Product Description
This book provides a comprehensive overview of modern particle physics accessible to anyone with a true passion for wanting to know how the universe works. We are introduced to the known particles of the world we live in. An elegant explanation of quantum mechanics and relativity paves the way for an understanding of the laws that govern particle physics. These laws are put into action in the world of accelerators, colliders and detectors found at institutions such as CERN and Fermilab that are in the forefront of technical innovation. Real world and theory meet using Feynman diagrams to solve the problems of infinities and deduce the need for the Higgs boson.

Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics offers an incredible insight from an eyewitness and participant in some of the greatest discoveries in 20th century science. From Einstein's theory of relativity to the elusive Higgs particle, this book will fascinate and educate anyone interested in the world of quarks, leptons and gauge theories.

This book also contains many thumbnail sketches of particle physics personalities, including contemporaries as seen through the eyes of the author. Illustrated with pictures, these candid sketches present rare, perceptive views of the characters that populate the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Wonderful - both instructive and entertaining
Martinus Veltman has a rare gift - to have indepth knowledge of a complex subject, and be able to give the layman a plausible explanation of it. I have almost completed my second reading of the book. Such was the wealth of information, and my eagerness to read, that I could not take it all in on the first reading. The reader must persist with some of Dr Veltman's language quirks , but this is a minor criticism - the effort is handsomely repaid. His character profiles (occasionally caricatures), and personal stories, add a human dimension, and serve to point out that it takes many brilliant and hard working people, not just theorists and not just Nobel Prize winners, to create an edifice as grand (and yet fragile) as the Standard Model. Highly commended - a beautiful legacy for future generations.

A very good book
This is a well structured book which describes developments in modern physics in an in-depth and comprehensive way.
.
After a preliminary discussion of basic physical issues, the author launches into a detailed, yet non mathematical, outline of the standard model of particle physics which he rightly says is a beautiful model indeed. His discussion of this is a highlight of the book and the book is worth buying for this chapter alone. He then goes on to discuss quantum mechanics as well as discussing aspects of relativity pertinent to particle physics.

Understanding the basic elements of the universe did not happen overnight but rather was the fulfilment of a combined effort of a large number of people. At all stages throughout the book, the author illustrates the contribution of the various personalities involved, and does it so that the reader appreciates the erstwhile contribution each person made. The author himself made a significant contribution.

Of course, not just the `who' is relevant. How they achieved the various breakthroughs is also important and the book's discussion of the history and development of modern accelerators and particle colliders is of particular interest.

Finally the discussion of the theory of particles and of interactions within particles concludes what is an enjoyable and interesting book on topics that are justifiably regarded as complicated, yet are dealt with in the book in an easy and very readable way .

This book is recommended for all who wish to appreciate current ideas about the basic elementary particles of nature and would like to have an understanding of these incredible `building blocks' of our wonderful universe..

Excelente Libro
Muy bien explicado si tus conocimientos sobre física de partículas no son excelentes. Matemáticamente sencillo de comprender

unique book, but read others too

This is a unique book.

First of all, the paper, font, diagrams, and cover are wonderful. It's really a nice looking book cover to cover.

Next, the author includes biographies of people involved in the field. The writing is candid and humorous. The biographies don't read like a textbook at all. They include his own opinions, as well as interesting anecdotes about the people.

Finally, the author includes some of his own personal story in the book, regarding his work in particle physics. It's nice to see a first-hand account. I enjoy his commentary.

All these things make this a special book, and worth reading.

The author can be somewhat grumpy, but you have to take that with a sense of humor. Consider that physicists (I am one) tend to be literal and often TOO honest, at the risk of being blunt or awkward. So try not to be put off.

Some parts of the book are a bit tedious. If you really want to understand the topic, read some other books along with this one. If there's only one book to get, try Oerter's "Theory of Almost Everything". But if you want a few books, then definitely include this one.

