TOPIC:Physics The September/October 2026 issue of the CERN Courier is out Written by: CERN Courier — 17 September, 2026 (Image: Grégory Millasseau/CERN) In his landmark 1945 report Science, the Endless Frontier, Vannevar Bush argued that basic research is the fund from which applications, and with them prosperity, are drawn. Eight decades on, the High-Luminosity LHC is expected to return to society nearly twice its cost, before a single discovery is counted. The largest share comes from the skills researchers take into the wider economy. Technological spillovers come close behind, as demanding contracts leave suppliers with new techniques and markets. The LHC demanded large-scale industrial ...