The Quantum Frontier: The Large Hadron Collider 1st Edition by Don Lincoln (PDF)

Description

The highest-energy particle accelerator ever built, the Large Hadron Collider runs under the border between France and Switzerland. It leapt into action on September 10, 2008, amid unprecedented global press coverage and widespread fears that its energy would create tiny black holes that could destroy the earth. By smashing together particles smaller than atoms, the LHC recreates the conditions hypothesized to have existed just moments after the big bang. Physicists expect it to aid our understanding of how the universe came into being and to show us much about the standard model of particle physics—even possibly proving the existence of the mysterious Higgs boson. In exploring what the collider does and what it might find, Don Lincoln explains what the LHC is likely to teach us about particle physics, including uncovering the nature of dark matter, finding micro black holes and supersymmetric particles, identifying extra dimensions, and revealing the origin of mass in the universe.Thousands of physicists from around the globe will have access to the LHC, none of whom really knows what outcomes will be produced by the $7.7 billion project. Whatever it reveals, the results arising from the Large Hadron Collider will profoundly alter our understanding of the cosmos and the atom and stimulate amateur and professional scientists for years to come.

User’s Reviews

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

⭐The Quantum Frontier An interesting, informative and timely book. There are five chapters, each covering a concise aspect of the large hadron collider.I would sum up the book as being important…I like being up to date on the current scientific directions the top thinkers of the world are involved in…when they say something, I want to have some understanding of what they’re saying.The Chapters:1) What We Know: explaining the arithmetic of quarks; their combinations within the nuclear mainstays of protons and neutrons; their labels according to association—three “generations”—up/down, top/bottom and strange/charm, and their relative stability and shelf life. This is a warm up chapter; by no means simple, but brief and not so complex as to drive the audience away.2) What We Guess: the LHC will, among countless other things, explore the condition of the early universe…Symmetry is when something looks unchanged after a change is made…to break the symmetry is to do something that makes it clear that a change has occurred. A very difficult chapter…3) How We Do It: explaining the actual building and assembly of the LHC. The titanic scale of these components is beyond belief, as the photographs in the book will attest. Strange how something so large is needed to find something so small. By comparison to the second chapter, this chapter was easier to grasp…more hands on, not so definitiony. At times, I dare say, fun.4)How We See It: the techniques involved in getting the hadrons to strike each other:magnetic bending, first covered in chapter three, where particles move in a circular path when influenced by a magnetic field.Showering– where a particle splits into other particles, each division having less energy.Ionization —when an electrically charged particle crosses through a material and interacts with the material’s atoms.Transition radiation, radiation released when particles pass from one medium into another, such as water into glass. A tough chapter.Chapter 5: Where We’re Going: citing future applications of the findings of the LHC…like chapter three I found this one easier to comprehend.If indeed the Higgs field/particle has been discovered, as current findings suggest, the LHC isn’t going to be hastily dismantled and packed up. The findings of the LHC will also clarify what is known, and place our current theories on firmer grounds of confidence, and better still, will find applications in the “real world,” like medical treatments.Dark matter: galaxies rotate faster than can be accounted for by Newton’s laws; some of the matter within the galaxies can’t be seen or detected, but its effect is observed…ghost mass you might say…isn’t it amazing that such infinitesimal entities, if discovered in the LHC, will help to clarify the phenomenon of dark matter on a gigantic galactic scale in the far reaches of outer space?Historically, journeys into the mysterious depths of the atomic nucleus seem to have benefited our understanding of the extra-nuclear behavior on the return trip…neutrons discovered, revealed isotopes of chemical elements, some radioactive, some not.In closing, I recommend this slim book.

⭐I am not a scientist but am deeply interested in quantum physics. I’ve purchased quite a few books on the subject but without a science background or vocabulary, I have had difficulty getting through most of them. I’ve seen shows about the LHC for years but I wanted to know more. I came across this book and admit that I purchased it mainly because I thought the cover was beautiful.I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Don Lincoln is a scientist, but he has an ability to speak to the reader in plain English while still explaining some very complex issues. Don Lincoln helped me understand what all those other physics books I’d read were actually talking about! And the book delivers on its promise – it explains in layman’s terms what the LHC is, what it does, and why it’s important.If you are interested in quantum physics and/or the LHC, you will enjoy this book.

