Understanding the Universe: From Quarks to the Cosmos



World Scientific Publishing Company, Inc. | ISBN-13: 9789812387035 | English | PDF | 298 Pages | Size: 12.4 MB

incoln is a physicist and the collaborating author on numerous research papers at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), where he investigates high-energy particles. A veteran of many popular talks on physics, he charmingly relates the tale of humankind's almost insatiable curiosity about the ultimate nature of nature and the quest to determine the basic particles of matter. His style is engaging and obviously directed to informed lay readers, but the more scientifically minded will find it equally appealing. Still, at over 500 pages, it is not light reading. If digested with the notion that this topic is presented in a broad swath, both historically and scientifically, and not meant to be definitive, the work offers readers an appreciation of the investigative procedure, the accumulated body of research, and the people who did the investigating. Recommended for public and academic collections.

Table Of Contents

Foreword ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xxiii
1. Early History 1
2. The Path to Knowledge (History of Particle Physics) 22
3. Quarks and Leptons 107
4. Forces: What Holds It All Together 147
5. Hunting for the Higgs 209
6. Accelerators and Detectors: Tools of the Trade 248
7. Near Term Mysteries 315
8. Exotic Physics (The Next Frontier) 383
9. Recreating the Universe 10,000,000 Times a Second 444
10. Epilogue: Why Do We Do It? 487
Appendix A Greek Symbols 492
Appendix B Scientific Jargon 493
Appendix C Particle-Naming Rules 496
Appendix D Essential Relativity and Quantum Mechanics 501
Appendix E Higgs Boson Production 513
Appendix F Neutrino Oscillations 519
Further Reading 525
Glossary 535
Index 557