Collider by Paul Halpern

Collider by Paul Halpern

Will the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) create a miniature black hole that could swallow up the Earth? Could it help explain the missing matter and energy in the universe? Will it point the way toward unifying the forces of nature? Might it reveal the God particle? Collider goes beyond explaining the mysteries of quantum mechanics and Einstein's theories to sort through a century of actual experiments, revealing how we know what we know, and what we hope to find out.

In this comprehensive guide to the theory, mechanics, and science behind experimental high-energy physics, award-winning physicist and celebrated author Paul Halpern gives you the tools you need to understand what the LHC is, what it hopes to discover, and why it is the biggest story in science today. You'll discover how the scientists running the project expect to shed light on the origins of the universe by recreating the conditions that existed just after the Big Bang and why that isn't nearly as scary as it sounds.

Halpern starts you off with a crash course in the essentials of physics. With clear explanations of the Standard Model, the four forces that govern the universe (weak, strong, gravity, and electromagnetism), and the vast array of particles already discovered using colliders, he helps you understand why scientists might be on the verge of confirming or disproving some of the predictions of string theory and how the LHC could help unlock the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy, supersymmetry, and portals to higher dimensions. You'll also find out why the theoretical Higgs boson is often referred to as the God particle and how its discovery could change our understanding of the universe.

No aspect of the LHC has received more attention than the fact that one side effect of the collision of particles at ultra-high speed is the creation of mini-black holes. Press coverage has focused heavily on fears that these superdense particles would start gobbling up everything around them and eventually swallow the entire Earth. Halpern provides a clear and detailed explanation of why these fears, and the storm of publicity that has spread them, amount to a tempest in a very tiny teapot.

So, relax! The world will not come to an end any time soon, but we may learn a lot more about it in the blink of an eye. Read Collider and find out what, when, and how.

Paul Halpern is a professor of physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and the author of thirteen popular science books, most recently Edge of the Universe. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and an Athenaeum Literary Award. Halpern has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including Future Quest, Radio Times, several shows on the History Channel, and The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special. He has contributed opinion pieces for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and is also a regular contributor to NOVA's The Nature of Reality physics blog. He lives in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780470643914
ISBN 10	0470643919
Titel	Collider
Autor	Paul Halpern
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Turner Publishing Company
Erscheinungsjahr	2010-09-16
Seitenanzahl	288
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar