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Hon. Mr. Fuqua July 18, 1985 



CST Page six 



up, or seriously slow down our high energy physics activities, 

 the other nations will follow suit and the field as such 

 will wither away, since the United States is considered as 

 the leading nation in science. 



Why would it be disastrous if high energy physics would 

 wither away? After all, it deals with phenomena far away in 

 time and space. The relevant phenomena have taken place, outside 

 i;ttr laboratories, onlv shortly after the big bang or in cosmic 

 cataclysms, such as far away neutron stars or black holes. 

 They have no practical applications in the foreseeable future. 

 This is a fallacious conclusion. The tree of knowledge has 

 many branches; basic research into the innermost structure 

 of matter is on the top, as it were. It uses the most 

 advanced technical means, it presents the strongest challenges 

 to physicists and engineers. It is one of the manifestations 

 of the most daring and progressive spirit in science. The 

 frontier fields of science represent the driving edge of the 

 human spirit. They infiltrate the spirit of inventiveness 

 and innovation into all other basic or applied branches. 

 If you cut the top of the tree, the tree will wither away. 



We have seen in the history of the modern world that 

 the leading nations in industry and in political power were 

 also the leading nations in basic science: France in the 18th 

 centurv, England in the 19th century, Germany at the beginning 

 of the' 20th century and the United States later on. This is 

 no coincidence. It is the spirit of daring and innovation 

 in the basic sciences that sets the style of a community. This 

 is why we need to maintain our proficiency and ability (if 

 not leadership) in high energy physics as well as in other 

 basic fields, such as astronomy, cosmology, even if direct 

 practical applications seem to be far removed. 



8. Are the experiences of international cooperation in high 

 energy physics directly applicable to other fields of science? 

 What lessons may be learned? 



I believe that the answer to the first question is yes. 

 In particular, to those fields where the necessary facilities 

 are large and expensive. A typical example is modern 

 Astronomy where international cooperation is already quite 

 active. I remind you of the large base line arrays of radio 

 antennas. Here the different stations must be so far away 

 that they necessarily are located in different countries. 

 Space science is another example where international collab- 

 oration is useful because of similar facilities of different 

 character which could be constructed by different regions 

 and exploited internationally. The recent European "Giotto" 

 rocket dedicated to the exploration of Halley's comet is a 

 good example. The United States has not constructed a rocket 

 for that purpose but makes use (perhaps not enough) of the 

 European venture. It is hoped that the lesson of high energy 