Not Finished Reading Yet, But Easy And Good Book
If you "understand" at least to some extent quantum theory you will enjoy this book. It is not described by math equations but Good writing and Analogies.You Must understand elementary particles to get quantum physics and mechanics to understand how they work since it's so different from our daily reality, you must visualize. I have read enough books and looked up info on the net to grasp the sense of quantum theory and it's counterparts, Read "Parallel Worlds" By Michio Kaku, He describes things so easily. 4 stars because no book is a five yet for me except the book previously Mentioned because of it's simplicity and wide variety of topics covered. Good luck opening your mind. ... Read more

Product Description
A useful scientific theory, claimed Einstein, must be explicable to any intelligent person. In Deep Down Things, experimental particle physicist Bruce Schumm has taken this dictum to heart, providing in clear, straightforward prose an elucidation of the Standard Model of particle physics—a theory that stands as one of the crowning achievements of twentieth-century science. In this one-of-a-kind book, the work of many of the past century's most notable physicists, including Einstein, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, Feynman, Gell-Mann, and Weinberg, is knit together in a thorough and accessible exposition of the revolutionary notions that underlie our current view of the fundamental nature of the physical world. Schumm, who has spent much of his lifeemmersed in the subatomic world, goes far beyond a mere presentation of the "building blocks" of matter, bringing to life the remarkable connection between the ivory tower world of the abstract mathematician and the day-to-day, life-enabling properties of the natural world. Schumm leaves us with an insight into the profound open questions of particle physics, setting the stage for understanding the progress the field is poised to make over the next decade or two.

Introducing readers to the world of particle physics, Deep Down Things opens new realms within which are many clues to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

"Bruce Schumm's new book on elementary particle physics, Deep Down Things, is an ambitious and very successful non-mathematical description of the nature and significance of the world of elementary particles and forces. The book is for the non-mathematician, the non-scientist interested in elementary particle physics, and the young student who has not yet begun to study physics. The subjects discussed range from the wave-particle duality and basic quantum mechanical ideas, through description of the four fundamental forces, to the inner theoretical world of particle physics—symmetries and gauge theory. The book ends with an exciting discussion of what we don't know including the recently discovered mystery of neutrino oscillations."Martin Perl, Winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics

"The Standard Model is one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the twentieth century. Everything around us is made of particles called quarks and leptons influencing one another by exchanging bosons. Readers who want more than a surface treatment of this modern paradigm of particle physics should turn to Bruce Schumm's fine book on the topic."

Michael Riordan, author, The Hunting of the Quark ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

A wonderful book - beautifully written
Even I understand it. Well... some of it.No kidding though.Anybody good to English can follow this.If you are curious about "The Standard Model" and don't have the background to actually be a Physicist, this is for you.

A MASTERPIECE !!!
This is an amazing book.

In just over 300 pages, it quite clearly, in an elementary way of course, explains the concept of Higgs Field/Higgs Boson.It explains why Higgs Field (or something equivalent) is needed so that a "hidden symmetry space" (this the books spends nearly 100 pages to explain quite lucidly) is possible.Things (particles) exist in "symmetry spaces"; this determines the properties of particles (including force-carrying "quantum field quanta") and consequently determines the nature of the universe - i.e. the nature of the forces of nature, which essentially form the basis of causation.Most of the models have been shown to be "true" via experiments using particle colliders and these evidences are also discussed in the book.

I myself really like the bits about:
1. Parity violation of the Weak Force - this explains why we are here (i.e. there are more matter than anti-matter)
2. Photons obey U(1) symmetry - this explains why we can see (i.e. photos do not react with each other)
3. Why strong force is "strong" - and then "things" can form

Reading the book gives me a feeling that the universe (at least figuratively) is trying to tell us something: that it is very beautiful in its design and it is possibly much more elegant that we can begin to imagine.

Better than any I've seen, but still misses the mark a bit
In general, I like this book. The measure of what I think of a book of this type is, "do I understand more after having read this book than I did before I opened it?" and on that basis, this book gets a pretty good grade. For example, I now know what a Lie group is, and why they are important to particle physicists, and that alone was worth the price of the book.

