New book about colliders and the LHC
Paul
for
unification:
Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles
By Paul Halpern
http://www.amazon.com/Collider-Search-Worlds-Smallest-Particles/dp/0470286202
Advanced praise for COLLIDER:
"Professor Paul Halpern takes the reader on a stimulating odyssey on
topics ranging from particle physics and dark matter to unexplored
dimensions of space. The masterful Halpern likens the physicist's
quest to the excavation of archaeologists who seek to uncover 'new
treasures' as they unearth wondrous gems that lay hidden all around
us. Buy this book and feed your mind!"
—Dr. Cliff Pickover, author of Archimedes to Hawking and The Math
Book
"With clarity and a Sagan-esque gift for explanation, Paul Halpern
traces the story of how physicists use immensely powerful machines to
probe the deepest mysteries of existence. Halpern also conclusively
debunks the ludicrous claims that the Large Hadron Collider and other
high-energy physics experiments threaten to destroy anything—except
our residual ignorance about the nature and workings of our wondrous
universe."
—Mark Wolverton, author of The Science of Superman and A Life in
Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer
'A gem. The prose sparkles, the descriptions are exquisitely
understandable, and the narrative is just plain fun. This book will
charm experts, students, and anyone interested in scientific
exploration."
—Catherine Westfall, Visiting Associate Professor of the History of
Science at Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, and
coauthor of Fermilab: Physics, the Frontier, and Megascience
"Paul Halpern has written a masterful account of particle
accelerators
and the theories they are constructed to investigate in a very
accessible and engaging style. As the world's largest accelerator
begins its search for the smallest particles, Halpern traces the
human
drive to find the ultimate building blocks of nature."
—David C. Cassidy, professor at Hofstra University and the author of
Beyond Uncertainty: Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and the Bomb
"If you ever wondered about the Large Hadron Collider and what's
brewing in high energy physics and cosmology, Paul Halpern is a
wonderful guide. His lively and engaging writing deftly interweaves
the historical background, the current frontiers, and the latest
scientific instruments, now poised to address so many profound
questions."
—Peter Pesic, author of Sky in a Bottle and Seeing Double: Shared
Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature