Membership of Cern and the European Scope of Spanish physics

• Autores: Xavier Roqué
• Localización: The Circulation of Science and Technology: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science. Barcelona, 18-20 November 2010 / coord. por Antoni M. Roca Rosell, 2012, ISBN 978-84-9965-108-8, págs. 773-777
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Spain joined CERN on 1 January 1961, to withdraw seven years later on financial grounds. Building on the CERN archives, this paper deals with Spain’s first membership of CERN as seen by the physicists and diplomats that handled membership. Beyond the lack of political will and the economic burden that are usually blamed for Spain’s withdrawal, I argue that there were “failures of communication” between CERN and Spain, that became apparent in the recruitment of staff, the tender of contracts, and the contribution of member states. Politics and economics were not solely responsible for withdrawal: the long-term R+D policies of Franco’s regime, as well as the research outlook of scientists and policy makers such as J. M. Otero, need to be taken into account.