Product Description: The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a scientific gold rush as physicists raced to chart the inner workings of the atom. The stakes were high: the questions were big, and there were Nobel Prizes and everlasting glory to be won...read more

Product Description: A new revision guide for students taking introductory physics courses, be they physics majors, or maths or engineering students. •Informal style – a student to student approach •Readers are assumed to have a basic understanding of the subject •Notes are used to highlight the major equations, show where they come from and how they can be used and applied •The aim is to consolidate understanding, not teach the basics from scratc...read more

Product Description: What remains when you eliminate all matter? Can empty space—a void—exist?  Frank Close takes the reader on a lively and accessible tour through ancient ideas and cultural superstitions (including Aristotle, who insisted that the vacuum was impossible) to the frontiers of current scientific research...read more

Of all the mind-bending discoveries of physics--quarks, black holes, strange attractors, curved space--the existence of antimatter is one of the most bizarre. It is also one of the most difficult, literally and figuratively, to grasp. Antimatter explores this strange mirror world, where particles have identical yet opposite properties to those that make up the familiar matter we encounter everyday, where left becomes right, positive becomes negative, and where--should matter and antimatter meet--the resulting flash of blinding energy would make even thermonuclear explosions look feeble by comparison. Antimatter is an idea long beloved of science-fiction writers--but here, renowned science writer Frank Close shows that the reality of antimatter is even more intriguing than the fiction. We know that at one time antimatter and matter existed in perfect counterbalance, and that antimatter then perpetrated a vanishing act on a cosmic scale that remains one of the great mysteries of the universe. Today, antimatter does not exist normally, at least on Earth, but we know that it is real, as scientists are now able to make small pieces of it in particle accelerators, such as that at CERN in Geneva. Looking at the remarkable prediction of antimatter and how it grew from the meeting point of relativity and quantum theory in the early 20th century, at the discovery of the first antiparticles, at cosmic rays, annihilation, antimatter bombs, and antiworlds, Close separates the facts from the fiction about antimatter, and explains how its existence can give us profound clues about the origins and structure of the universe. For all those wishing to take a closer look at the flip side of the visible world, this lucidly written book shines a bright light into a truly strange realm. "Beautifully written... This book will inspire a sense of awe in even the most seasoned of physics readers." --Amanda Gefter, New Scientist "This is a must read for fans of science and science fiction alike." --John Gribbin, www.bbcfocusmagazine.com

(view table of contents)

The distribution of quarks within protons and neutrons, their interactions, and how they define the properties of protons, neutrons and nuclei, are subjects of major research worldwide. Written by leading experts in the field, both theoretical and experimental, this book provides an authoritative overview on the subject. The emphasis throughout the book is on phenomenology, and the book concentrates on describing the main features of the experimental data and the theoretical ideas used in their interpretation. Sections on chiral perturbation theory, crucial in understanding soft pions and soft photons near threshold, and duality ideas, equally crucial at intermediate energies, are included. This is an essential reference for graduate students and researchers in the field of particle physics and electromagnetic interactions.

Product Description: Boasting more than three hundred illustrations, the majority in full color, The Particle Odyssey takes us on an exhilarating tour of the subatomic world. The pictures here are truly marvelous--over 100 of the best images ever taken of particle 'events'--mysterious, abstract, often beautiful photographs of the tracks of subatomic particles as they speed, curve, dance, or explode through cloud and bubble chambers, stacks of photographic emulsion, and giant multi-element detectors...read more

(view table of contents)

Describes the development of the field of particle physics, examines the nature of matter and energy, and profiles the careers of leading particle physicists

Explores the nature of the universe and studies the potential risks to the earth from natural forces beyond the control of humankind, as well as examining space colonization and the future evolution of the human race