(MOST OF) THE UNIVERSE IS IN YOUR HANDS
"There is a theory in physics that explains, at the deepest
level, nearly all of the phenomena that rule our daily lives....
This theory bears the unassuming name "The Standard Model of
Elementary Particles," or the "Standard Model," for short. It
deserves to be better known, and it deserves a better name. I call
it "The Theory of Almost Everything."
The Standard Model has a surprisingly low profile for such a
fundamental and successful theory.... In physics news items, the
Standard Model usually plays the whipping boy. Reports of
successful experimental tests of the theory have an air of
disappointment, and every hint of the theory' s inadequacy is
greeted with glee. It is the Rodney Dangerfield of physical
theories, it "don' t get no respect." But it is, perhaps, the
pinnacle of human intellectual achievement to date.
--From the IntroductionPraise for "THE THEORY OF ALMOST
EVERYTHING
"In an era when enormous attention is being paid to the
promising but highly speculative superstring/M-theory, a great
triumph of science has gone nearly unnoticed, except by physicists.
Robert Oerter provides here an accessible introduction to the
Standard Model--a towering example of human creativity. He outlines
how the Standard Model can serve as the launching pad for humanity
to--paraphrasing Einstein--see better the secrets of ' the Ancient
One.' "
--S. J. Gates Jr., John S. Toll Professor of Physics and
director, Center for String and Particle Theory, University of
Maryland
"We always hear about black holes, the big bang, and the search
for life in the universe. But rare is the book that celebrates the
Standard Model ofElementary Particles--a triumph of
twentieth-century science that underpins nearly all we know about
physical reality. Oerter' s "The Theory of Almost Everything
belongs on anyone' s shelf who cares about how the universe really
works."
--Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and author of "Origins:
Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution
The Standard Model is the most important theory in modern
physics. It is the tried-and-true theory of all known physical
interactions, with the exception of gravity. Outside of scientific
circles it is not nearly as well known as string theory or chaos
theory. But it is more important than both, and it is absolutely
essential to understanding where we are heading next in physics.
Now, in a "tour de force of science writing, physicist Robert
Oerter reveals the Standard Model to the general public.
Cobbled together by many brilliant minds--including Richard
Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann--the Standard Model combines Einstein'
s special relativity with quantum mechanics, revealing a bizarre
reality beneath the surface of the mundane world that we all
experience. Particles pop into existence from pure energy. Light
travels to a given destination on all possible paths at the same
time. Solid matter--like light--is neither particle nor wave.
Making use of rich analogy and metaphor, Oerter illuminates the
quantum world of the Standard Model. He shows that although the
theory seems absurd from a common-sense point of view, it
nonetheless fully agrees with experiment.
Oerter explores the conceptual framework of the Standard
Model--what he considers its most fascinating aspect. He shows that
different types of symmetry are at the heart ofthe theory. It is
these symmetries, which lie deep within the structure of the atom,
that give rise to the forces of nature. Oerter reveals that one of
these symmetries--or rather, the fact that it was broken only
moments after the creation of the universe--is the reason matter as
we know it exists.
After lucidly explaining the Standard Model' s implications for
the universe as a whole, Oerter takes readers to the edge of
physics. He shows how new developments could alter the Standard
Model. Experiments now running are searching for neutrino mass and
the holy grail of particle physics, the Higgs boson. Grand unified
theories, supersymmetry, preon theories, and string
theory--although not verified by experiment--could be the next
steps in theory.
"The Theory of Almost Everything is essential reading for anyone
curious about what modern physics tells us about the nature of the
universe.
(c) Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
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