Massive: The Hunt for the God Particle - Softcover

Sample, Ian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753522128 ISBN 13: 9780753522127

Publisher: Virgin Books, 2011

Synopsis

In the early 1960s, three groups of physicists, working independently in different countries, stumbled upon an idea that would change physics and fuel one of the greatest races science has ever seen. That idea was the 'God particle', or Higgs boson - to find it would be to finally understand the origins of mass, the last building block of life itself. This is the gripping story of the quest to discover it. Massive weaves together the personal stories and intense rivalries of the teams of scientists searching for the Higgs boson in a tale of grand ambition, trans-Atlantic competition, clashing egos and occasionally spectacular failures. From the giant particle colliders built to further the hunt to the political fallout of budget blowouts and debates over whether the search might destroy the universe - and whether the Higgs particle even exists at all - it is an epic story of imagination, personal ambition, sub-atomic exploration and global significance.

About this title

About the Author

Ian Sample is an award-winning science correspondent at the Guardian newspaper. He was named investigative journalist of the year in 2005 by the Association of British Science Writers. He was previously a feature writer for New Scientist and holds a PhD in biomedical science from Queen Mary, University of London. Born in Oxfordshire, he now lives in London.

From the Back Cover

In the early 1960s, three groups of physicists, working independently in different countries, stumbled upon the idea of a particle that, if it existed at all, would reveal the very origins of mass - the last building block of life itself. It was an idea that would change physics and fuel one of the greatest races science has ever seen. This is the gripping story of the hunt for the Higgs boson, a.k.a. 'the God particle'.

In this riveting journey through the brilliant and bizarre world of particle physics, award-winning science writer Ian Sample weaves together the stories of the teams of scientists on the boson's trail. Featuring the giant particle colliders built to further their quest, the clashing egos, spectacular failures and heated debates over whether the search might destroy the universe, it is an epic story that has never been told. And now, with the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Geneva, we may be on the very cusp of discovering the particle and with it the origin of mass. Whichever way you look at it, this story is massive.

Edition details

• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0753522128
• ISBN 13: 9780753522127
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320