The Discovery of Subatomic Particles (Penguin Science S.) - Softcover

Weinberg, Steven

4.06

147 ratings by Goodreads

9780140175417: The Discovery of Subatomic Particles (Penguin Science S.)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140175415 ISBN 13: 9780140175417

Publisher: Penguin, 1993

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The story of the discovery of the constituents of the atom, the electron, the proton and the neutron, written by a Nobel Prize-winner. An appendix sets out the basic maths, and handy "flashbacks" fill in the background, but Weinberg's focus is always on current developments.

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Review:

From reviews of the first edition: 'Weinberg ... is no stranger to explaining abstruse science in a clear and engaging fashion to the general public, which is precisely what he does here. The building blocks of matter - from electrons all the way down to muons, pions, hadrons, and the charmed quark - become, in his hands, so much intellectual putty.' The Boston Globe

'One cannot fail to be touched by it.' New Scientist

'It is a happy fact that some of the greatest scientists have been skilled expositors of their subject for nonscientific audiences. Einstein, Eddington, and Feynman come to mind. Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Laureate and brilliantly contemporary theorist, belongs in this company ... It is ideally suited to inspire a next generation of physicists.' American Journal of Physics

'A beautiful example of a new approach with which the nonscientist can attain literacy in physics.' Physics Today

'Weinberg takes the reader through a brief history of electric forces from Coulomb to Faraday, enabling him to calculate the deflection from first principles. This is a remarkably painless and successful way to teach the basic ideas of physics ... The book, with its splendid photographs ... is authentically Weinberg - very much reminiscent of his earlier brilliant exposition The First Three Minutes.' The Times

'It succeeds not only in presenting many of the important results of modern and classical physics but also in giving a flavor of how physics was done in the19th and 20th centuries.' Science

'A gem ... what it provides is a lively, personal and authoritative account of the way scientists found out about matter ... it is a very good read, combining lively informal syntheses of basic physics with solid quantitative science ...'. Astronomy & Geophysics

'This excellent book can be warmly recommended to the general reader.' Contemporary Physics

'I have been an admirer of this book since its first edition 20 years ago, and have recommended it on many courses for the general public, where people might be making their first encounter not only with particle physics but with physics itself ... I'm pleased the book is back in print and shall certainly continue to recommend it.' CERN Courier

Book Description:

A fascinating account of the discoveries of the constituents of the atom. It also provides an introduction to those fundamentals of classical physics that played crucial roles in these discoveries. Connections are shown between the historic discoveries of subatomic particles and work today at the frontiers of physics.

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