I had imagined doing nuclear physics and cosmic ray work in greater style in peace time. To do modern physics in a small way is of no use of all.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Nuclear physics is interesting but it is unlikely to help society.
In the late '30's when I was in college, physics - and in particular, nuclear physics - was the most exciting field in the world.
My interest in matters more directly concerned with the handling of particles was growing, in the meantime, stimulated by many contacts with people understanding accelerators.
I spent most of my career doing high-energy physics, quarks, dark matter, string theory and so on.
I had a project for my life which involved 10 years of wandering, then some years of medical studies and, if any time was left, the great adventure of physics.
Although important nuclear physics work was to go on in laboratories such as ours had become - and we had to cut down to a lower energy group - it was not fundamentally opening up new insights on the structure of matter. That required you to be in a higher league.
Nevertheless, if I have at times been able to make original contributions in the accelerator field, I cannot help feeling that to a certain extent my slightly amateur approach in physics, combined with much practical experience, was an asset.
Throughout history, people have studied pure science from a desire to understand the universe rather than practical applications for commercial gain. But their discoveries later turned out to have great practical benefits.
Physicists must feel they are in the most exciting field in the world. Their minds must be afire.
I had no new ideas on the physics we might learn, and I could not compete with the younger generation.
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