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The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe
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Author
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Frank Close.
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Publisher
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Basic Books
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Format
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hardcover
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Product Dimensions
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9.5
x
6.5
x
1.4
inches
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ISBN
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9780465021444
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Pages/Publication Date
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435/2011
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Daedalus Item Code
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30254
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This item is not available.
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Description
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Since 1964, when physicist Peter Higgs proposed a mechanism that could rationalize the bizarre effects of quantum physics for the real world, the Standard Model of particle physics has predicted the existence of a tiny particle named the Higgs boson. So important was the finding of this particle that the world's largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, was built specifically to prove it existed, and experiments in 2012 did indeed reveal a new particle that may be the Higgs. In this remarkably lucid book, Oxford physicist Frank Close (the winner of a Kelvin Medal for promoting the public understanding of physics) explains the long and convoluted road that has led scientists to the verge of understanding the tiniest pieces of existence. "The book brims with charming anecdotes about particle physics between the 1950s and 1980s, when breakthroughs came almost too fast to be comprehended and every scientist seemed to be maneuvering (and occasionally begging) for Nobel prizes. But the book also plumbs the origins of modern physics, especially troubles with the concept of infinity."—American Scholar "A masterpiece.... Close has done his homework thoroughly, interviewing just about all the protagonists that are still alive and going back to original source material for his facts, which often contradict the memories of even the most reliable of those survivors.... This book is essential reading—I never normally give five stars, but for this I'll make an exception."—BBC Focus
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