Particle Physics

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

Following the discovery of the Higgs boson, Frank Close has produced this major revision to his classic and compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe. Frank Close takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino, and explains the key role and significance of the Higgs boson. Along the way he provides fascinating insights into how discoveries in particle physics have actually been made, and discusses how our picture of the world has been radically revised in the light of these developments. He concludes by looking ahead to new ideas about the mystery of antimatter and massive neutrinos, and to what the next 50 years of research might reveal about the nature of the Higgs field which moulds the fundamental particles and forces.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Journey to the center of the universe

Chapter 2. How big and small are big and small?

Chapter 3. How we learn what things are made of, and what we found

Chapter 4. The heart of the matter

Chapter 5. Accelerators: cosmic and man-made

Chapter 6. Detectors: cameras and time machines

Chapter 7. The forces of Nature

Chapter 8. Exotic matter (and antimatter)

Chapter 9. Where has matter come from?

Chapter 10. Questions for the post- Higgs era

About the Author

Frank Close, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Oxford University

Frank Close OBE FRS is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Oxford University and a Fellow Emeritus of Exeter College. He was formerly the Head of the Theoretical Physics Division at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and Head of Communications and Public Education at CERN. He is the author of several books, including the best-selling Lucifer’s Legacy (OUP, 2000), and was the winner of the Kelvin Medal of the Institute of Physics for his ‘outstanding contributions to the public understanding of physics’. His other books include The Cosmic Onion (1983), The Particle Explosion (1987), End (1988), Too Hot to Handle (1991), and The Infinity Puzzle (OUP, 2012). In 2013 Professor Close was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for communicating science.