28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Particle Physics for the Curious, October 25, 2010
This review is from: Present at the Creation: The Story of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (Hardcover)
The completion of repairs to CERN's new supercollider has resulted in a wealth of general science offerings devoted to the attempt to explain humanity's most expensive and complicated machine. It is quite clear that a number of publishers are hoping to ride an anticipated wave of publicity to great profit--if and when the Higgs boson is discovered. Having previously tackled several of the related books, I am pleased to say that this volume is one of Dr. Aczel's best efforts; it provides an excellent road map to the intricacies of the standard model--which I now understand a bit better than before--and provides both a more informative and more entertaining read than its competition. To be sure, this is no replacement for a text nor should anyone think of it in that light; rather, it is a story about discovery.
To even begin to intelligently discuss the science that makes the supercollider relevant requires massive amounts of backstory. The reader must be introduced to fantastically complex theoretical musings and, I think some editor somewhere has dictated that no equations may be used, although a few of them crept into the appendix. Here is where Dr. Aczel's effort is superior. His recital of the basic underlying scientific principles has all the hallmarks of a capable lecturer--other authors in this area focus almost entirely on their unique and valuable contributions to the science in such a way that makes an understanding of the whole picture somewhat difficult, but this more general work is better able to convey the sense of wonder and shared discovery that motivates scientists to keep digging deeper into nature's inner workings.
Now, I grant that perhaps having read several similar books my understanding was primed to better receive this volume; however, I believe that independently of the other offerings, this work does a better job of telling a story and teaching the science. It can always be done better and, frankly, much of it just makes my head spin. Yet because this book can take such an esoteric topic and leave you interested in learning more, the author is to be commended.
Highly Recommended
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aczel's PRESENT AT THE CREATION celebrates life, October 13, 2010
This review is from: Present at the Creation: The Story of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (Hardcover)
It is obvious in talking with bestselling author Amir Aczel on my radio show that he has a real passion for life, and it would be impossible to read his newest book PRESENT AT THE CREATION and not realize that he has just as much passion about math and the world around us. The book takes us into unprecedented access of the mechanism that explores the world that lies beyond what we see with the naked eye, and help us to realize really how small and insignificant we are.
If you are a lover of science and curious about the lives of those who are giving us the knowledge of the world we take for granted, then PRESENT AT THE CREATION is a book you definitely want to take your time and enjoy.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Take a Tour of LHC, December 30, 2010
This review is from: Present at the Creation: The Story of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider (Hardcover)
After reading Massive it was not a difficult task to pick up Present at Creation ("PAC") as there is some overlap in content, although Massive is primarily about the Higgs mechanism (Higgs field and Higgs boson). As the subtitle states, this book is primarily about the story of CERN and the LHC ("Large Hadron Collider"), which presently, and in the near future, is smashing accelerated proton streams at 99.9999964 % of the speed of light, and by using two separate beams containing approximately 7 trillion volts (7 TeV). This last achievement occurred on March 19, 2010. Despite these highlights and descriptions, this is probably the only issue one would have with the books contents--they are primarily descriptive without providing the prescriptive contect in enable the reader to recall what they previously read. Another problem is that the book often repeats itself and is painfully descriptive for a popular level science book (e.g., chapters 8 through 10). There are many incredible facts one gleaned from the passages of the particle chapters--including color photographs and one of the best summaries on quarks I have read to date. Aside from these issues, PAC is fantastic at its storytelling goal.
As the beams collide, there are four specific locations at CERN where pictures are taken at each of the four detectors named at the LHC: the ATLAS, ALICE, CMS and the LHCb--each unit set up for a specific purpose in analyzing the collisions. The first chapter of PAC is to provide a lay of the land relating to CERN and the LHC. Moreover, besides a diagram showing the 8 points around the LHC that contain the different detectors, their placement and purpose, the remainder is to unpack the nature of LHC's quest, which is reiterated at the end chapter and appendix. There are bonuses for the reader when the author goes into detail explaining the Standard Model, the nature and function of the particles and forces--Aczel states that the Standard Model is loosely based on (1) quantum theory [no particular one is named]; (2) the concept of fields; and, (3) the special theory of relativity. All that is missing is the Higgs mechanism. We are introduced to symmetry and supersymmetry, hidden dimensions and many other issues that the LHC may be able to shed light on at later dates. Lastly, the history of the LHC is discussed, including some very amusing stories about the public fear that a black hole could be created and destroy the earth. These issues were also mentioned in Massive, but they are unpacked in more depth in PAC.
The second chapter is a presentation of the history of particles, starting with Max Planck and Einstein's 4 papers, and quickly moving to the wave-particle duality and the creation of "quantum mechanics." Most readers familiar with these books understand that most of them contain these chapters, which are never boring to read as there always seems to be something new to be learned. There is an emphasis on Bohr and Einstein's view of reality. It is here that the author goes through a list of major physicists and their historical work, leading up to the present (e.g.., Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Pauli et al.). It is here that the reader is introduced to the theory of everything, Pauli's exclusion principle, entanglement, Schodinger's cat. However, the chapter ends by providing a history of previous particle accelerators and a very thorough breakdown of the atom.
The remainder of the book is largely an unpacking of why we have built the LHC, the issues that remain of the table of the so-called new physics, and it provides a greatly detailed map (as if we are on a tour with Amir Aczel as our own tour guide) telling us all of the local stories, the myths, the excitements and even the disappointments. One fascinating story in PAC is learning about Ramon Sundrum's "Dark Sector," which is at the end of chapter 11, he chapter on dark matter and dark energy. Sundrum's model has a string theory element including the positing of a fifth higher-order dimension ("brane") and is somewhat close to the ekpyrotic model. But, I am providing too much emphasis on a very small part of the book. I could keep writing, but I have turned my attention to The 4% Universe that is difficult to put down. For those, like Hollywood tourists looking for a map to the homes of the stars, Aczel's book gives the tourist much more, and it will make a fine addition to anyone's personal library. Take the tour to CERN and visit the LHC as Amir Aczel makes a good tour guide.
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