The physics of particles in danger
Physicists who study the basic components of matter are very concerned about the future of their area. On the one hand, the US abandoned the construction last October of the giant particle accelerator called Superconducting Supercollider. On the other hand, the CERN centre for particle physics analysis in several European states has problems financing the particle accelerator called Large Hadron Collider. The problem is to find a billion dollars. European states are not willing to put more money and potential funders, Japan or the US, are not very hot.
CERN has just presented a plan to carry out the project. This would mean delaying for two years the start date of the new particle accelerator (from 2002 to 2004) and, in addition, it should be closed before the so-called Large Electron-Positron Collider, currently in operation, was believed. In this way the funds could be channeled to make Large Hadron Collider.
However, this means that the CERN would not have a particle accelerator for four years and that the 600 researchers using the CERN teams should look for another task.
On the other hand, Spain, Germany and Great Britain want to reduce their contribution to the CERN and, consequently, the financing of Large Hadron Collider is in a critical situation.
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