In this discussion involving local politicians, environmental activists and residents of the region, the physicists themselves seem inaudible. Do they not express themselves, or do we not hand them the microphone? In all cases, science is often criticized for not communicating enough. Ex-physicist in a related field, I therefore wanted to propose a defense of CERN and its FCC, while specifying that I am not a spokesperson for any, and therefore speaking in a purely personal capacity.
Particle physics saves lives
The FCC (“future circular collider”), it is true, impresses with its gigantism. It will be three times longer than the current accelerator, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider), often described as the most complex machine ever built by humanity. We therefore understand the controversy, especially since its usefulness is little known. The observation of the Higgs boson in 2012 certainly earned a Nobel Prize but did not change the price of a sandwich, nor did it create a black hole to swallow up the Earth.
And yet, research in fundamental physics has had a very real impact. CERN can firstly pride itself on being at the origin of the World Wide Web, that is to say the Internet as we know it. Originally a data exchange network between physicists, the Web has revolutionized the world and continues to do so beyond all superlatives. The very first website can still be consulted from the CERN page.
There are other examples. We now detect cancer using sensors developed for particle physics, then we treat this cancer via radiotherapy, that is to say with accelerators reusing technologies developed at CERN. To be clearer, particle physics saves lives.
Outreach of the region
Outside of the medical field, these same technologies have been used to restore works of art, or aim to improve the irrigation of agricultural fields. The applications are multiple, and the economic returns tangible: CERN estimates the net gain from the LHC program, after deduction of all costs, at more than 3 billion euros.
The presence of CERN and its large accelerator in Geneva makes the region shine. Talents from all over the world are rushing to come to Switzerland, receive further training on the LHC, and many then stay to apply the techniques learned in different fields. We find “ex-CERN” physicists in luxury watchmaking laboratories, in oncology centers, or as analysts using artificial intelligence to fight against antibiotic resistance or against ocean plastic pollution. Thus contributing to the excellence of Switzerland and/or to the resolution of major societal problems.
The LHC collider was, and still is, a controversial machine. We could have not built it, like the Americans who canceled their SSC collider in 1993. We would then, perhaps, have missed out on all these many benefits. Swiss society, and Europe in general, can thank the previous generation for daring to build the LHC.
Curiosity, a fundamental human trait
What will happen to the FCC? A major drawback of fundamental research is that it is unpredictable, because by definition it explores the unknown. Although several important theories are in its sights, and the technical developments that go with them, the exact impact remains difficult to estimate. Marie Curie herself probably did not imagine that her work on radioactivity would lead, decades later, to treatments against cancer. Nevertheless, in light of the history of scientific research, and the past successes of CERN in particular, there should be no doubt that the impact of the FCC will be positive and grandiose, even if flying quietly under the radar.
Perhaps we will instead choose not to build it, and others would then build it. After having relocated our manufacturing and factories, we would also relocate our knowledge and our innovation, and it is difficult to say what exactly we would have left.
I wanted to end on a perhaps less materialistic note. Curiosity is a much more fundamental human trait than economic or sovereign considerations. We want to understand the world around us, we want to explore it, to probe it. A conundrum lies before us: what are we made of? What governs the matter around us? Where does the Universe come from? It is natural to want to answer it, and perhaps it is even a duty towards future generations, who with this new knowledge will live more in tune with this cosmos which created us. Let’s have this courage.
