Subatomic particles around the world must have breathed a collective sigh of relief four months ago, when Congress scuttled the funding for the largest particle smasher ever designed.

For physicists at Harvard and around the country, however, it was a paralyzing blow--entirely closing off potential areas of study, and providing proof of the government's increased antipathy to long-term research in basic science.

The Superconducting Supercollider (SSC) was billed by physicists as their giant microscope to observe the fundamental particles of matter, a tool that would lead to the greatest progress in physics since quantum mechanics.

The collider, true to its name, was to be an oval underground tunnel 55 miles in circumference that would smash subatomic particles together at speeds approaching that of light.

According to Congressional Quarterly, the October vote abandoned $2 billion of work, which had paid for advanced physics equipment, 14.7 miles of tunneling, salaries for more than 7,000 jobs and 211,000 square feet of high-tech laboratory space in Waxahatchie, Texas, about 35 miles south of Dallas.

Physicists were hoping that data from the supercollider would help them formulate a Grand Unified Theory connecting the four fundamental forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force binding the components of nuclei and the weak force involved in nuclear decay. Experiments using the supercollider would have proved or disproved key theories in particle physics.

The American Physical Society kept Harvard physicists informed of the debate in Washington through electronic mail up to the last vote. But news of the project's cancellation still surprised many Harvard physicists.

"The handwriting was on the wall, but I don't think anyone believed it," says George W. Brandenburg, director of the High Energy Physics Laboratory.

"It's been a very sobering experience. Most of the people in the field have spent all the time since the decision occurred doing a lot of re-evaluating, and planning what should be done next. There's been some unhappy people," says Brandenburg. "Our hope is that there's as strong a program emerging from the ashes, but it was a pretty rude awakening."

Brandenburg says three physicists, a large crew of technical people and four engineers were devoted to the SSC project, one of four projects done in the High Energy Physics Laboratory. A handful of other Harvard physicists had worked on theoretical aspects of the machine, including Higgins Professor of Physics Sheldon L. Glashow and Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics Howard Georgi.

Most Harvard professors could resort to other projects they were working on when the SSC was cancelled.

But others were less fortunate. BairdProfessor of Science Gary J. Feldman says twoengineers had to be laid off, and the technicalstaff will probably have to be reorganized.

Harvard lost about half a million dollars infunding which came from the state of Texas and theDepartment of Energy (DOE), says Feldman.

A Significant Setback to Physics

Scientists say the project's cancellation is asignificant setback to the field of high-energyphysics.

"In two-and-a-half years we wrote about 30papers for the SSC, which described particlebehavior, most of which were to lead toexperiments so that verification could take placeat a mega accelerator," says John A. Barrett,administrative assistant in the physicsdepartment. "There will be nothing available thiscentury to validate the theoretical work for theSSC."