The Particle Odyssey: A Journey to the Heart of Matter [Hardcover]

Frank Close (Author), Michael Marten (Author), Christine Sutton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0198504861 | ISBN-13: 978-0198504863

Boasting more than three hundred illustrations, the majority in full color, The Particle Odyssey takes us on an exhilarating tour of the subatomic world.
The pictures here are truly marvelous--over 100 of the best images ever taken of particle 'events'--mysterious, abstract, often beautiful photographs of the tracks of subatomic particles as they speed, curve, dance, or explode through cloud and bubble chambers, stacks of photographic emulsion, and giant multi-element detectors. There are illustrations of spiraling electrons, the tell-tale 'vees' of strange particles, matter and antimatter born from raw energy, energetic jets of particles spraying out from the decay points of quarks and gluons. Complementing the illustrations is a vividly written account of the key experiments and fundamental discoveries that have led to our current understanding of the nature of the universe. There are individual portraits of all the major subatomic particles, from the electron to the newly discovered top quark. The authors describe the history of experimental particle physics: its origins in the discovery of X-rays in 1895; the dissection of the atom by Rutherford and others; the unexpected revelations of the cosmic rays; the discovery of quarks and the rise of the 'standard model' in the last part of the 20th century. And they also look at the great questions that face physicists today--Where did antimatter go? What is dark matter? Can there be a theory of everything?
A perfect gift for science buffs, The Particle Odyssey will enthrall everyone eager for a glimpse into the previously unknown the world of the atom.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Incorporating much new material, this revised version of the authors' The Particle Explosion (1987) details the history of particle physics, expounds the "state of the art" as it now stands, and points to some of the unanswered questions that are now beginning to be addressed. Both Close and Christine Sutton are professional physicists at Oxford University, and Michael Marten is a science photographer and journalist. Their well-written text succeeds in explaining complex scientific concepts for lay readers without oversimplifying them or patronizing the audience. The color illustrations are dazzlingly attractive and complement the text. Captions on the bubble chamber photos are a great help in unraveling the particle interactions shown. This superb explication of fundamental physical science is highly recommended for academic and public libraries.
Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

`A brilliant inside view of the frontiers of modern physics and cosmology and the quest for the ultimate building blocks of matter. "The Particle Odyssey" really brings the whole enterprise to life. An impressively comprehensive and readable book.' Ian Stewart, author of "Flatterland" and "What Shape is a Snowflake?"

`In short, The Particle Odyssey is a beautifully illustrated and eminently readable introduction to high-energy physics. It provides and excellent answer, for both the high-energy physicist and the general reader, to the party question that high-energy physicists sometimes find difficult to answer - what is it exactly that you do?' Ken Peach, Nature

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198504861
• ISBN-13: 978-0198504863
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,388,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frank Close, OBE, is Professor of Physics at Oxford University and a Fellow of Exeter College. He was formerly vice president of the British Association for Advancement of Science and Head of the Theoretical Physics Division at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. He is the author of several books, including the best-selling Lucifer's Legacy, and the winner of the Kelvin Medal of the Institute of Physics for his "outstanding contributions to the public understanding of physics."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to particle physics and its history, December 7, 2003

By 

Michael B. Brand (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Particle Odyssey: A Journey to the Heart of Matter (Hardcover)

The book is aimed at the intelligent layperson. It would be too basic for a physics professional or even for a physics graduate student. However, it is not basic. Anyone who is not seriously interested in particle physics will quickly bog down and find it boring. For those who are "seriously interested" it will most likely feed their interest. The book is thick with information, but is written in an accessible style. It is roughly 50% text and 50% photos (some full page, most quarter page or smaller), but this is not a coffee table book. The photos support the text and include captions that explain the photo (not merely summarize the text). Throughout the book, the photos demonstrate significant events (eg, Röntgen's first X-ray, the apparatus Chadwick used to discover the neutron, Anderson working with his cloud chamber, Lawrence's first cyclotron) or show portions of the large accelerators or detectors with descriptions of the components pictured.

As the authors state "This book is the story of how a century of discovery and invention has brought us to our modern understanding of the subatomic particles and the nature of the material Universe." Four chapters (3, 5, 7, 9) provide "individual portraits of all the major particles" so far discovered. Chapter 3 covers the basic structure of the atom: electrons, protons, neutrons, and photons. Chapter 5 covers particles discovered in cosmic radiation: positrons, muons, pions, kaons, the lambda, the xi, and the sigma. Chapter 7 covers particles or phenomenon discovered in accelerators: the neutral pion, the neutral cascade, antimatter, resonance, omega-minus, neutrinos, and quarks. Chapter 9 covers the particles discovered in modern accelerators: charmed quarks, tau, bottom quarks, gluons, the W and Z particles, and top quarks. Chapters 2, 4, 6, and 8 describe the history of particle physics. Each of these history chapters introduces the people and the devices they used to make the discoveries described in the subsequent chapter. Two chapters (10, 11) "describe the questions that are aborbing particle physicists today" (eg, What is Mass?, Is there a theory of everything?, Issues in particle astromony). The final chapter (titled "Particles at Work") describes specific applications in society (eg, TVs, diagnostic scans)

The book is as much about how the discoveries are made (ie, the physicists and their experimental apparatuses) as it is about particle physics itself. I read the book with almost no background in particle physics (having read just a few encyclopedia entries on the topic) and found most of the book to be accessible, though never an easy read (about the same reading difficulty as The Economist magazine: economist.com). However, chapter 7 was more difficult and chapter 9 was a difficult read for me (requiring re-reads of many sentences). My knowledge of particle physics is significantly enhanced having read this book and I now have a good appreciation of the accelerators in current use.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pictures alone more than pay for the book, December 23, 2003

By 

S. A. Felton (southern OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Particle Odyssey: A Journey to the Heart of Matter (Hardcover)

I want to write a review of this book because there are only two
other reviews. A book of this quality deserves many reviews to encourage
people to at least look at it.

Particle physics is extremely abstruse, really only for physicists
and people who like knowledge for its own sake. Many particle physicists
do the best they can to explain their subject in "English," but I don't
think that laypeople (incl. myself) can really grasp the subject w/o
going through the rigors of deriving its basics and knowing how
to use its tools, like QED and QCD, etc. (and I don't!).

So personally I may be moving away from studying the subject, but
I'm very glad I came across "The Particle Odyssey." They say a picture
tells a thousand words - truer words could be spoken as concerns the
book. The reader (even the peruser) can learn an incredible amount at
whatever level he/she is at, just by looking at the pictures and reading
the concise descriptions. We see pictures of the founders of modern physics,
their inventions, also great shots of particle accelerators and particle
tracks, and much more. The book would make a superb coffee-table addition.
It could entertain, even blow the minds of people who looked at it, maybe
spark some interest in younger people, and as I said, anyone can learn
something at the same time (perhaps unlike a familar coffee table favorite,
"A Brief History of Time"!).

The text is about as easy to read, given the complicated subject,
as possible, thorough, and enjoyable. Together with the pictures, the
authors cover the subject (and I do feel qualified to say this) more
than thoroughly.

Anyone with even a passing interest in particle physics would do
quite well to have this amazing, remarkable book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Gorgeous, September 11, 2002

By 

Alden R. Stradling (Deep inna harta Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Particle Odyssey: A Journey to the Heart of Matter (Hardcover)

The reason I got into physics in the first place was the combined allure of subatomic strangeness and huge machines at the edge of technology and cleverness. This book distills those attractions in beautiful descriptions and stunning photography. If I ever needed reaffirmation in my choice to become a particle physicist, this book would surely do the trick.