But why no 5-star rating? It just didn't go quite far enough. Every so often I found a place where, I assume because he figures his lay audience would get lost, the author just makes a statement that he does not explain and I wonder "why?" Why, for example, does the fact that a particular group is non-Abelian mean that a certain particle must be charged? It is things like this that leave me thinking, "good book, but if he just could have gone a bit deeper..."

I suppose that one can argue that the author had to decide what his audience could follow and what it could not. And I cannot really fault him on making the judgment he did. But he does such a good job explaining things in some places that I just wish he would have TRIED to go a bit deeper.

Great book
I'll be brief since most of the review have already said everything I would be interested in saying.But just to add a couple notes:

1] An excellent popular overview of many of the important mathematical aspects of modern physics.
2] To emphasize, it's a popular account.This is not a textbook on these topics, but as such it's very good. (Think of it as the next step beyond Brain Greene's books.)
3] OTOH this is not trivial work.It assumes a lot of work on the part of the reader.But if all this OK --and it was for me-- this is the book for you.
4] Only (tiny) quibble is that I don't care much for the title (it helps some to know that it is a reference to Gerald Manley Hopkins, but if you don't know that it sound a touch cute.)

Fascinating introduction into the abstract mathematics of quantum field theory
Schumm has written a fairly accessible book introducing the fascinating abstract mathematics of quantum field theory. I cannot say I really, intuitively grasped half of what Schumm tries to convey, but what I did understand made me marvel at the ingenuity of the theories, and about the deep connection between abstract math (Lie groups) and reality.

While I have seen quite a few documentaries about (particle) physics and try to keep up with science news (about the LHC, for example), I hardly have any "real" background knowledge about the subject, nor do I have a thorough background in math (although I am a university graduate). To Schumm's credit, neither is required, as the author explains the concepts using plain terms and good analogies, while not shying away from discussing a formula or two (like Schrödinger's wave equation). The author also often rephrases ideas and summarizes discussions, which which makes the book easy enough to understand for those of us who don't study the subject on university level. His book had me hooked and fascinated all the way to the end, with only two parts where he lost me.

By reading the book, I have gained a conceptual understanding of quantum field theory and the way we understand (three of the four) forces of nature. I also understand (on a very high level, of course) the makeup of and relationship between the fundamental particles, what Feynman diagrams are about, how the electromagnetic and weak nuclear force can be unified, how we can understand mass as just an "illusion" (through the Higgs mechanism).

Make no mistake though, this book is largely about abstract concepts and the connection between math and quantum theory. As the author points out himself, the book does not cover the more practical aspects of particle physics, like
* how particle accelerators create and detect the different particles,
* how quantum electrodynamics (the quantum theory of light) explains all the different optical phenomena as interactions through photons
* how the "weak" nuclear force allows us to carbon date certain isotopes or build atom bombs ... Read more

Product Description
Statistical physics has its origins in attempts to describe the thermal properties of matter in terms of its constituent particles, and has played a fundamental role in the development of quantum mechanics. Based on lectures taught by Professor Kardar at MIT, this textbook introduces the central concepts and tools of statistical physics. It contains a chapter on probability and related issues such as the central limit theorem and information theory, and covers interacting particles, with an extensive description of the van der Waals equation and its derivation by mean field approximation. It also contains an integrated set of problems, with solutions to selected problems at the end of the book and a complete set of solutions is available to lecturers on a password protected website at www.cambridge.org/9780521873420. A companion volume, Statistical Physics of Fields, discusses non-mean field aspects of scaling and critical phenomena, through the perspective of renormalization group. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good Modern Treatment
I used both this text and Pathria for a graduate level class in statistical mechanics. Kardar's treatment is very modern and has a wonderful perspective. However, it is very mathematical while managing to not be very thorough. The problems were very good and the worked solutions in the back were quite helpful. For the material covered in this book, I preferred Pathria, which was in general far more thorough.

Stat Mech. book
The product was pretty much as advertised.Cover was damaged but I knew it wasn't new.The book itself isn't my favorite though.The only reason I can figure what the homework problems are about is by checking the solutions.Needs more examples or explanation.

