According to Einstein, a good scientific hypothesis must be able to be explained to a dummy. Taking this advice to heart, Bruce Schumm, an experimental particle physicist, explains the Standard Model of particle physics in Deep Down Things. The Standard Model is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientific achievements of the twentieth century.
This unique volume weaves together the ideas of some of the twentieth century’s most influential physicists—including Einstein, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, Feynman, Gell-Mann, and Weinberg—to provide a clear and comprehensible explanation of the revolutionary concepts that form the basis of our current understanding of the physical world.
Having spent a significant portion of his life immersed in the subatomic world, Schumm does more than merely present the “building blocks” of matter; he vividly illustrates the remarkable connection between the ivory tower world of the abstract mathematician and the practical, life-enabling properties of the natural world. Schumm gives us a glimpse into some of the most fundamental unanswered topics in particle physics, laying the groundwork for figuring out how far the discipline will advance over the next decade.
Taking the reader into the field of particle physics, Deep Down Things reveals uncharted territories that may hold the key to understanding the cosmos.
