Atom Land : A Guided Tour Through the Strange (and Impossibly Small) World of Particle Physics

Prologue: The journey begins -- Expedition I: Sea legs. Setting sail ; The ocean wave ... ; ... Or particle? ; Traveling in the quantum field -- Expedition II: Atom land. Atoms ; Going subatomic: the electron. Nuclear options. The source of chemistry -- Expedition III: The Isle of Leptons, and roads onward. Electromagnetism ; Invariance and relativity ; The good ship Dirac ; Spin and antimatter ; The electron's overweight siblings ; Rest stop -- Gravity: a distant diversion. The weakest force ; Planes and merry-go-rounds ; Different, yet somehow, the same ; Ripples in the space-time continuum -- Expedition IV: Great train journeys. Protons, neutrons, and the nucleus ; Hadrons ; Quarks and the strong force ; Life beyond the bridge ; Flavors and generations -- Expedition V: The Isles by air. The weak force ; Parity, helicity, and chirality ; Mixed messages ; North from South -- Expedition VI: The remote neutrino sector. Massless matter? ; The standard model is dead ; long live the standard model! ; Neutrino badlands -- Expedition VII: Into Bosonia. Symmetry and conservation ; Symmetry and bosons ; Virtual particles and the defense against infinity ; Mass and hidden symmetry ; Electroweak symmetry breaking ; Hunting the Higgs -- Expedition VIII: Far East. Why go? ; Clues and constraints ; Sea monsters and dark matters ; Supersymmetry ; Into another dimension? ; Over the edge ; A fifth force ; Into the cosmos.;"This book brings the impossibly small world of particle physics to life, taking readers on a guided journey through the subatomic world. With maps to help "guide" the reader through "Atom Land" along the way, as they learn about "electron ports," "boson continents," "hadron islands," and more"--

An award-winning physicist "explains everything particle physics from antimatter to Z bosons in this charming trek through" the subatomic landscape ( Publisher Weekly ). Award-winning physicist, professor, and author of Most Wanted Particle, Jon Butterworth is passionate about sharing the fascination of subatomic physics with the general public. In Atom Land, he guides readers on a metaphorical journey through the quantum field and into an impossibly small world, setting sail from Port Electron in search of strange new terrain. Each discovery will expand the horizons of your trusty map—from the Hadron Island to the Isle of Quarks, and beyond. A masterful work of allegory, Atom Land also gives form to the forces that shape the universe: Electromagnetism is a highway system; the strong force, a railway; the weak force, an airline. But, like Butterworth, you may find that curiosity is the strongest force of all—one that pulls you across the subatomic seas, toward the unknown realm of Antimatter, and to the very outer reaches of the cosmos.

For fans of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: a richly conjured world, in map and metaphor, of particle physics Atom Land brings the impossibly small world of particle physics to life, taking readers on a guided journey through the subatomic world. Readers will sail the subatomic seas in search of electron ports, boson continents, and hadron islands. The sea itself is the quantum field, complete with quantum waves. Beware dark energy and extra dimensions, embodied by fantastical sea creatures prowling the far edges of the known world. Your tour guide through this whimsicaland highly instructive world is Jon Butterworth, leading physicist at CERN (the epicenter of todays greatest findings in physics). Over a series of journeys, he shows how everything fits together, and how a grasp of particle physics is key to unlocking a deeper understanding of many of the most profound mysteriesand sciences possible answersin the known universe. "Journey into an unseen world--and to the frontiers of human knowledge Welcome to Atom Land, the impossibly small world of quantum physics. With award-winning physics Jon Butterworth as your guide, you'll set sail from Port Electron in search of strange new terrain. Each discovery will expand the horizons of your trusty map--from the Hadron Island to the Isle of Quarks and beyond. Just beware of Dark Energy and other sea monsters! A masterful work of metaphor, Atom Land also gives form to the forces that shape the universe: Electromagnetism is a highway system; the strong force, a railway; the weak force, an airline. But, like Butterworth, you may find that curiosity is the strongest force of all--one that pulls you across the subatomic seas, toward the unknown realm of Antimatter, and to the very outer reaches of the cosmos."--ProQuest Journey into an unseen world—and to the frontiers of human knowledge Welcome to Atom Land, a subatomic realm governed by the laws of particle physics. Here, electromagnetism is a highway system; the strong force, a railway; the weak force, an airline. With award-winning physicist Jon Butterworth as your guide, you'll set sail from Port Electron in search of strange new terrain—from the Isle of Quarks to the very edge of Antimatter. Journey into an unseen world—and to the frontiers of human knowledge. "This book brings the impossibly small world of particle physics to life, taking readers on a guided journey through the subatomic world. With maps to help "guide" the reader through "Atom Land" along the way, as they learn about "electron ports," "boson continents," "hadron islands," and more"-- Provided by publisher From a top physicist at CERN, the first guide to the fundamental units of matter and the forces that act on them--particle physics--since the discovery of the Higgs boson, the missing piece of the Standard Model, leading the reader from basic concepts to the cutting edge