Feldman agrees. "It's clear that scientistshave to do a better job on educating the people onthe importance of basic science," he says. "Peopleare looking to shorter term solutions to problems,and are less willing to support long rangescience."

Franklin says people feel the number ofphysicists in the country should be cut in half."That's the climate anyway," she says.

Transistors, liquid crystals and magneticresonance imaging are just a few applied productsderived from basic science, says Franklin. Shesays a cessation of basic research would thereforebe "a little scary."

Opponents of the supercollider have accused theproject of being mismanaged, a charge that Harvardphysicists have called "grossly exaggerated" and"a fairly effective smear campaign."

Brandenburg says one example of wasteemphasized by critics was the purchase of liquorfor staff barbecues. Brandenburg says the liquorwas bought using special funds from outsidesupport, not government money.

Misplaced Nationalism?

Many scientists say the project could have beensaved if the government had established a closerpartnership with foreign countries, especiallyJapan. Instead, from the outset, the U.S.government decided that the project would besolely American.

Brandenburg says that only after the SSC wasapproved as a United States project did the U.S.government ask the Japanese to contribute.According to Brandenburg, the Japanese were neverinvited to help manage the collider. They wereonly asked to donate money.

"It should have been an international projectfrom the start," says Feldman. Because of a lackof action by the administration and bad planningby the Department of Energy, "they were never ableto get any sizable commitments for foreigncontributions."

Glashow says one candidate site which straddledthe border between New York and Canada wasrejected simply because it was not within U.S.borders.

Harvard physicists lobbied extensively inWashington to save the supercollider--writingletters and visiting legislators--but were unableto sway vote.

Frankling says she talked to Rep. Joseph P.Kennedy II (D-Mass.) and found that he was moreconcerned about "Mars. McGillicuddy's pensioncheck" than the electro-weak force.

"The problem is if I really thought that notbuilding the SSC would make poverty in America goaway, of course I wouldn't build it," Franklinsays.

Legislators can probably expect about $5billion extra to spend on social programs fromcutting the supercollider, but even the process ofterminating the project will be a drain on theTreasury.

Closing down the collider will be costlybecause building contracts have been broken, andthe tunnel must be back-filled.