What is the Total Spending on Quantum Mechanics Research in the Last Decade?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the total spending on quantum mechanics research over the last decade, exploring the availability of data and the relevance of such statistics for academic purposes, particularly in the context of dissertations. Participants seek references and insights into funding sources and the broader implications of quantum mechanics spending.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants are searching for specific papers or references that detail financial expenditures on quantum mechanics research over the past ten years.
  • One participant expresses a desire to justify the importance of quantum mechanics study in their dissertation by referencing current spending, suggesting that statistics on spending in quantum mechanics specifically may not exist.
  • Another participant notes that funding for quantum mechanics research may be intertwined with broader categories such as high energy physics or condensed matter physics, complicating the identification of specific expenditures.
  • Several links to resources, including NSF and NIST, are shared as potential avenues for finding relevant data, although it is acknowledged that these may encompass a wider range of research than just quantum mechanics.
  • One participant argues that quantifying spending on quantum mechanics is vague, comparing it to spending on fundamental concepts like algebra.
  • Another points out that spending related to quantum mechanics could also be reflected in funding for industries such as semiconductors, indicating that many areas of modern science incorporate elements of quantum mechanics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that specific statistics on spending in quantum mechanics may be difficult to isolate, and multiple competing views exist regarding the categorization and relevance of such spending. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the availability of precise data.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the potential overlap of quantum mechanics funding with other fields, the vagueness of defining spending on quantum mechanics, and the reliance on broader research categories that may not specifically highlight quantum mechanics expenditures.

Macedo Junior
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I am searching for a paper or any reference that contain data about how many dollars are spent in quantum mechanics researches in the last ten years.
 
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Macedo Junior said:
I am searching for a paper or any reference that contain data about how many dollars are spent in quantum mechanics researches in the last ten years.
What research have you done?
 
I would like to justify, in my dissertation, the importance of studying quantum mechanics with how much is spent today in this area in general. Can be in any area of knowledge.
 
Macedo Junior said:
I would like to justify, in my dissertation, the importance of studying quantum mechanics with how much is spent today in this area in general. Can be in any area of knowledge.
I don't think that there is statistics on spending in QM specifically.

There are budgets for support of various laboratories at which the work is related to QM - accelerators for example. However the work done with accelerators may be described as high energy physics or condensed matter physics depending on the energy levels.

One might find some ideas - http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/rdexpenditures/
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyrdexpenditures/
But that includes a lot more than research in areas related to QM

See also - http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116997&org=NSF&from=news
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=117254
http://www.tam.northwestern.edu/summerinstitute/
With the confluence of interest in nanotechnology, availability of experimental tools to synthesize and characterize systems in the nanometer scale, and computational tools widely accessible to model microscale systems by coupled continuum-molecular-quantum mechanics, we are poised to unravel the traditional gap between the atomic and the macro scopic world in mechanics, materials, and manufacturing. This in turn opens up new opportunities in education and research.

Also - look at NIST -
http://www.nist.gov/physlab/div848/index.cfm

http://jila.colorado.edu/research/chemical-physics/quantum-mechanics-chemistry

One can search on "NIST quantum mechanics", or "NSF quantum mechanics", or substitute "physics" for "mechanics"

Look in National Academies Press for books or articles on Quantum Mechanics or Quantum Physics
Schrödinger's Rabbits:
The Many Worlds of Quantum
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11002

It would probably be better to look at new areas in the application of Quantum Physics that exist now, but weren't around 10 or more years ago.
 
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I think spending on "quantum mechanics" specifically is a bit like spending on algebra or on punctuation. It's a bit vague.
 
it could also include nearly all the money spent on research in e.g the semiconductor industry etc.
There are few areas of modern science that do not include some elements of QM.
 

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