Constructing Quarks: A Sociological History of Particle Physics (Paperback)

by Andrew Pickering (Author) "The historian of modern sciences has to come to terms with the fact that the scientists have got there first..." (more)
Key Phrases: charmonium model, baryonium states, unified electroweak gauge theories, November Revolution, Big Bang, London Conference (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Widely regarded as a classic in its field, Constructing Quarks recounts the history of the post-war conceptual development of elementary-particle physics. Inviting a reappraisal of the status of scientific knowledge, Andrew Pickering suggests that scientists are not mere passive observers and reporters of nature. Rather they are social beings as well as active constructors of natural phenomena who engage in both experimental and theoretical practice.

"A prodigious piece of scholarship that I can heartily recommend."--Michael Riordan, New Scientist

"An admirable history. . . . Detailed and so accurate."--Hugh N. Pendleton, Physics Today

About the Author

Andrew Pickering is professor of sociology, criticism, and interpretive theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency, and Science and editor of Science as Practice and Culture, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 475 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226667995
• ISBN-13: 978-0226667997
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #968,626 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars accurate descriptions of physics and physicists, May 22, 2008

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Are you by any chance a physicist or physics student? If so, you might want to take some time off from your studies and go over this history of high energy physics since World War 2. It is a nifty and elegant account of the field. Just to be clear about something - Despite "Quarks" in the title, the narrative does not begin at the suggestion of quarks by Gell Mann and Zweig. I think the author chose that because quarks are a very catchy and recognisable label; recognisable to many outside physics. The quark model first came about in 64.

But before that, the first section of the book talks about the struggle to reconcile Dirac's relativistic quantum mechanics with the experimental results coming out of the particle accelerators in the 50s. From this arose the seminal Feynman diagrams, ably assisted by Dyson and his propagator.

While the author apparently does not have a formal background in physics, the account is well done, in terms of its descriptions of the physical advances, and of giving proper attribution to those who made the advances.