Synopses & Reviews
"Take a deep breath! You have just inhaled oxygen atoms that have already been breathed by every person who ever lived. At some time or another your body has contained atoms that were once part of Moses or Isaac Newton." So begins this spectacular illustrated tour of the subatomic world, the science of particle physics and its attempts to understand the very nature of matter and energy.
The Particle Explosion is the first book to describe to the general reader how the study of basic particles by scientists over the last hundred years has led us closer to an understanding of the origins of the Universe. Particle physicists are attempting to answer such questions as: How did the Universe begin? Why does it have the form it does? Will it continue expanding forever or will it eventually begin to contract?
With over 300 illustrations, the book brings together many fascinating historical pictures of leading scientists in the field and the actual images in which the particles were first identified. There are photographs of the increasingly vast and complex equipment they use (bubble chambers, accelerators and modern electronic detectors) as well as some of the most striking images of particle tracks that they have recorded.
This journey to the heart of matter opens with an introduction to the basic particles (the subatomic "zoo" that includes quarks, electrons, leptons, 'strange' particles and 'charmed' particles) and of the methods used to create and investigate them. The even-numbered chapters tell the story of their discovery, from the first experiments with X-rays and the elucidation of the nature of the atom, to the great machines that today smash particles together at enormous energies and the underground caverns where physicists are seeking confirmation of a Grand Unified Theory. The odd-numbered chapters describe the major particles in more detail. The book ends with an explanation of how some of the particles have been put to work in the service of medicine, industry, and even the detection of art forgeries!
Synopsis
The Particle Explosion is a spectacular illustrated tour of the subatomic world, the first book to describe to the general reader how the study of basic particles over the last hundred years has led us closer to an understanding of the origins of the Universe. This journey to the heart of matter opens with an introduction to the basic particles (a subatomic "zoo" that includes quarks, electrons, leptons, 'strange' particles and 'charmed' particles) and of the methods used to create and investigate them. The even-numbered chapters tell the story of their discovery, from the first experiments with X-rays and the elucidation of the nature of the atom, to the great machines that today smash particles together at enormous energy levels. The odd-numbered chapters describe the major particles in more detail. With over 300 fascinating illustrations, the book brings together many historical photographs of leading scientists in the field, the increasingly vast and complex equipment they use (bubble chambers, accelerators and modern electronic detectors), and the striking images of tracks produced by the particles themselves.
Detailing in readable, jargon-free language the new vistas particle physics has opened--from the approach to a Grand Unified Theory of matter to the detection of art forgeries--this book is must reading for anyone who hopes to understand more about the brave new world of modern science.
About the Author
About the Authors:
Frank Close is Senior Principal Scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and is the author of Introduction to Quarks and Partons (1979). Michael Marten is the author of The New Astronomy (Oxford, 1984). Christine Sutton, a Research Associate in the Department of Nuclear Physics at Oxford University, is also the author of he Particle Connection (1984) and Building the Universe (1985).