Applications of research in particle physics
Web, vaccum techniques, desease's diagnosis and treatment
The WEB was invented at CERN, the PET scanner technique uses antimatter, hadrontherapy for the treatment of deep seated tumours has its roots in physics.
These are only examples of how research in particle physics can produce spin-offs for the well-being of society at large. Sometimes, as in the case of the WEB - the application that was originally created to facilitate the exchange of information among physicists - the spin-off has such an impact on society that people forget about the original scientific motivation that made it possible.
Why do scientists study particle physics? In other words, is fundamental research useful?
History teaches us that the big jumps in human advancement have come about mainly as a result of pure curiosity. Fundamental research is one of the primary forces for innovation; without it, there would be no science to apply. Early experiments on electricity, for example, were driven by curiosity, but eventually brought us electric light. Applied Research & Development might make you a better candle, but it will never bring you the light diode since it will never stumble across the required notions of electricity or quantum mechanics.
Physics is intimately linked to Information and Communication Technologies, ICT. The best-known spin-off from fundamental research is the World Wide Web. Invented at CERN in 1990 in response to the growing communications needs of the world's particle physicists, the Web was put in the public domain in 1994, and has gone on to revolutionize the way we share information and do business. Its value to the world's economy would have paid for all the fundamental science done last century, many times over.
Today CERN has a working prototype of a global "Information and Data GRID", driven by the need to make the vast amounts of data from the LHC experiments available world-wide. The WWW and the GRID will harness the power of computers networked across the world to facilitate novel scientific and other cooperations in numerous fields and to share the benefits of technology world-wide.
Large scale institutions have an added value not only in terms of the big results they can produce but also in terms of simply letting scientists gather in a very fruitful networking infrastructure. Fifty years ago, CERN came into being in the wake of the Second World War under the auspices of UNESCO. A handful of scientists and politicians, in Europe and America, had the vision and energy to launch a unique undertaking: the establishment of a centre of excellence for Europe.
They committed CERN to the very open programme of research and demanded that CERN must contribute to the training of the interested scientists and thus, through science, to bringing nations together. Today our Organization is known to be open to the world. Forgetting their differences of nationality, religion or culture, scientists from around the globe converge at CERN to work together, all sharing a common goal.
This melting pot is one of the keys to the laboratory’s success.
In fact today, about 6500 scientists from more than 500 Universities from 85 countries conduct their main research with CERN facilities. The Organisation hosts more than 1000 new, young people every year. Based in their countries the collaborators provide for most of the ambitious experimental apparatus, using their country's industries and talents in fair and constructive partnership in cutting edge physics.
It was according to the model of CERN that UNESCO established SESAME in April 2004, the Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, near Amman, Jordan. It is gratifying that scientists, administrators and politicians of 9 countries in that region are prepared to sit around the same table to discuss common scientific projects.
In summary: Science is the essential ingredient to social and economic progress of the future global Knowledge Society. We, the Scientists of the more developed Societies must share our knowledge in fair partnerships with all, but in particular the less developed countries to bridge the divides of education and knowledge, health and development.