Convince me why it's important

[wacki]

http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/07/seed_feature_film_lords_of_the.php

I love particle colliders. Obviously it's very important for understanding the universe and long term technology advancement. I'm sure these things will come in handy once we finally start doing start trek stuff. But is there any immediate return on these things? Any technology that has helped us? Any tech that is expected to help us in the near future?

[Zygote]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/07/seed_feature_film_lords_of_the.php

I love particle colliders. Obviously it's very important for understanding the universe and long term technology advancement. I'm sure these things will come in handy once we finally start doing start trek stuff. But is there any immediate return on these things? Any technology that has helped us? Any tech that is expected to help us in the near future?

[/ QUOTE ]

a good friend of mine works at cern. the idea isn't the utility but, rather, the craving for answers.

[oneeye13]

how long ago was it that electricity was useless?

[vhawk01]

Winner.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
how long ago was it that electricity was useless?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a very good question. I'd also like to know for how many years.

[FortunaMaximus]

Ohm mani padme ozone hum.

[Phil153]

I for one would like to see less funding for this rubbish and more for bioinformatics.

[FortunaMaximus]

[ QUOTE ]
I for one would like to see less funding for this rubbish and more for bioinformatics.

[/ QUOTE ]

Practical. Just not as sexy. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[wacki]

The World Wide Web began as a CERN project called ENQUIRE, initiated by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. Based on the concept of hypertext, the project was aimed at facilitating sharing information among researchers. The first website went on-line in 1991. On 30 April 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web would be free to anyone. A copy of the original first webpage, created by Berners-Lee, is kept here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN#Decommissioned_accelerators

heh, I guess we have to thank them for the interent and grid computing. Zygote, make sure you tell your friend.

[Nielsio]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/07/seed_feature_film_lords_of_the.php

I love particle colliders. Obviously it's very important for understanding the universe and long term technology advancement. I'm sure these things will come in handy once we finally start doing start trek stuff. But is there any immediate return on these things? Any technology that has helped us? Any tech that is expected to help us in the near future?

[/ QUOTE ]

Easy to find out: it is coming from the free market or the government?

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
I for one would like to see less funding for this rubbish and more for bioinformatics.

[/ QUOTE ]

The USA has "observer status" which means they aren't involved. Ironically, projects like this that keep physicists employed and in practice will save us when the world finally breaks down and tries to fight global warming and the energy crisis that is about to rear it's ugly head. Granted I wouldn't spend money on this, but I'm certainly glad europe is keeping their physicists sharp. Having a well trained army of physicists played a significant role in WWII, the cold war, the space race, in and the information age. Hopefully they will save us in the future. Unfortunately, China's army of physicists is far bigger than ours. The outcome of the soon to arrive "energy age" is far from certain.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]


Easy to find out: it is coming from the free market or the government?

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope this is a joke.

[Nielsio]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Easy to find out: it is coming from the free market or the government?

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope this is a joke.

[/ QUOTE ]

It isn't.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]


It isn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then I guess you are just one more anarchocapitalist that has absolutely no clue about what he's talking about.

[Nielsio]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


It isn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then I guess you are just one more anarchocapitalist that has absolutely no clue about what he's talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are ignored.

[Nielsio]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


It isn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then I guess you are just one more anarchocapitalist that has absolutely no clue about what he's talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are ignored.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damnit, can't ignore mods. Well, whatever..

[wacki]

Well anyone that has opened up a freshman college science textbook knows i'm right and you are wrong.

[bunny]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/07/seed_feature_film_lords_of_the.php

I love particle colliders. Obviously it's very important for understanding the universe and long term technology advancement. I'm sure these things will come in handy once we finally start doing start trek stuff. But is there any immediate return on these things? Any technology that has helped us? Any tech that is expected to help us in the near future?

[/ QUOTE ]

Easy to find out: it is coming from the free market or the government?

[/ QUOTE ]
Space race -> came from the government -> produced lots of tech that helps us

[aeest400]

If the US can spend 100 bn on a missle defense system that doesn't work (and that would be pretty useless even if it did), a space shuttle primarily used to test the effects of sending people to space on the space shuttle, and billions more on a war they decided to scrap the state dept's planning for, then I can't help but think that a few bn for a device that actually does science is a bargain.

[madnak]

A lot of our technology originally came from weapons development and military projects. Does that mean military research is an important avenue to pursue?

I'm not trying to make a point here, I'm genuinely conflicted about this.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
A lot of our technology originally came from weapons development and military projects. Does that mean military research is an important avenue to pursue?

I'm not trying to make a point here, I'm genuinely conflicted about this.

[/ QUOTE ]

This depends on if you value things like canned food, the microwave oven, and the internet. Both were military inventions. The most important question for me is finding the right balance between waste, discovery and ethics.

[Max Raker]

There is a book called dreams of a final theory by Steven Weinberg that spends alot of time on this exact question. He gives historical examples of things that seemed to be usefull only for theoretical reasons that turned out to be very beneficial.

There is also a famous story in which Einstein writes a paper that lays the theoretical ground work for a laser and at the end he says that its a neat idea but pretty useless in the real world.

[wacki]

Thanks, i just bought it

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679744...TF8&s=books (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679744088/sr=1-8/qid=1152890777/ref=sr_1_8/002-3675862-2260059?ie=UTF8&s=books)