Collider: The Search for the World′s Smallest Particles - Hardcover

Halpern, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470286202 ISBN 13: 9780470286203

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2009

Synopsis

Collider Understanding what our universe is physically made of is one of the oldest and most researched scientific quandaries to date. In the spring of 2009, the Large Hadron Collider will begin smashing particles to deconstruct matter to its smallest pieces and test the existence of the elusive and theoretical Higgs boson - a.k.a. Full description

About this title

Review:

"Halpern explains complex topics and theories concisely, frequently drawing on deft analogies...Halpern makes the search for mysterious particles pertinent and exciting by explaining clearly what we don′t know about the universe, and offering a hopeful outlook for future research." ( Publishers Weekly, August 2009)

From the Author:

We stand on the brink of a bold new age in science, precipitated by the most powerful particle smasher ever constructed. By crashing together particles at enormous energies, scientists hope to recreate some of the conditions merely a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Explore the quest for the building blocks of the universe using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and other accelerators!

Could there be a single energetic field, called the Higgs field and nicknamed `The God Particle,' that bestows mass upon everything else in the universe? Do the matter particles in the universe have counterparts in the world of force, and those of force in the world of matter, through the hypothetical property called supersymmetry? Might space have unseen dimensions into which the agents of gravity can stealthily disappear? Why does the universe have far more matter than antimatter? Will mini-black-holes be produced in the LHC's energetic collisions? If so, could they possibly represent a danger? Why did the potentially more powerful Superconducting Super Collider (SCC) suddenly get cancelled and what were the repercussions of that decision?

Collider investigates these fascinating questions and more, offering the background behind humanity's search for the most fundamental components of the cosmos. Take a literary trip into the fiery origins of all things and discover the path to ultimate unity!

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0470286202
• ISBN 13: 9780470286203
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272