Between the mysteries of quantum entanglement, virtual particles, zero-point energy, and a deeper understanding of photons and neutrinos, there is much to keep physics busy in the coming decades, and much potential for revolutionary discoveries on a scale similar to those that unfolded in the last part of the 19th century and into the first thirty years of the 20th.
So many of the revolutionary technology advances of the second half of the 20th Century were based on the scientific advances of those 50 years.
Once people learned how to control and harness electricity, and how to deal with electromagnetism on a theoretical level, the door was opened to incredible advances, such as quantum mechanics and relativity.
Once people learned to shoot beams of charged particles through high vacuum, and bend those beams with electric and magnetic fields, the pace of invention increased enormously. The ability to understand what was going on inside atoms went from unimaginable to everyday science in just a few decades.
I’m also excited about the JWST, which is perhaps the most revolutionary scientific instrument ever created. The true scale of its impact may not become obvious for fifty years or more.
I totally agree!!!