Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe

ISBN-13: 9780465063826 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 464 str.

Frank Close

Opis

Speculation is rife that by 2012 the elusive Higgs boson will be found at the Large Hadron Collider. If found, the Higgs boson would help explain why everything has mass. But there's more at stake--what we're really testing is our capacity to make the universe reasonable. Our best understanding of physics is predicated on something known as quantum field theory. Unfortunately, in its raw form, it doesn't make sense--its outputs are physically impossible infinite percentages when they should be something simpler, like the number 1. The kind of physics that the Higgs boson represents seeks to "renormalize" field theory, forcing equations to provide answers that match what we see in the real world.The Infinity Puzzle is the story of a wild idea on the road to acceptance. Only Close can tell it.

Recenzje

"Close chronicles the search for the elusive Higgs Boson particle (the 'God Particle').... Throughout, the author chronicles the winners and losers in the annual Nobel sweepstakes, giving them recognition for their achievements and providing a lively thread for readers."-Kirkus Reviews

O autorze

Frank Close is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor in Physics at Exeter College, Oxford. He is the winner of the Kelvin Medal for the public understanding of physics and the author of ten books. He lives in Abingdon, England.