November 28, 2011
Close (The Cosmic Onion) explains the science behind the $10 billion international effort to discover the Higgs boson: a fundamental subatomic particle that scientists believe could account for the origins of our universe. Under the auspices of CERN in Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was constructed to accelerate particles near to the speed of light. By creating miniature matter/anti-matter collisions in "a small region of space, what the universe as a whole was like in the first moments after the Big Bang." Close voyages through the major scientific discoveries in high energy physics that began in 1928, when Paul Dirac married quantum mechanics with Special Relativity, laying the basis for the major technical advances from which we benefit in today's digital world. Along the way we meet some major figures in the field whose breakthroughs have illuminated the deepest mysteries of physics and cosmology, resulting in an engrossing history that's also accessible for a general audience. Agency: Conville & Walsh.
October 1, 2011
Close (Theoretical Physics; Oxford Univ./Neutrino, 2010, etc.) chronicles the search for the elusive Higgs Boson particle (the "God Particle"). The author begins with Quantum Electrodynamics, Paul Dirac's groundbreaking but flawed 1928 model that unified Special Relativity and Quantum theory, and examines how it led to a succession of important discoveries: gauge invariance, renormalization, parity violations, the existence of quarks, symmetry breaking and the existence of new weird particles such as the Higgs Boson. Experiments to verify the theories needed larger and larger accelerators, with high-energy particles colliding at speeds of 300,000 kilometers per second. A major thread of the story is the interaction between the key scientists, many of whom the author knew personally, as they vied for recognition and the final accolade of a Nobel Prize. Close explains that it is not only necessary to make a great discovery but to be the first to publish it. Waiting for confirming results before publishing may prove disastrous in the competition. Throughout, the author chronicles the winners and losers in the annual Nobel sweepstakes, giving them recognition for their achievements and providing a lively thread for readers who may be struggling to comprehend the science. The story culminates with the Large Hadron Collider, which has been fully operational since 2009 but has yet to produce results. Its effort to verify the existence of the Higgs Boson by "recreat[ing] the conditions of the early universe in the laboratory" comes with a hefty price tag. In the author's view, the 60-year effort to confront "the paradox of the Infinity Puzzle has brought us to the threshold of being able to address the question of existence itself." Close ably demonstrates the stakes in this perhaps misplaced, hubristic effort.
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November 1, 2011
A significant figure in particle physics, Close is becoming popular with science readers for his succession of books, most recently, Neutrino (2010). Now Close turns to the theoretical unification of electromagnetism with the weak nuclear force, responsible for radioactivity. Maintaining that the lustrous glare of Nobel Prizes bestowed for this 1970s achievement has obscured the contributions of deserving scientists who have not received the accolade, Close attempts to historically untangle who did what en route to the so-called electroweak theory. He departs from a problem with formulas of quantum mechanics: they yield infinity as solutions, such as an electron with infinite energy, which is physically absurd. Initially tamed in the 1940s through a technique called renormalization, infinity still hampered quantum theory. Therefore, devising renormalizable equations to account for newly discovered fields and particles became the objective of dozens of physicists. Close's biographical sketches leaven the somewhat challenging physics and math, while his presentation lucidly acquaints readers with physicists' quest for the Higgs boson (theorized to cause mass) that Europe's Large Hadron Collider was built to find.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)