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The Quantum Frontier: The Large Hadron Collider

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In The Quantum Universe, author Don Lincoln tells the story of the Large Hadron Collider. The LHC is a particle accelerator in Europe that will soon be the most powerful in the world. The scientific potential of this facility is incredible, indeed it has been about 25 years since a similar facility opened an entirely new energy frontier. Lincoln is a researcher doing work on one of the LHC's big experiments and a physicist with considerable experience. This is Lincoln's second venture into popular physics writing.

The book consists of five chapters. The first chapter describes the standard model of particle physics, which is the current best theory. The second chapter reminds us that the LHC is a discovery machine and so we don't know what it will tell us. But Lincoln describes some of the more interesting questions. I would have preferred he include a discussion of extra dimensions, but his selection of topics is solid: Higgs, supersymmetry and looking for things smaller than quarks.

It is in chapters three and four that the unique strength of this book comes out. The third chapter explains how accelerators work in general, followed by some of the amazing trivia of the LHC itself (for instance the energy stored in the magnets could melt eighteen tons of gold.) Chapter four is about the detectors, of which there are four. One or more of these detectors will make a noteworthy discovery and to understand the discovery, you need to understand the equipment. The first half describes general detector principles and the last half describes the trivia associated with each detector. Lincoln warns the detail-phobic that they can skip the trivia, but the book would be much poorer had he omitted these details.

Chapter five talks about the physics world beyond accelerators. Dark energy and dark matter are topics that are needed to describe the cosmos and Lincoln tells how the accelerator studies can help us understand the structure of the universe itself. He also talks about other accelerators and possible upgrades.

Physically the book is small and attractive. The writing level is comparable to a science writer in a popular science magazine. If you've read his earlier book, this one is a bit easier to read and obviously more aimed at a lay audience. One negative of the book is the print is pretty small. But that is a publisher choice and not one for which the author has control.

As the LHC turns on and people become interested in the inevitable discoveries, The Quantum Frontier is an excellent introduction and one to which I will no doubt return.

This is a fascinating book that explains in simple terms what has been learned from high energy physics research, and why it's important and exciting.

Lincoln does a great job of using metaphors, and things that I understand, to describe things I never thought I could comprehend. He writes with an easy, conversational style and sense of humor, so that reading the book feels like a conversation with a very patient friend who wants to help me understand what he does when he goes to work and why he loves it.

The book gives the background to the building of Cern's LHC, the world's largest collider, and anticipates the discoveries that may come from the research done there.

This book is a very good intro to the basics of the LHC, but then changes gears in the middle of chapter 4. Here he tells you that the book is going to go into more details so general readers should just skip to the next chapter. It read to me like he had written the last half of the 4th chapter first, then was told to dumb it down for real people and just wrote around it. He really should have gone back and put some more time into that part.
Still, it has lots of interesting stuff throughout. It begins by telling us why it is safe and what we already know about the standard model. Stuff like quarks and neutrinos and the strong force. Then it explains the stuff the LHC will look for like the Higgs Boson, Supersymmetry and even possible what makes up quarks. Then it gets more interesting talking about how the LHC will create beams of particles, and how it will detect the aftermath of the collisions. I was most entertained by the last chapter's insight into what the future holds for this type of research, including dark matter and the future of large colliders. So although it is rather thin, especially without half of a chapter, I still recommend it if you don't mind getting half a book for full price.

Don Lincoln writes as an expert from the front lines of particle research, but one who cultivates a pleasant, journalistic style that is the opposite of stuffy -- without becoming cutesy. Writing for the sort of broad audience that might drop in to Fermi Lab with kids in tow, he describes in simple but effective terms what scientists hope to learn from the Large Hadron Collider, how they will know what they are seeing, and how the technology works.

Although informal in approach, Lincoln's chapters stay on topic with minimal excursions into peripheral details. For those who like a more discursive, "humanistic" reading experience, Lincoln supplies a list of recommended books. The strength here, however, lies in the quantity of up-to-date science that has been distilled into a quick, high-level read. So one doesn't really mind occasional asides that address the reader like a group of Saturday afternoon visitors. (For example, in a discussion of matter/antimatter decay asymmetries the author explains that a molecule of water comprises two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.)

The author plays his strongest suit when the discussion turns from science to engineering. Given its nontechnical constraints, Lincoln's discussion of the Large Hadron Collider's architecture is remarkably thorough, surpassed only by his discussion of how and why engineering choices were made. In truth, the line between science and engineering is razor-thin here, but it is a line that Lincoln seems happy to cross.

If you are the sort of reader who enjoys learning how certain particles can occupy the same space at the same time, or how much antimatter would produce an atom bomb-sized explosion, or how colliders are "tuned" to explore different particle interactions, you'll enjoy this breezy, expert, and well edited book.

I must admit that I have not entirely finished this book, but based on what i have read, I can recommend this book for those non-physicists who are interested in what all this hoopla about the LHC is about. This book provides an excellent introduction to particle accelerators and the LHC in particular. I had no idea of the vast forces and technological conquest involved. I find the operational details of the largest and most complex machine created by man entirely fascinating. This book is a departure from the books I have read about physics lately in that it is about the main tool of the modern particle physicist and not too deeply involved with the minutia of the particle physics. For instance, I was curious about the proton beam itself. What would it look like? What would happen if it hit something? This book answers some of my naive questions along with a great many more that I didn't even know to ask. This is a good start to understanding the LHC and I can't wait to read the books that come out after they pop a few protons and lead nuclei!

I am not a scientist but am deeply interested in quantum physics. I've purchased quite a few books on the subject but without a science background or vocabulary, I have had difficulty getting through most of them. I've seen shows about the LHC for years but I wanted to know more. I came across this book and admit that I purchased it mainly because I thought the cover was beautiful.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Don Lincoln is a scientist, but he has an ability to speak to the reader in plain English while still explaining some very complex issues. Don Lincoln helped me understand what all those other physics books I'd read were actually talking about! And the book delivers on its promise - it explains in layman's terms what the LHC is, what it does, and why it's important.
If you are interested in quantum physics and/or the LHC, you will enjoy this book.

THE QUANTUM FRONTIER: THE LARGE HALDRON COLLIDER should be in every physics library: it offers an exciting assessment of the Large Haldron Collider, which runs between France and Switzerland, and surveys just why its opening is so significant. You needn't be a physicist to appreciate its importance, and the clear explorations in layman's terms imparts excitement. Perfect for any general lending library strong in science.

This book is well organized and well written. My hope was to understand how the LHC worked and this book accomplished it. FIVE STARS....and it earned it. HDS

"The Quantum Frontier" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Don Lincoln's book interview ran here as cover feature on May 13, 2009.