Hidden Worlds: Hunting for Quarks in Ordinary Matter - Hardcover

Smith, Timothy Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691057737 ISBN 13: 9780691057736

Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2002

Inhaltsangabe

No one has ever seen a quark. Yet physicists seem to know quite a lot about the properties and behavior of these ubiquitous elementary particles. Here a top researcher introduces us to a fascinating but invisible realm that is part of our everyday life. Timothy Smith tells us what we know about quarks - and how we know it.Though the quarks that make science headlines are typically laboratory creations generated under extreme conditions, most quarks occur naturally. They reside in the protons and neutrons that make up almost all of the universe's known matter, from human DNA to distant nebulae, from books and tables to neutron stars. Smith explains what these quarks are, how they act, and why physicists believe in them sight unseen. How do quarks arrange themselves? What other combinations can nature make? How do quarks hold nuclei together? What else is happening in their hidden worlds? It turns out that these questions can be answered using a few simple principles, such as the old standby: opposites attract. With these few principles, Smith shows how quarks dance around each other and explains what physicists mean when they refer to "up" and "down" quarks and talk about a quark's

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Timothy Paul Smith is Assistant Research Professor at Dartmouth College and was previously a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bates Linear Accelerator Center.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

"This book explains, using diverse means, the quark model of the proton and neutron. It sketches the history of the quark idea and succeeds in explaining to nonphysicists why physicists believe in quarks even though a single quark has never been observed. I really like this book, which will serve important purposes."--Gerald A. Miller, University of Washington

Aus dem Klappentext

"This book explains, using diverse means, the quark model of the proton and neutron. It sketches the history of the quark idea and succeeds in explaining to nonphysicists why physicists believe in quarks even though a single quark has never been observed. I really like this book, which will serve important purposes."--Gerald A. Miller, University of Washington

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Princeton University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2002
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0691057737
• ISBN 13: 9780691057736
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar