Probably because for the amount of time and money its absorbed it seems to produce very little of value in terms of applications, it's hard to perform real expe

Probably because for the amount of time and money its absorbed it seems to produce very little of value in terms of applications, it's hard to perform real experiments with, and string theory and high energy particle collision physics both absorb the vast majority of grant money - and by extension - make it harder to do work in physics that doesn't pay homage to those two large bodies or continue that work.