What could further research on the atom do for the advancement of science and human culture?

Answer 1

Research on "the atom" is happening at different levels, and i assume the question is really directed at high-energy particle physics, since the physics and chemistry of atoms is routinely employed on a daily basis to advance materials science, healthcare, chip design etc. and deliver new structural materials, pharmaceutical products, semiconductors etc. which contribute greatly to our standard of living and the technological status and wellbeing of mankind.

Fundamental research into the structure of matter using very large, expensive apparatus and numerous teams of researchers may have a less obvious technological spin-out benefit, since the energies employed in probing are way beyond those observed in the world we inhabit. However, in reference to human culture, we can regard this work as a search for truth about the nature of the universe.

The infinitesimally small world of sub-atomic particles has close links to the unimaginably large universe which surrounds our tiny earth, and cosmologists have already used this physics to explain phenomena including neutron stars, black holes and supernovae etc. Understanding the origins of our universe also requires a detailed knowledge of sub-atomic physics to explain how, some 14 billion years ago, our universe sprang into being from the vacuum.

Such knowledge obviously has a massive impact on human culture, since much of this culture is currently predicated on un-testable religeous dogma, written down in ancient books of various types or expounded by individuals regarded as spritual leaders. Whether one accepts the tenets of religion and the associated philiosophies and politics has a large influence on one's perception of of fellow human beings, whether as individuals, tribes, creeds or nations.

The research being conducted into the nature of matter and its association with cosmology is subjected to the rigours of peer-review and testing for reproducibility from some of the most able intellects on the planet and therefore is exposed to scrutiny and scepticism from the outset. Whether this search for truth about cosmic origins can be harmonised with the preconceptions of religious teaching and dogma is a matter for resolution in the mind of the individual. However, the opinion of the author is that knowledge of the human condition and our place in the universe (whether or not you happen to like the sound of it) has to ultimately be a good thing for the future sustainibility of our race and for inter-human relations.