A Zeptospace Odyssey: A Journey into the Physics of the LHC by Gian Francesco Giudice (PDF)

Description

This book provides a simple and understandable guide for appreciating the discoveries that are about to take place at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the world’s largest particle accelerator. A CERN physicist leads the lay reader into the world of particle physics, from the astonishing technological innovations that were necessary to build the LHC, through the speculative theories invented to describe the ultimate laws governing the universe. The result is an extraordinary journey inside the fabric of matter, an exciting adventure inside a strange and bewildering space, through which one can appreciate the scale of the intellectual revolution that is about to happen. Does the mysterious Higgs boson exist? Does space hide supersymmetry or extend into extra dimensions? How can colliding protons at the LHC unlock the secrets of the origin of our universe? These questions are all framed and then addressed by an expert in the field. While making no compromises in accuracy, this cutting-edge material is presented in a friendly, accessible style. The book’s aim is not just to inform, but to give the reader the physicist’s sense of awe and excitement, as we stand on the brink of a new era in understanding the world in which we all live.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book is a must reading for any cultivated person,that by definition should be interested in one of thegreatest intellectual adventures of mankind. The authormanages to convey to a layman reader a glimpse ofsome of the key, very difficult and abstract ideas of modernphysics; a miracle indeed. I particularly enjoyed Giudice’sdiscussion of the Higgs particle in the Open Questionssection, in page 173, quoting Glashow, “…The flush toiletis a rather ugly thing, but it works and no one has come upwith a plausible alternative….” that so vividly conveys thefeeling of ambivalence that the Higgs particle cannot fail toarouse. The discovery of the Higgs boson (far from certain itappears to me) will indeed be a momentous day in the historyof physics.

⭐This book distinguishes itself from other accounts of modern physics by being as clever as the people who invented the subject. Instead of ponderous tributes to “genius,” one gets a practionioner’s insight into true nature of physicists, most often humorous and ironic (check out videos of Einstein, Feynman and even Oppenheimer, they’re always half-joking about something). I recommend this book both as an introduction to the difficult theory involved and to the people involved.

⭐The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is not only a gigantic technological feat, but also a tribute to the idealistic international quest to probe deeper into the fundamental principles of physics that account for the nature of the universe. Zeptospace, by the way, refers to distances no larger than a few hundred zeptometers. A zeptometer is equal to a billionth of a billionth of a millimeter.Gian Francesco Giudice, a member of the Theoretical Physics Division at CERN who enjoys lecturing for non-specialist audiences, is an enthusiastic, humorous and reliable guide for this mind-boggling odyssey, providing striking analogies and metaphors to illuminate the abstract concepts of particle physics as well as amusing and revealing anecdotes about the foremost physicists of the 20th century and their work. The result is a reader-friendly cutting-edge insider account of particle physics today, and what we might expect tomorrow. The author weaves together a well-balanced tapestry of story-telling, theory, experimental data, technical facts and speculation.As a non-physicist who has visited CERN, I found this book compelling, although it did require some effort to read. I learned a great deal but would not claim to master all the details of such a complex subject. The finest scientific minds of the last century were often challenged by the puzzling curveballs that nature has thrown us, and yet they kept coming back for more. The desire to solve these conundrums and to see where they lead us is what keeps research alive.

⭐I loved thisbook: it is really fun to read. The LHC machine as well as the theories are presented with clarity and wit. The author works at CERN and heknows the laboratory inside out. He is clearly a real expert in the theories and he is quite original and thought-provoking in the way hepresents them. Explanations are clear and often supplemented with simple analogies. You get a real tour of what’s going on at CERN and inthe world of modern physics. I feel I now understand why the LHC is so important.The book is lavished with the kind of stories andanecdotes that only an insider like Guidice could provide. He’s so much at his ease here in leading us through the rocky terrain ofparticle physics, that he can afford to be funny, relaxed, and take us down some fascinating side roads.Don’t be put off by the textbook-like cover: its content is really quite accessible. I think this book should be on the must-read list of any high school student interestedin science or engineering. It is perfect reading for science teachers and for anybody interested in modern physics. Highly recommended.

⭐This book gives a remarkably enjoyable, exciting, and digestible introduction to the LHC and the experiments there. This is the best science book I have ever read. I didn’t know anything about the LHC before reading this book, and now I feel I understand the main objectives of this colossal experiment. I was left truly impressed by the LHC and the marvels of our world that will be explored there. I especially enjoyed the last chapters which speculate on the strange phenomena, fruit of the wilder current theories, which might be found at the LHC. It will be fun to find out what the LHC eventually discovers.

⭐The book is the right mixture between the science of the Higgs boson and the engineering for the construction of the LHC machine. Physics about the Higgs boson is not that deep but it was meant to be; there are already too many books about this particle.There are a lot of funny anecdotes regarding the construction of this giant monster.

⭐Das ist das beste Werk, das ich als Laie jemals über die Partikel-Physik gelesen habe. Besonders eingängig sind die anschaulichen Vergleiche, die Giudice für seine Erklärungen beizieht. Auch die vielen passenden Zitate bereichern den Text. Ich habe dieses Werk gelesen wie einen Krimi. Wer es kann, sollte es in der englischen Version lesen.

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