I recently visited Millersville University, where my wife is an Assistant Professor, and saw a poster which reminded me of an important turn in the history of physics. This poster describes how there was a boom in physics research after World War II [1]. In particular, I want to highlight the following part which describes how the government took over the field after the war:
"Far from closing down, weapons laboratories developed into permanent national institutions devoted to both military and civilian research. For the first time, the federal government undertook the systematic support of basic science."[1]
I frequently talk to my friends about the current status of physics in societies and in my view this is the point where all the mess in physics started. Before the wars, physicists were mostly isolated academics trying to understand how the Universe works. But, after the wars, various countries in the world realized that physics can be used to maintain their power and hegemony in the world. I remember reading Frank Close's book in which he describes the post war scenario as follows:
"Once the war ended, the stature of physics—which had produced the
atomic bomb—changed utterly. The U.S. government poured money into
research; physicists had become heroes; Einstein—previously described
as a mathematician—was now reinvented as a physicist." pg 37, The Infinity Puzzle.
I think we are still living in this messy post war scenario where there is a great deal of government intervention in physics. After the war, particle physics went through a boom as well, because, it was the obvious next step to nuclear physics, which enabled the creation of the bomb. These days, the main motivation of funding most of the research in physics is whether it helps in making more weapons or not. There were obviously pros and cons of this intervention at that time since physicists got the money they needed to think more about the mysteries of the Universe but in my view the cons are turning out to be the true legacy of this intervention.
With the extensive government involvement in physics, the mess is getting worse with time. I have seen professors shifting their interests and trying to work primarily to get funding, not for the physics. This is the reason for the "publish or die" culture and why physics is going through a phase I call "the codification of physics". I have seen various groups in physics departments trying to introduce codes in their groups to get swift publications. This culture of "publish or die" is being transferred through out the world because US is one of the leaders in science. Part of this is the reason you cannot get an Assistant Professor job in the US after completing your PhD unless you can get funding. Time will tell how long will this post world war mess continues but for now there is no sign of alleviation.
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