Particle Physics for Non-physicists: a Tour of the Microcosmos (The Great Courses) [Paperback]

Steven Pollock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2003

Lecture Transcript and Course Guidebook

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: The Teaching Company (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565856244
• ISBN-13: 978-1565856240
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,767,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent program for the layman, October 6, 2007

By 

James M. Thompson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Particle Physics for Non-physicists: a Tour of the Microcosmos (The Great Courses) (Paperback)

I just finished the DVD course of 24 lectures and found them excellent. I have a solid background (for a non-physicist) in physics but learned a number of new things. Dr. Pollock has an easy going and fun way of explaining the complex and making sense out of the seemingly nonsensical.

For the layman with an interest in science, I can't think of a better introduction to particle physics.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Particle Physics, December 11, 2010

By 

Mark Rice - See all my reviews

This review is from: Particle Physics for Non-physicists: a Tour of the Microcosmos (The Great Courses) (Paperback)

I thought this lecture series was a fantastic introduction to particle physics. Like the title reads, this book is intended for people who are NON-PHYSICISTS, i.e. people who aren't interested in buying a physics book, but would like to learn some foundational principles about the world of particle physics. For those people it is a wonderful introductory course. I love how Steven Pollock made particle physics easy to understand by starting at the very beginning and walking you through the evolution of the science. He goes in-depth into atom smashers, each of the individual subatomic particles, and the direction this field of study is moving towards today. He masterfully explains the concepts without dragging too much of the mathematics into it, which creates a learning experience that allows you to catch a glimpse of this complex science without getting overwhelmed by technical jargon. It's definitely a great course for the particle physics hobbyist.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, *if* a lecture course with no maths is what you want, December 28, 2009

By 

Dr. P. Stevens (Edinburgh, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Particle Physics for Non-physicists: a Tour of the Microcosmos (The Great Courses) (Paperback)

I think the negative reviewers didn't want what this course deliberately is: a lecture course (not a TV show, not a book) about particle physics with the maths left out. I once knew most of this stuff with the maths, but it was a long long time ago and now I'm really enjoying watching this course with my young son, who has met hardly any of the material before and is also getting a surprising amount out of it, thanks, I'd say, to the excellence of the lecturer. He isn't showy, but his choices of what material to include when and how much repetition to use are spot on. You need some repetition in a lecture course precisely because it isn't a book - if you've forgotten what something means you can't conveniently flip back. The structure of the course, following the chronology of the various discoveries but modifying the sequence and updating enough to make it make sense, is also very well chosen. Summary: really well done, on its own terms, but be sure this is what you want.