The Charm of Strange Quarks

Mysteries and Revolutions of Particle Physics

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by R. Michael Barnett, Henry Muehry and Helen R. Quinn

Springer-Verlag, New York

Due/Published April 2000, 320 pages, paper

ISBN 0387988971

The Charm of Strange Quarks discusses the excitement of quarks, dark matter, and extra dimensions. It tells of a force so weak thathumans cannot experience it, yet responsible for our very existence...A particle (the quark) not visible directly in any experiment, yetknown to be the prime constituent of the atomic nucleus... A particle(the neutrino) so ephemeral it can traverse the diameter of Earthwithout interacting, yet physicists can make beams of them and causecollisions... Matter dark and unlike anything we experience on Earth,yet a major constituent of the universe...

These and similar mysteries are part of the revolution that has made particle physics a forefront science. Too often, however, the excitement of these ideas seems hidden behind complexpresentations. This book conveys the excitement and a basicunderstanding of this fundamental topic.

Very recent developments in particle physics and cosmology areincluded. For example, some of the great mysteries of physics may beresolved if we postulate that there are extra dimensions of space,unseen by humans (this may involve string theory and blackholes). Recent astrophysical experiments suggest that the expansion of the universe may be accelerating.

One remarkable aspect of modern physics is that the smallest objectsin the world and the largest (the universe) are intimately tiedtogether. Our knowledge of cosmology and astrophysics tells us aboutfundamental particles and forces, and vice versa.

A very lively chronology of the events of modern particle physicsshows not only the learning process but also the missteps that occurin real research, and how even correct new ideas move only graduallyfrom the status of fringe speculation to accepted view.

Some appendices will make the book more readily useful in a classroomsetting and will interest teachers and other readers too.