Asymptotic freedom invoked to explain SLAC scaling

Recently many particle theorists have come out in favor of asymptotic freedom instead of academic freedom, at least in the high‐energy regime. Some workers had been looking for a way to use field‐theoretic ideas to explain the scaling behavior found in deep inelastic electron‐proton scattering at SLAC. These experiments, which involve virtual photons, allow one to measure behavior at very small distances, a feature not available in normal high‐energy proton–proton scattering.