Advancing Physics and Technology

We have seen that physics spans a wide spectrum of concepts and phenomena manifesting themselves at different levels of scale. At one extreme is elementary particle physics involving the study of extemely small entities at very high energies. Then, with decreasing energy and increasing size, we move through nuclear physics to atomic and molecular physics. Next comes condensed matter physics involving large numbers of atoms interacting together in the many different forms of matter. Finally, at the other extreme, is planetary and stellar physics and ultimately the physics of the universe. To advance knowledge and understanding in these different areas involves experimenters, working in laboratories, and theoreticians who seek to understand experimental results in terms of current or, sometimes, new theories. Experimenters and theoreticians frequently work closely together, but not always. All of this work research is carried out in higher education institutions, industry, government establishments and national and international laboratories. Its nature is frequently referred to as being either ‘pure’ or ‘applied’. By ‘pure’ is meant research which is seeking to enhance fundamental knowledge and understanding-for example, in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology. By ‘applied’ is meant research which has technological aspects for example, electronic devices such as silicon chips and even smaller (nanotechnology) which, in due course, will lead to social and economic benefits. However this nomenclature is somewhat misleading. To be sure some research is aimed solely at testing the predictions of a theory which, if confirmed, will then increase confidence in that theory. For example, experiments aimed at finding the Higgs boson fall into this category. Such research could, indeed, be described as pure in the sense that its aim is to increase knowledge and understanding of the physical world. However, in carrying out the relevant experiments, it may be necessary to devise and construct apparatus which is useful in other areas of technology; there is a technological ‘spin off‘. Similarly, although applied research is focused on the development of materials, apparatus or processes satisfying a particular technological requirement it can frequently lead to new fundamental knowledge. Here might be cited the important contributions to the understanding of superconductors in the race to discover materials which exhibit superconductivity at high temperatures. Basic physics and its technological ramifications advance together and are intimately related. Imagination and vision are. required of physicists in both areas in order to effect this advance. Here it must be recognized that there are frequently surprising outcomes in basic research and their implications can be unpredictable. Who would have predicted the profound implications of Einstein’s ‘E = mc²’ for the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy? At a more mundane level, witness the development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This uses the fact that, since atomic nuclei are often magnetic, when placed in a magnetic field they can exist in various energy states depending on their orientation with respect to the field. A study of the way in which they jump between these states, emitting or absorbing electromagnetic radiation, was researched for its own sake but then it was realized that not only can it give important information about the internal magnetic fields of a substance but also about the substance itself. It is used extensively in the study of materials and, most importantly, as a diagnostic tool in medicine where it appears as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Of course funding is needed to support research. When the research has clear potential benefits for wealth creation then industry is willing to contribute and some industries are even prepared to support what is called ‘blue sky’ research of an essentially pure nature but which might lead to important technological developments in the longer term. However when it comes to really pure or basic research then government financial support becomes essential. Inevitably as we probe further and further into physics such research becomes increasingly difficult and complicated, frequently requiring large teams of people working together. Above all, it becomes increasingly expensive. For example, higher energy particle accelerators are needed the increasing use of satellite observational systems to study the cosmos is proposed. Equipment at all levels of research becomes more sophisticated and it has become virtually impossible for any one nation, however wealthy, to provide the finance needed for its researchers. For this reason international collaboration is playing an increasingly important role in advancing research. This is particularly so in the fields of particle and nuclear physics and astronomy. Even this sharing of costs does not allow all developments that physicists would like to bring into being to take place and there are continual struggles to persuade governments to support research taking place in all countries. Inevitably there has to be selectivity in the support of research at both the national and international level and the various bodies political as well as scientific concerned with such decision making are subject to a wide spectrum of arguments. As is to be expected, there are those who question the need, importance or relevance of seeking to understand the behaviour and nature of the physical world at its most fundamental level (e.g. quarks, the Higgs boson, the big bang, . . .). Replying to such doubters the basic argument is made that such research is a key element in the advance of human knowledge and in achieving a full understanding of nature and its universal truths. This is an aim and a purpose which is vital if we are to understand the nature of human existence.