[troutman]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

All of this theoretical physics is interesting in the sense that we're innately curious about our origins and the nature of existence, but there's only one thing that can make people really connect to something:

"Nice theory...but can you make money off of it?"

Quantum physics and general relativity, as they exist now, give the tools to make certain technologies possible. Will the observation of a Higgs boson (or whatever) lead to developments that can actually make money? For anybody in the know, explain to me how $7B worth of development costs will improve life on earth?

I know this sounds like I'm skeptical of such improvements, but I'm not so much skeptical as uninformed. Fix that for me, eh?

NASA spin-offs:

http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

Some of the most frequently asked questions about the U.S. space program are "Why go into space when we have so many problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" These are legitimate questions and unfortunately not enough people have been made aware of the vast benefits the space program provides that increase the quality of our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spinoffs" that contribute to improving national security, the economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spinoffs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research. We should be spending more.

http://space.about.com/od/toolsequip...lospinoffs.htm

Every day, in a variety of ways, American lives are touched by space technology. Since 1976, about 1,400 documented NASA inventions have benefited U.S. industry, improved the quality of life and created jobs for Americans. The Apollo program has helped change the way of life in America, especially in health care. Here are some of the inventions contributed by the Apollo program.