⭐I have been involved in Quantum physics for a long time now and I even have several articles on a Website electricalfun.com. My latest “The Return of CERN” is the latest deals with the Hadron Collider being back in service. When I started reading “The Quantum Frontier” I thought I was reading my own work. The writing was clear intelligent and most of all, fascinating. The text was well thought out and presented in a logical manner. In a world where some writers are trying to impress the reader with their vocabulary or knowledge of math, this book is down to earth on an unearthly subject. It is great.

⭐This is a largely non-technical treatment of particle physics with emphasis on experimental aspects.The author,who works at FermiLab outlines the major particles including quarks,mesons, neutrinos and others. The outstanding impression I got from the book was an idea of the sheer size and complexity of the large hadron collider at CERN- particularly the detectors. A valuable part of the book is the list of suggested readings at the end. The book came out in 2008 before the announcement of the discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN.The book is compact and can be read in a weekend.

⭐Actually it was bought as a gift but I know he enjoys reading it (very slowly). I bought 3 others also so he moves from one book to the other. Some are more technical than others

⭐Book arrived in brand new condition. This is my second Don Lincoln book. I like his writing style, sense of humor and ease of understanding.

⭐This book is well organized and well written. My hope was to understand how the LHC worked and this book accomplished it. FIVE STARS….and it earned it. HDS

⭐A good book describing what we already know, and what we may come to know with the help of the LHC. Written at a level that is informative for people who already understand the subject up to a point, without being condescending. If you weren’t interested in particle physics you wouldn’t buy this book though so the language doesn’t have to be too simplistic.Just wondered though…I would have purchased the Kindle version as I have slightly dodgy vision and can increase the font size, but didn’t fancy spending a tenner when the hardback cost me six quid. I notice that some Kindle versions cost more than the actual book itself. Why is this..I though a digital version of a book would be pennies as it’s just a file. It doesn’t even have to be packaged and shipped…I don’t get it. Anyone enlighten me?!

⭐The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is amazing, both as feats of engineering and technology. Vividly written, this work presents a interesting review of the LHC and its enormous detectors. In addition, it also provides an illuminating account of the Standard Model of particle physics and its probable extension (e.g. supersymmetry and Higgs boson) which scientists want to test with LHC.The LHC is an extraordinary technological marvel. A chain of accelerators makes up the LHC complex, with the actual Large Hadron Collider being the highest energy accelerator in the chain. In the case of LHC, two bunches of high energy protons are made to pass through one another, with the hope to produce something interesting.Equally fascinating are the large detectors (both general purpose and special purpose detectors) which particle physicists use to study collisions at LHC. There are clever techniques for discovering the identity of particles coming out from these collisions. As expected, not all collisions are recorded; there is a complicated trigger system to determine which one to record by looking at different facets of the collisions.

⭐Great general coverage and history of particle physics. Amazing detail about the structure of the LHC and it’s detectors but as usual with books like this due to the publishing timetable it is slightly out of date when it is released.

⭐Don Lincoln writes for the numerous people out there who are fascinated by particle physics in general, and the Higgs boson in particular, but don’t have an extensive knowledge of the subject. This author is particularly gifted for explaining science to a lay audience. When I started reading this book I immediately had the impression that it had been targeted to appeal to high school students who would want to find out more about those “weird particles”. If I say this it’s because it has been written with a healthy dose of humour and this has the immediate effect of relaxing the reading atmosphere.It is not a big book but it is well illustrated and this helps our understanding of the various topics that are discussed in the book. The 160 pages are divided into five chapters and only a small section might be a little more difficult. But as the author himself suggests this section can be skipped since it was purposely written for readers who would like to go a little deeper. The first two chapters give an overview of particle physics, including the Higgs boson. The next two are dedicated to the LHC accelerator and describe in detail this powerful machine and the various technologies behind the colossal detectors that are strategically positioned inside the 27km (17 miles) accelerator tunnel to analyze the zillion particle collisions that occur every second. The last chapter discusses future accelerator designs and gives us an idea of what lays ahead.You need to know that a newer version of this book was published shortly after the Higgs particle was discovered. The new title is “The Large Hadron Collider: The Extraordinary Story of the Higgs Boson and Other Stuff That Will Blow Your Mind”. It has been considerably expanded and now makes 240 pages. It’s certainly more up to date but it no longer has this atmosphere of anticipation that we find in “The Quantum Frontier”. And the cover of the original edition is particularly attractive with its gold lettering. This could very well be the reason why I bought this book in the first place, but I certainly don’t regret it.

⭐I bought this for my Grandad who is a New Scientist fanatic. He loves it and doesnt stop going on about it. Its a good book, very descriptive.

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