Help understanding the potential outcome of solving the Unified Theory in modern physics

I find myself greatly fascinated by physics and astronomy, though I really do not understand most of it. For example, I avidly watch programs and read books that discuss our current search for a Unified Theory which will unite the major forces (Strong Interactive, Weak Interactive, Electromagnetism on the one side, with Gravitation on the other). I also try to understand a little bit about our work with subatomic particles, the search for the Higgs particle, and our use of tools like the Large Hadron Collider.

Despite this enthusiasm, I find myself asking one major question: What might come of definitively finding a Unified Theory (Theory of Everything)? Most of the material I absorb seem to imply that there are major technological advances from such an accomplishment, but rarely provide examples.

Obviously we cannot predict accurately all of the potential for the outcome of this scientific progression, but I get the impression that physicists and astronomers have a great deal of pending problems that await the solution.

For a layperson, what kinds of advancements and breakthroughs might one realistically expect?

Answer

It will all depend on what the Theory of Everything will be, no?

We can only look back at the technological progress that appeared once we mastered electromagnetism, and then quantum mechanics and nuclear physics.

Maxwell unified electricity and magnetism in his theory, in the middle of the nineteenth century. His work in producing a unified model of electromagnetism is one of the greatest advances in physics.It took decades for applications to appear and they are still appearing.

Same can be said about the theoretical formulation of Quantum Mechanics which carried the unification further and gave us from transistors to superconductivity decades after wards.

Ditto for nuclear physics.

So we can only extrapolate, and not predict, that given a rigorous theory of everythinq, unexpected applications will be inevitable.

It is true that physicists and other researchers are in for the intellectual excitement of frontier research, not for finding applications. Applications are the realm of engineering, once the theory is known.

As for the cost of the LHC, it probably costs less than an airplane carrier, which at a time of peace is wasted money too. Considering that the world wide web came out of the last accelerator, LEP, as a spin off, and not only this, the money is well invested even so. Already the GRID, a technology of large data transfers and manipulations, is pushing the frontier and will surely find applications in industry in the future.