[mathgenius]

I agree that the engineering involved in these big projects is astonishing and worthy of great praise, but I disagree with calling it "big engineering". Building a bridge is big engineering. Where would the engineers on these big science projects be without the physicists/scientists exact specifications?

[nightski]

Has there ever been an engineering project where the physicists/scientists give exact specifications? They are approximations at best, just enough insight that engineers can find a way to make them useful.