From Publishers Weekly
This nontechnical survey by Kane, professor of physics at the University of Michigan, is an engaging and fast-forward tour through today's looking-glasslike state of particle physics-the physics of subatomic particles: electrons, quarks, photons, bosons and company. The first five chapters, we are told, require no knowledge of the subject; but for chapters six through 13 (the end), hold on to your hats. The "garden" metaphor in the title is only loosely stitched throughout the text, which is so well presented that popularizing constructions of this kind are unnecessary to keep the reader alongside the author's detailed, necessarily abstruse exposition. Topics covered include a history of particle physics, the Standard Theory, "grand unification" and beyond and the relation of particle physics to cosmology and astrophysics. These coherent lectures for nonscientists are a pleasure to read and reread for the layers of understanding that contemporary physics requires of the generalist. The hefty glossary is a plus. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
From Library Journal
As theoretical and experimental research steadily pushes back the frontiers of physical knowledge, physicists find it increasingly difficult to explain the physical world to the rest of us. This title is a successful attempt by a University of Michigan professor to communicate in plain language what his profession knows and how it discovers that knowledge. Kane reviews the training of particle physicists, shows how they carry out their research, and explains just what makes up the "physics community," both here and abroad. In nonmathematical terms, he reviews the history of his specialty and where it stands today, concluding with a look at the next frontiers, supersymmetry and grand unification, and the intersection of particle physics with astrophysics and cosmology. As a clearly written description for the interested lay reader, this is probably about as good as it gets. Recommended especially for public libraries.?Donald Marion, Univ. of Minnesota Science & Engineering Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
