Letter: Exam results

Alex Carrillo
Tuesday 25 August 1998 18:02 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Sir: Could anyone really be surprised by the fate of Britain's physics departments ("Physics fails to flourish", 24 August)? In concentrating on the difficulty of the subject, which is unimportant to anyone really interested, your article failed to mention one crucial point: the paltry financial rewards offered by a career in physics. A mind of the quality required adequately to master the discipline will very quickly deduce that it could be put to use far more lucratively elsewhere.

This problem is not new. It made the headlines during the "brain drain" in the late Seventies and early Eighties, but at least we then had world- class facilities to train the brains. Unless physics is rewarded properly in this country, this fascinating and crucial subject will decline into being no more than a hobby to be studied by correspondence once we have provided for ourselves and our families through other means.

ALEX CARRILLO

Knutsford, Cheshire

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in