Quarks And Gluons: A Century Of Particle Charges A Century of Particle Charges

A number of books for the educated layman have been written explaining the fundamental concepts of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This book is one of the very best. Prof. Han has taken a historical time-line approach to introducing the reader to the theory and experiment of quarks and leptons, and their force carrier particles gluons, and the weak gauge bosons. This book utilizes a superb combination of text, tables, and diagrams to illustrate the author's points. Han's book has two particularly well-written narratives. The first is his lucid discussion of the chromo or 'color charge' in hadron formation, and the second is a presentation of conservation or zero-sum attributes of particles in collision. All introductory works explain, for example, that a proton is two up and one down quark. Han goes beyond that to invoke the need for color neutrality of red, green, and blue. Zero-sum conservation is found in few other books of this nature. Han uses simple accounting tables to keep track of electric, nucleonic, leptonic, color, and baryonic 'charge'. Using these simple concepts the fact that beta decay must produce not a neutrino, but an anti-neutrino makes perfect sense. Han restricts his purview to just the fundamentals of the Standard Model. Anti-matter is discussed, but there are no excursions into string theory, supersymmetry, or even the Higgs boson. The historical time-line essentially ends with the confirmation of the top quark in 1995 at Fermilab. Nonetheless, this book is lucid, well-written and often witty. It is an outstanding intro to particle physics for the non-physicist. "Dr M Y Han is a Professor of Physics at Duke University, where he has been since 1967. His research specialty is in the field of theoretical particle physics, especially the symmetry principles of elementary particle physics. He is credited with introducing the SU(3) symmetry for quarks, later to be called the color symmetry of the Standard Model. His other books include The Secret Life of Quanta and The Probable Universe.Our journey in search of the origin of matter — and, by extension, the origin of the Universe itself — has taken us deeper and deeper inside atoms. First to come into view was the atomic nucleus, and still further downscale the individual protons and neutrons that constitute the nucleus. At least for three decades, nucleons (protons and neutrons) were considered to be our final destination. Then, peering into them, we detected shadows of yet another layer of matter that lurks inside. Unable so far to crack open a nucleon and bring out one of these shadowy objects for observation and measurement, we can only guess what they are. We have named them quarks. We believe that two types of quarks — one named "up" and the other "down" — make up the proton and the neutron. Quarks are held together by a force dubbed the chromo force, represented by particles named gluons, which are just as unseen as quarks. So it is the quarks and gluons that lie at the bottom of all known matter!In this important book, the major developments in atomic, nuclear, particle and quark physics over the past one hundred years are presented in a style that is both accessible to the layperson and of value to the expert. It provides a brief history of particles, charting the discovery of electrons and photons, antimatter, atomic nuclei, strong and weak forces, and quarks and gluons. In particular, it traces the concept of "conserved charges", a phenomenon that is consistently manifested in each of these milestone developments in modern physics." A number of books for the educated layman have been written explaining the fundamental concepts of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. This book is one of the very best. Prof. Han has taken a historical time-line approach to introducing the reader to the theory and experiment of quarks and leptons, and their force carrier particles gluons, and the weak gauge bosons. This book utilizes a superb combination of text, tables, and diagrams to illustrate the author's points. Han's book has two particularly well-written narratives. The first is his lucid discussion of the chromo or 'color charge' in hadron formation, and the second is a presentation of conservation or zero-sum attributes of particles in collision. All introductory works explain, for example, that a proton is two up and one down quark. Han goes beyond that to invoke the need for color neutrality of red, green, and blue. Zero-sum conservation is found in few other books at this level. Han uses simple accounting tables to keep track of electric, nucleonic, leptonic, color, and baryonic 'charge'. Using these simple concepts the fact that beta decay must produce not a neutrino, but an anti-neutrino makes perfect sense. Han restricts his purview to just the fundamentals of the Standard Model. Anti-matter is discussed, but there are no excursions into string theory, supersymmetry, or even the Higgs boson. The historical time-line essentially ends with the confirmation of the top quark in 1995 at Fermilab. Nonetheless, this book is lucid, well-written and often witty. It is an outstanding intro to particle physics for the non-physicist. In This Book, The Major Developments In Atomic, Nuclear, Particle And Quark Physics Over The Past One Hundred Years Are Presented In A Style That Is Both Accessible To The Layperson And Of Value To The Expert. It Provides A Brief History Of Particles, Charting The Discovery Of Electrons And Photons, Antimatter, Atomic Nuclei, Strong And Weak Forces, And Quarks And Gluons. In Particular, It Traces The Concept Of Conserved Charges, A Phenomenon That Is Consistently Manifested In Each Of These Milestone Developments In Modern Physics.--jacket. Prologue: A Century Of Particle Charges -- 1. The Electron: The Quantum Of Electricity -- 2. Mass: E = Mc[superscript 2] And All That -- 3. The Photon: No Charge, No Mass -- 4. The Spin: If It's Round, It Rolls -- 5. Antimatter: A Mirror Image -- 6. The Nucleus: A Whole New Ball Game -- 7. The Strong Force I: Nucleons -- 8. The Weak Force: A Whisper In The Night -- 9. The Strong Force Ii: Hadrons -- 10. The Quark: The Queen Of Fractions -- 11. The Origin Of Quarks And Gluons -- Epilogue: More Quarks, More Leptons And More Charges -- App. 2. Powers Of Ten -- App. 3. The Nobel Prizes In Physics. M.y. Han. In His New Book, The Author Introduces Us To The World Of Particles He Traces The Century Of Progress In Our Search For The Basic Units Of Matter As Well As Those Of The Forces That Act On It, Starting From The Electron And Photon, The First Entry In The List Of Elementary Quantum Particles, And Ending Up With The Quarks And Gluons Discovered In The Last Decades Of This Century. He Gives The Curious Layman A Clear Understanding Of The Forefront Of Our Knowledge About The Structure Of Matter At Its Deepest Level.y Nambuuniversity Of Chicagothis Is A Readable Little Book On Particle Physics And Is Aimed At Those With No Previous Exposure To The Subject Nevertheless, As One Would Expect From A Leading Contributor To The Field, Han Takes Care To Get Things Right Even When Using Simple Language, As For Example In His Discussion Of Spin.cern Courier Contents 10 Prologue: A Century of Particle Charges 12 1. The Electron: The Quantum of Electricity 18 2. Mass: E = mc2 and All That 28 3. The Photon: No Charge, No Mass 38 4. The Spin: If It’s Round, It Rolls 46 5. Antimatter: A Mirror Image 56 6. The Nucleus: A Whole New Ball Game 64 7. The Strong Force I: Nucleons 76 8. The Weak Force: A Whisper in the Night 86 9. The Strong Force II: Hadrons 100 10. The Quark: The Queen of Fractions 112 11. The Origin of Quarks and Gluons 124 Epilogue: More Quarks, More Leptons and More Charges 136