Customer Reviews

Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Veltman delivers the tale of phenomenological particle physics with enthusiasm and depth as one of its leading researchers. He attempts to cover the whole arena, from the complex behavior of quarks and gluons to the description of particle detectors. Woven throughout the book are small "vignettes" (his terminology for brief biographical sketches) of the many physicists, famous and not-so-famous, who contributed to the current understanding of our universe. He succeeds relatively well in his goal of explaining particle physics to the layman.

But don't look here for any coverage of the more esoteric and exotic ideas of theoretical physics like string theory. He unequivocally states,

"The fact is that this book is about physics, and this implies that the theoretical ideas discussed must be supported by experimental facts. Neither supersymmetry nor string theory satisfy this criterion. They are figments of the theoretical mind. To quote Pauli: They are not even wrong. They have no place here."

He is, of course, correct but I think he downplays the mathematically unifying power of string theory, for which experimental verification lies beyond today's technological reach and thus cannot be vindicated one way or the other. Mathematical beauty, while not a sure sign of physical truth, can at least serve as a powerful beacon for future physical insights.

Always the true scientist, Veltman should be praised for unapologetically declaring agnosticism if evidence for a theoretical idea isn't clear cut. For example, he writes several times that the neutrino is massless but will almost always parenthetically acknowledge that it might have a very small mass (which indeed it does, as experimental evidence of neutrino mixing has been since verified). He deems it worthy enough to have an entire section devoted to neutrino mixing and its implications.

I found one glaring problem with the book that prevented the 5 star rating it could have received: writing style. It just doesn't read all that smoothly, and I think it could have been cleaned up a bit more by a more astute editor.

Balancing the rocky prose, however, are wonderful color templates (excellently used during his description of anti-matter) to aid explanations, pictures of apparati and scientists to portray the human side of science, and clear diagrams of particle interactions.

If you want to learn what physicists empirically know about particle physics today and how they determine it, get this book; just don't expect smooth reading. Veltman is clearly passionate about his profession and it shows.

I don't believe I have ever been so internally conflicted by any book. On the one hand, it is clear that Martinus Veltman is a legitimate genius. The book is a cornucopia of insights I have never seen in any other work. Veltman also enriches the book with original accounts of the human side of numerous physicists; some are so detailed as to seem gossipy.

On the other hand, whoever copy-edited this book should be banned from the English-speaking world. Much of the book reads like a transcript of an informal discussion group. It is the task of the editor to provide the translation of the casual musings of a genius into a polished publication; that task is unfulfilled here.

Edited properly, Facts and Mysteries could be a must-have book for all layman physics enthusiasts. As it is, it's just an also-ran. I would recommend it only to those who are already pretty conversant in the field.

This is a unique book.

First of all, the paper, font, diagrams, and cover are wonderful. It's really a nice looking book cover to cover.

Next, the author includes biographies of people involved in the field. The writing is candid and humorous. The biographies don't read like a textbook at all. They include his own opinions, as well as interesting anecdotes about the people.

Finally, the author includes some of his own personal story in the book, regarding his work in particle physics. It's nice to see a first-hand account. I enjoy his commentary.

All these things make this a special book, and worth reading.

The author can be somewhat grumpy, but you have to take that with a sense of humor. Consider that physicists (I am one) tend to be literal and often TOO honest, at the risk of being blunt or awkward. So try not to be put off.

Some parts of the book are a bit tedious. If you really want to understand the topic, read some other books along with this one. If there's only one book to get, try Oerter's "Theory of Almost Everything". But if you want a few books, then definitely include this one.

I find the book by M. Veltman absolutely beautiful.
But a large part of
the book is not for beginners but requires a rather good knowledge in physics. I like the fact that the theory is presented in close contact with experiment, which is rather unusal today with so many popular books in physics containing wild speculations.
After reading the book it is clear to me that high-energy physics
is not a ``dead'' field but contains a lot of exciting, unsolved problems.
The fact that the language is not perfect is for me
a minor detail.

Veltman, a Nobel-prizewinning theorist, has written an engagingly personalized account of the interplay between experiment and theory that underlies our current understanding of particle physics. The description is thorough and yet -with a lay reader in mind- is about as non-mathematical as can be managed in this subject.

