When I first switched from theoretical physics to experimental physics I thought the same way as you. Now, after years of aligning green laser beams through op

When I first switched from theoretical physics to experimental physics I thought the same way as you. Now, after years of aligning green laser beams through optical paths that include microscopes and experimental matter, the sight of a green laser beam on a crowded and otherwise dark optical bench makes me unendingly (well, somewhat) glad that I quit physics entirely and became a programmer. Since 2002 those poor bastards have been pointing lasers down that same optical path! Please do not even speak of the effort that's probably required to align the beam. And let's assume that their detectors are easy to align and otherwise mostly hassle-free. But the fact that they've run such a cool experiment, and with such interesting results, makes me very happy, too. [Edit: added this:] Good lord, I didn't even think of the cyclotron, curved separator with its tuned magnetic field, the whole damn thing under vacuum, the hand-rolled lasers. No wonder so many authors.