The Particle Explosion (Paperback)

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

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The largest atom is too small to be seen with even the finest microscope. Nevertheless, particle physicists study the constituents of atoms, objects that are far, far smaller. This book describes these strange objects, the people who have studied them, and the mechanisms that are used to find them. The fine text material is accompanied by an outstanding array of color photographs, including pictures of tracks left by subatomic particles in bubble chamber and electronic chamber detectors. There are clear descriptions of how these photographs can be interpreted that will convince even the most skeptical. A visually arresting work, the best book on modern particle physics for the layperson this reviewer has seen. Harold D. Shane, Mathematics Dept., Baruch Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Takes the reader on a spectacular illustrated journey into the subatomic world discovered by physicists in the last hundred years. Illustrations in color. Paper. DLC: Particles (Nuclear physics)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1st edition (January 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198539991
• ISBN-13: 978-0198539995
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,939,562 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn to interpret bubble chamber tracks!, September 4, 1998

By	Ivan Soleimanipour (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Bubble chamber tracks were always a mystery to me ... until I discovered "The Particle Explosion". This book is wonderful because ... The edited & colorized bubble chamber photographs engender a new, visceral, level of understanding of elementary particles. With so many books and articles on theoretical and abstract aspects of quantum mechaniscs, this book reveals the, oft neglected, world of experimental particle physicists and their immense accomplishments. It is a wonderful example of expository writing, where complex mechanisms are clearly described without resorting to diagrams.

4.0 out of 5 stars THE SEARCH FOR CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, October 18, 2009

By	Eugene G. Kiehl (KOKOMO, INDIANA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Particle Explosion (Hardcover)

THIS BOOK IS BETTER THAN MOST IN CONCENTRATING ON THE PARTICLES THEMSELVES. MANY OF THE BOOKS ON THIS SUBJECT SPEND TOO MUCH SPACE ON HISTORY. AFTER READING ABOUT FIVE OF THOSE BOOKS I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE ANCIENT GREEKS WERE NOT GOING TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS AND NEEDED NO FURTHER PUBLICITY. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE INFORMATIVE BUT MORE INFORMATION ON THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PARTICLES WOULD BE USEFUL.

5.0 out of 5 stars Look for the New Edition titled The Particle Odyssey, April 13, 2006

By	Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Particle Explosion (Hardcover)

The Particle Explosion (1987) by Oxford University Press tells the story of particle physics from the unexpected discoveries of electrons, x-rays, and radioactivity in the 1890s to the meticulously planned, large scale experiments nearly a century later that detected the W and Z particles, thereby confirming the Standard Model.

The three authors - Frank Close, Michael Marten, and Christine Sutton - should be commended for the exceptional set of photos that make this book so fascinating. The target audience is the enthusiastic layman, but this account should also appeal to all science students, especially undergraduate physics majors.

Even numbered chapters focus on the researchers and their massive machines. Odd numbered chapters describe the subatomic particles. This unusual even-odd arrangement is surprisingly well-integrated and does not attract attention to itself.

The Particle Explosion is true to its title. The reader encounters neutrinos, muons, pions (pi-zero, pi-plus, pi-minus), kaons (K-zero, K-plus, K-minus), J/PSI, D (D-zero, D-plus), upsilon, lambda, sigma (sigma-zero, sigma-plus, sigma-minus), xi (xi-minus, xi-zero), omega minus, and charmed lambda. And don't forget, there is an antiparticle for every particle as well as resonance states for many particles. Fortunately, Murray Gell-Mann and others bundled these bewildering particles into well-behaved symmetry groups.

Rather unexpectedly, I actually developed some skill at deciphering images of particle tracks from cloud chambers, bubble chambers, and various electronic detectors. I found that I could even recognize indications of missing particles. Nonetheless, complicated images revealing quarks and gluons remain intimidating. Computer processing is needed to remove unrelated low-momentum tracks, and thereby expose the unique signatures of high energy quarks.

As fate would have it, I no sooner completed this book review than I learned that a 2002 edition with the title The Particle Odyssey (same three authors) was available. The new layout is quite similar. The material has been updated to cover the years 1987-2002 and the graphics are even better.

Recommendation: Deep Down Things (John Hopkins Press, 2004) by Bruce A. Schumm offers a more technical look at the Standard Model. Five stars.