This is bit of a commonly misheld perception in my opinion.
It took 30-50 years for anything in the 1910s to become particularly useful. Even the photoelectric effect itself took over 30 years before the first devices (photomultipliers) were even developed.
The much celebrated quantum mechanics likely wasn't so useful either until 30-40 years later with electronics such as transistors.
General relativity didn't really find a use until GPS and that was over 70 years later.
The only field that contributed 'relatively' quickly during that time period was nuclear physics, but that field saw an extreme concentration of effort due to the war.
Meanwhile theoretical condensed matter physics today is rife with things that are on the cusp of being useful with 2D materials, superconductors, quantum simulators, etc
It took 30-50 years for anything in the 1910s to become particularly useful. Even the photoelectric effect itself took over 30 years before the first devices (photomultipliers) were even developed.
The much celebrated quantum mechanics likely wasn't so useful either until 30-40 years later with electronics such as transistors.
General relativity didn't really find a use until GPS and that was over 70 years later.
The only field that contributed 'relatively' quickly during that time period was nuclear physics, but that field saw an extreme concentration of effort due to the war.
Meanwhile theoretical condensed matter physics today is rife with things that are on the cusp of being useful with 2D materials, superconductors, quantum simulators, etc