The particle odyssey : a journey to the heart of the matter

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. There are illustrations of spiraling electrons, the tell-tale "vees" of strange particles, matter and antimatter born from raw energy, energetic jets of particles spraying out from the decay points of quarks and gluons. Complementing the illustrations is a vividly written account of the key experiments and fundamental discoveries that have led to our current understanding of the nature of the universe. There are individual portraits of all the major subatomic particles, from the electron to the newly discovered top quark. The authors describe the history of experimental particle physics: its origins in the discovery of X-rays in 1895; the dissection of the atom by Rutherford and others; the unexpected revelations of the cosmic rays; the discovery of quarks and the rise of the 'standard model' in the last part of the 20th century. And they also look at the great questions that face physicists today--Where did antimatter go? What is dark matter? Can there be a theory of everything? A perfect gift for science buffs, The Particle Odyssey will enthrall everyone eager for a glimpse into the previously unknown the world of the atom. During the 20th century, scientists discovered what the Universe is made of; as the 21st century begins, they are preparing experiments to find out how it came to be like this. This great adventure, which will involve a metaphorical journey back in time to within a billionth of a second of the Big Bang, is the latest stage in the quest to understand the nature of the matter that makes our Universe and the forces that govern it. The Particle Odyssey takes the reader on a spectacularly illustrated journey to the heart of matter. In clear, non-technical language the authors describe the key experiments and fundamental discoveries which have led to our current understanding of the origins and nature of the material universe. In this fascinating book, you will find individual'portraits'of all the major subatomic particles, from the electron to the top quark. The authors describe the history of experimental particle physics: its origins in the discovery of X-rays in 1895; the dissection of the atom by Rutherford and others; the unexpected revelations of the cosmic rays; the explosion of new particles in the 1950s and 60s; the discovery of quarks and the rise of the'standard model'in the last part of the 20th century. And they also look at the great challenges that face physicists today--where did antimatter go? what is dark matter? can there be a theory of everything?--and the experiments they are devising to explore them. The Particle Odyssey brings together and presents with style over 100 of the best images of particle'events': mysterious, abstract, beautiful pictures of the tracks of subatomic particles as they speed, curve, dance, or explode through cloud and bubble chambers, stacks of photographic emulsion, and the giant multi-element detectors of modern experiments. Here are spiralling electrons, the tell-tale'vees'of strange particles, matter and antimatter born from raw energy, energetic jets of particles spraying out from the decay points of quarks and gluons. A further 250 pictures, many taken specially for this book, illustrate the laboratories, experiments, and personalities of over a century of particle physics. This superb book is a testament to the work of'big'science and one of the great detective stories of our age. Contents 6 1. The World of Particles 10 Cosmic Explorers 13 Particle Physics Now 16 A Journey to the Start of Time 22 2. Voyage into the Atom 26 X-Rays and Radioactivity 27 The First Particle 33 Rutherford and the Atom 33 Inside the Nucleus 37 Splitting the Atom 39 3. The Structure of the Atom 44 The Electron 45 The Nucleus 48 The Proton and the Neutron 51 The Photon 55 4. The Extraterrestrials 58 The Discovery of Cosmic Rays 59 The First New Particles 63 Strange Particles 67 Powell, Pions, and Emulsions 68 Particles from Outer Space 71 5. The Cosmic Rain 74 The Positron 75 The Muon 78 The Pion 82 The Kaon 83 The Lambda 85 The Xi and the Sigma 87 6. The Challenge of the Big Machines 90 The Whirling Device 93 Man-made Cosmic Rays 97 Glaser and the Bubble Chamber 101 Strong Focusing 105 Spark Chambers 107 The Supersynchrotrons 110 7. The Particle Explosion 116 The Neutral Pion 118 The Neutral Cascade 119 Antimatter 121 The Resonances 124 The Omega-minus 127 Neutrinos 129 Quarks 133 8. Colliders and Image Chambers 138 Electronic Bubble Chambers 142 Synchroclash 145 New Particles, New Machines 149 The Antiproton Alternative 152 The Biggest Machine in the World 157 Silicon Microscopes 159 All Kinds of Collider 162 9. From Charm to Top 166 Charmed Particles 167 The Tau 171 Bottom Particles 173 Gluons 177 The W Particle 181 The Z Particle 185 Unity 189 The Top Quark 191 10. Future Challenges 196 What Happened to the Antimatter? 198 What is Mass? 201 Does Quark–Gluon Plasma Exist? 202 What is the Dark Matter? 206 Do Neutrinos have Mass? 208 Is there a Theory of Everything? 212 11. Futureclash 216 Particle Factories 218 Neutrinos – Going to all Lengths! 221 Particle Astronomy 223 Cosmic Record-breakers 226 12. Particles at Work 230 Proton Detectives and Neutron Special Agents 231 The Reality of Antimatter 232 Accelerators at Work 233 Pixels in Medicine 235 The Final Analysis 237 Table of Particles 239 Further Reading and Acknowledgements 243 Picture Credits 244 Index 246 A 246 B 246 C 246 D 247 E 247 F 247 G 247 H 247 I 247 J 247 K 247 L 247 M 248 N 248 O 248 P 248 Q 248 R 248 S 248 T 249 U 249 V 249 W 249 X 249 Y 249 Z 249 Annotation. Boasting more than three hundred illustrations, the majority in full color, The Particle Odysseytakes 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. There are illustrations of spiraling electrons, the tell-tale "vees" of strange particles, matter and antimatter born from raw energy, energetic jets of particles spraying out from the decay points of quarks and gluons. Complementing the illustrations is a vividly written account of the key experiments and fundamental discoveries that have led to our current understanding of the nature of the universe. There are individual portraits of all the major subatomic particles, from the electron to the newly discovered top quark. The authors describe the history of experimental particle physics: its origins in the discovery of X-rays in 1895; the dissection of the atom by Rutherford and others; the unexpected revelations of the cosmic rays; the discovery of quarks and the rise of the 'standard model' in the last part of the 20th century. And they also look at the great questions that face physicists today--Where did antimatter go? What is dark matter? Can there be a theory of everything? A perfect gift for science buffs, The Particle Odysseywill enthrall everyone eager for a glimpse into the previously unknown the world of the atom 1. The world of particle physics. 2. Voyage into the atom. 3. The structure of the atom. 4. The extraterrestrials. 5. The cosmic rain. 6. The challenge of the big machines. 7. The particle explosion. 8. Colliders and image chambers. 9. From charm to top. 10. The 'whys' of particle physics. 11. Futureclash. 12. Particles at work. Table of particles. Further reading/acknowledgements. Picture credits. Index Presenting over 100 images of particle 'events', this work takes the reader on an illustrated journey to the heart of matter. It describes, in non-technical language, the key experiments and fundamental discoveries which have led to our understanding of the origins and nature of the material universe. Boasting more than 300 illustrations, The Particle Odyssey takes us on an exhilarating tour of the subatomic world, and looks at the great questions that face physicists today: where did antimatter go?; what is dark matter?; and can there ever be a theory of everything?