[Physicist]

if I remember correctly, the super-collider was out of date before the first spade of earth was turned, the burro-crats and environ-wackos screwed around with it so long.

That's just all wet. There isn't even any machine in the planning stages what will be able to do what the supercollider would have done. There's a machine being built in Europe that will reach some of the SSC's physics goals; if we're lucky it might start producing data in 2008.

[XBob]

25 - Sorry guys, but I must ask youall to task your memories. I realize this is not my area, theortical physics, however, government boondoggles are my area.

As I remember, in the late 80's and early 90's there were numbers of breakthroughs in supercooling/superconducting.

As I remember, they developed new techniques and new magnets, which would have reduced the size and cost of the Dallas project by half (this at a time when the price went quickly from $2 billion, to 5 billion, to 6.5 billion, to 7.5 billion to 8+ billion, and on up to 12-25 billion. Just like the shuttle, which was to be an 'inexpensive' way to go to space, it appeared it was going to be a 'yacht' - you know - a big hole in the water into which you pour money.

And while it was last generation technology, as they were 'digging', it was to be bigger and better by than anything currently existing.

And the government, in it's usual stupidity, rather than regrouping, just dropped the whole thing, wasting billions of dollars and billions of research and hundreds of millions in contracts, facilities, holes, etc.

Please think back.

[RightWhale]

The SSC should have been built in Alaska. Got just the spot for it. Nothing but caribou and a few mag 2 quakes now and then.