Some reviewers have complained about a lack of rigor in copy editing, but the occasional infelicities seem quite minor and do not diminish the book's intellectual value

Veltman's account is unusual in giving generous credit to those experimentalists who conceive, build, and make measurements with accelerators and detectors. He describes the manner in which the data from those measurement affect the work of theorists. His vigorously expressed views on the physics and on the physicists give Veltman's book an unusual zing. It should be read by anyone with a serious interest in the substance or the sociology of contemporary physics.

Martinus Veltman has a rare gift - to have indepth knowledge of a complex subject, and be able to give the layman a plausible explanation of it. I have almost completed my second reading of the book. Such was the wealth of information, and my eagerness to read, that I could not take it all in on the first reading. The reader must persist with some of Dr Veltman's language quirks , but this is a minor criticism - the effort is handsomely repaid. His character profiles (occasionally caricatures), and personal stories, add a human dimension, and serve to point out that it takes many brilliant and hard working people, not just theorists and not just Nobel Prize winners, to create an edifice as grand (and yet fragile) as the Standard Model. Highly commended - a beautiful legacy for future generations.

This is a well structured book which describes developments in modern physics in an in-depth and comprehensive way.
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After a preliminary discussion of basic physical issues, the author launches into a detailed, yet non mathematical, outline of the standard model of particle physics which he rightly says is a beautiful model indeed. His discussion of this is a highlight of the book and the book is worth buying for this chapter alone. He then goes on to discuss quantum mechanics as well as discussing aspects of relativity pertinent to particle physics.

Understanding the basic elements of the universe did not happen overnight but rather was the fulfilment of a combined effort of a large number of people. At all stages throughout the book, the author illustrates the contribution of the various personalities involved, and does it so that the reader appreciates the erstwhile contribution each person made. The author himself made a significant contribution.

Of course, not just the `who' is relevant. How they achieved the various breakthroughs is also important and the book's discussion of the history and development of modern accelerators and particle colliders is of particular interest.

Finally the discussion of the theory of particles and of interactions within particles concludes what is an enjoyable and interesting book on topics that are justifiably regarded as complicated, yet are dealt with in the book in an easy and very readable way .

This book is recommended for all who wish to appreciate current ideas about the basic elementary particles of nature and would like to have an understanding of these incredible `building blocks' of our wonderful universe..

With so many elementary particle physics books written about String Theory and higher dimensions as of late (many of which are excellent books) it's getting harder to find up to date data from a reductionist, or, as author Gordon Kane refers to them in his own book on the topic, "Phenomenologist" point of view. While I tend to personally believe the String Theorists, I'm never satisfied until I hear (or read as the case may be) from both sides. And this book does a fine point of explaining things from the reductionist point of view. The science is very thick, and many formulas are just too complex for the layman to grasp, so people who are new to quantum theory and particle physics should perhaps start with more "softcore" physics books. I confess that I read this book cover to cover, and put it down before grasping 100% of the concepts presented within. I had purchased the book after reading the String Theory works, and the unavoidable mention of reductionism's many success' motivated me to purchase a few books dedicated to the subject. After following this path of readership, this book answered a lot of the questions I still had, and cleared up other subjects that I didn't believe were so well defined.

This very readable guide to elementary particle physics, written by 1999 Nobel Laureate Martin Veltman, is a delight to read. The author explains probably all that can be understood about elementary particle physics without recourse to mathematics, in what reads very much like a Scientific American article. In addition to giving an elementary view of the physics itself, the author provides brief sketches of the biographies of the physicists behind these breakthroughs, as well as a history of the discipline.

The reader also benefits from Veltman's view as an insider who knew many of these men personally. Reading this book is like sitting on the couch with your parents or grandparents and listening to their vivid recollections of people and events from a time and place somewhat removed from your own direct experience.

I already know a bit about the subject but this book does a great job of giving you a high-level overview without getting bogged down in the supporting math. The author's English is not perfect but mostly quite understandable and easy to read.

Although I haven't finished it yet, it's one book that I know I will finish.

I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in understanding Quantum Mechanics and particle physics from a high-level point of view.