The French physicist Alain Aspect, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, expressed his concern on Wednesday about the rise of an “anti-scientific” discourse, alleging that “science is not the enemy of the planet” in the face of the temptations to “return to science”. nature”.
In an interview with our AFP colleagues ahead of his Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm on Saturday, the quantum physicist explained that he wanted to use his award as a “megaphone” for “science.”
“Science is not an enemy of the planet”
“I try to use it in favor of science, to explain, for example, that science is not an enemy of the planet, but quite the opposite, that the concern to save the planet is by doing science and trusting in science, they will arrive,” he said. the 75 year old teacher.
“There are certain groups of activists who seem to me to be on the wrong target when saying that it is the fault of science if the planet goes wrong,” said the Polytechnique and Paris-Saclay University professor.
“I think it’s the fault of what people do with science. Not from science itself. If you don’t understand the science, you can’t solve the problem,” he continued.
Without wanting to cite groups in particular, the French Nobel laureate denounced “an anti-scientific discourse” that would consist of saying that “returning to the state of nature would be much better.”
Awarded for his discoveries on “quantum entanglement”
A speech that according to him forgets “that before the progress of science, before the invention of antibiotics, machines to relieve the pain of men, the situation of humanity was much more miserable than the current one”.
Announced in early October, the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Alain Aspect along with American John Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger.
The trio of septuagenarians are rewarded for their discoveries about “quantum entanglement,” a phenomenon in which two quantum particles are perfectly correlated, regardless of the distance between them.
Even Albert Einstein, winner of the Nobel Prize 100 years ago this year, did not believe this phenomenon was possible. The Nobel Prize ceremonies take place on Saturday in Stockholm, as well as in Oslo, land of the peace prize.
Source: BFM TV
