Description
Book Synopsis
The world you can feel and touch is built of atoms, the smallest identifiable chunks of matter. Yet the heart of each atom is itself a whole new world, a world populated by quarks: indivisible, vanishingly small, the ultimate building blocks of our universe. This inner world where quarks reign is subject to new and unfamiliar rules, the rules of the quantum world. Colossal particle accelerators enable physicists to bring this inner world into focus, and have helped them shape a theory respectful of quantum rules that explains how quarks feel one another's presence. The Quantum Quark is the story of that theory: quantum chromodynamics.
Trade Review
Review of the hardback: 'A refreshingly new and attractive account of particle physics in general and QCD in particular.' Professor Donald H. Perkins, University of Oxford
Review of the hardback: 'Andrew Watson's book acquaints the reader with quantum chromodynamics in a comprehensive, systematic and enjoyable way. Historical interludes are combined with qualitative presentations of the basic issues to create a single clear-cut and colorful picture of the development of this theory and its present-day status. This book is one of the best examples of the popular literature devoted to theoretical physics.' Professor Mikhail Shifman, University of Minnesota
Review of the hardback: '… it is a very complete account of the ideas and experiments that led to the development of this theory and its verification. As such, it may appeal to anybody willing to take the time and make the effort to understand the basis for last year's prize … I suggest that you persuade your library to buy Watson's book …' Nature
Review of the hardback: 'Everything you need to know about QCD is there, remarkably without equations.' Contemporary Physics
From the hardback review: 'Watson does a good job in describing this strange world and in leading the reader to the idea of QCD itself.' Physics World
'Readers who want to find out about particle physics in the sense of current experiments may find this book helpful, as it is very readable.' Professor Frank Close, Oxford University
Table of Contents
Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Symmetry; 3. The quantum world; 4. Towards QCD; 5. The one number of QCD; 6. The gregarious gluon; 7. Quarks and hadrons; 8. Quarks under the microscope; 9. Much ado about nothing; 10. Checkerboard QCD; Appendix 1. A QCD chronology; Appendix 2. Greek alphabet and SI prefixes; Appendix 3. Glossary; Appendix 4. Further reading; Index.
