up their claims.
http://www.zimbio.com/CERN+Hadron+Collider/articles/39/Next+gen+internet+Grid+Internet
One of the side effects of the Hadron is already here. There is a possible increase in data delivery of 10,000 times. The incredible data that will be produced by the Hadron has resulted in a brand spanking new concept of data transferral. Not all analysis will be done in Geneva . Connections have been developed that will likely result in obsoleting broadband.
