5 ms·

We are where we are now by trying to "answer some physics questions". Imagine if humans had not done a single thing that didn't seem to them to have a practical

We are where we are now by trying to "answer some physics questions". Imagine if humans had not done a single thing that didn't seem to them to have a practical application at that point.

noelchurchill 17y ago
Yep that's great I'm all for that. Just wondering if there are any practical applications that they hope to one day achieve, or is it more like sending a satellite into space without any idea what's out there, just hoping to find some cool stuff.
- fallintothis 17y ago
  Physicists hope that the LHC will help answer the most fundamental questions in physics, questions concerning the basic laws governing the interactions and forces among the elementary objects, the deep structure of space and time, especially regarding the intersection of quantum mechanics and general relativity, where current theories and knowledge are unclear or break down altogether. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC#Purpose http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC#Purpose
  - Xichekolas 17y ago
    ... or at the very least discover that what we call 'elementary objects' aren't really that elementary. It's turtles all the way down. :)
- kirubakaran 17y ago
  "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research." ~A. Einstein To address your question, I am sorry, I don't really know if they have any practical applications in mind. But I am certain (=believe) that practical applications will come out of this.
  - fallintothis 17y ago
    But I am certain (=believe) that practical applications will come out of this. As any deeper understanding of the universe inevitably leads to practical applications, I should think.
deleted 17y ago
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InclinedPlane 17y ago
Quite so. Blue sky research has a much longer payback cycle (and sometimes doesn't pay back at all), but often has an astronomically high rate of return. For many years the laser was considered to be a "solution looking for a problem", yet today they are absolutely ubiquitous in numerous applications and have contributed to the well-being of human-kind in innumerable ways (surgery, communication, safety, etc.) When Maxwell studied the theory of electromagnetism it was absolutely blue sky research with questionable practicality. Yet the fruit of that research served as the foundation of innumerable inventions in the 19th and 20th centuries, easily responsible for hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of goods and services to be produced and delivered to people.
- grinich 17y ago
  Einstein too. Relativistic effects are pretty significant in GPS technology. http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps....
  - catweasel 17y ago
    then there's the invention of wifi, originally designed to clean up fuzzy intergalactic radio waves.. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/csiro-wifi-inventor-wins-pms-prize/1662354.aspx http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/csir...

We are where we are now by trying to "answer some physics questions". Imagine if humans had not done a single thing that didn't seem to them to have a practical application at that point.

noelchurchill 17y ago

Yep that's great I'm all for that. Just wondering if there are any practical applications that they hope to one day achieve, or is it more like sending a satellite into space without any idea what's out there, just hoping to find some cool stuff.

fallintothis 17y ago
Physicists hope that the LHC will help answer the most fundamental questions in physics, questions concerning the basic laws governing the interactions and forces among the elementary objects, the deep structure of space and time, especially regarding the intersection of quantum mechanics and general relativity, where current theories and knowledge are unclear or break down altogether. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC#Purpose http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LHC#Purpose
- Xichekolas 17y ago
  ... or at the very least discover that what we call 'elementary objects' aren't really that elementary. It's turtles all the way down. :)
kirubakaran 17y ago
"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research." ~A. Einstein To address your question, I am sorry, I don't really know if they have any practical applications in mind. But I am certain (=believe) that practical applications will come out of this.
- fallintothis 17y ago
  But I am certain (=believe) that practical applications will come out of this. As any deeper understanding of the universe inevitably leads to practical applications, I should think.

deleted 17y ago

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InclinedPlane 17y ago

Quite so. Blue sky research has a much longer payback cycle (and sometimes doesn't pay back at all), but often has an astronomically high rate of return. For many years the laser was considered to be a "solution looking for a problem", yet today they are absolutely ubiquitous in numerous applications and have contributed to the well-being of human-kind in innumerable ways (surgery, communication, safety, etc.) When Maxwell studied the theory of electromagnetism it was absolutely blue sky research with questionable practicality. Yet the fruit of that research served as the foundation of innumerable inventions in the 19th and 20th centuries, easily responsible for hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of goods and services to be produced and delivered to people.

grinich 17y ago
Einstein too. Relativistic effects are pretty significant in GPS technology. http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps....
- catweasel 17y ago
  then there's the invention of wifi, originally designed to clean up fuzzy intergalactic radio waves.. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/csiro-wifi-inventor-wins-pms-prize/1662354.aspx http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/csir...