Symmetry is at the heart of our understanding of matter. This book tells the fascinating story of the constituents of matter from a common symmetry perspective. The standard model of elementary particles and the periodic table of chemical elements have the common goal to bring order in the bewildering chaos of the constituents of matter. Their success relies on the presence of fundamental symmetries in their core.

The purpose of Shattered Symmetry is to share the admiration for the power and the beauty of these symmetries. The reader is taken on a journey from the basic geometric...