Excellent Text
Perhaps I am a bit biased as I took Mehran Kardar's statistical mechanics class, but this is the best graduate-level statistical mechanics textbook I have looked at (including Pathria, Huang, and Landau). In the tradition of Landau's excellent mechanics textbook, Kardar is a master of statistical physics who starts with only basic assumptions about the nature of the physical laws in each chapter, and derives wonderful results elucidating the nature of statistical physics. The meat of the textbook is less than 200 pages and includes all of the basic results of thermodynamics, a section on probability, an introduction to kinetic theory, and the bulk of classical and quantum statistical mechanics; brevity is the soul of wit, as they say. A few areas could have used a little more elaboration (the derivation of the Boltzmann equation seemed to skip a few important steps in implementing the streaming collision terms, and a better explanation for the basics of diagrammatical techniques would have been nice), but none of the other books I have looked at even broached these topics in any depth. Unlike Landau's excellent statistical physics book, very little assumed knowledge is required to follow this textbook; obviously, skill in elementary algebra, calculus, differential equations, and a bit of Hamiltonian mechanics and a few very basic results of quantum mechanics are prerequisites. Recommended!

A Phenomenal Textbook produced by a Phenomenal Teacher
M. Kardar is simply phenomenal, probably the best teacher I've ever seen in the Institute. ... Read more

Product Description
An accessible introduction to nuclear and particle physics with equal coverage of both topics, this text covers all the standard topics in particle and nuclear physics thoroughly and provides a few extras, including chapters on experimental methods; applications of nuclear physics including fission, fusion and biomedical applications; and unsolved problems for the future. It includes basic concepts and theory combined with current and future applications. An excellent resource for physics and astronomy undergraduates in higher-level courses, this text also serves well as a general reference for graduate studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good tool
I've used this book in class and I can say that of course anyone reading it should have a basic background knowledge of the source material (ie it is not a ----for Dummies book).That said it is not an overcrowded subject when it comes to books that could be used and though some of the examples used seem a little dated already it is still quite decent in regards to the overall subject.

a good bridge nuclear to particles
I started using the book for students of nuclear physics and I found that the book helps them quite naturally to go from the nuclear matter up, to some extend, into the particle physic field.It has nice chapters dedicated to clear and practical applications of the experimental part of these subjects, giving also some sense of balance, which is nowadays more needed than ever. People ask on why to expend money on these field withoun noticing the benefits, so the book contributes to shortened the bridge giving to the students extra tools.
The final part of the book is also important, it open the window for outstanding issues, of course this part may become obsolete but it a good incentive anyway. ... Read more

Product Description
In Introduction to Elementary Particles, Second, Revised Edition, author David Griffiths strikes a balance between quantitative rigor and intuitive understanding, using a lively, informal style. The first chapter provides a detailed historical introduction to the subject, while subsequent chapters offer a quantitative presentation of the Standard Model. A simplified introduction to the Feynman rules, based on a "toy" model, helps readers learn the calculational techniques without the complications of spin. It is followed by accessible treatments of quantum electrodynamics, the strong and weak interactions, and gauge theories. New chapters address neutrino oscillations and prospects for physics beyond the Standard Model. The book contains a number of worked examples and many end-of-chapter problems. A complete solution manual is available for instructors.

• Revised edition of a well-established text on elementary particle physics
• With a number of worked examples and many end-of-chapter problems
• Helps the student to master the Feynman rules
• Solution manual available for instructors

Customer Reviews (23)

Physics at its finest
This is possibly the best textbook on any subject that I have ever read. And when I say read I mean cover to cover, several times! (The book is now so shabby and food stained that I'm thinking of buying another copy.) The previous reviews have said it all but I want to summarize some quick points.

1. The footnotes and references are in a class of their own. You MUST read them to get full value. They contain a wealth of critical information.

2. The narrative style and method of explanation in this book makes me feel as though David Griffith is talking one-on-one to me alone. In my opinion he is peerless as a teacher!

3. The ability of this text to present some of the most complex mathematical material in an a simple, accessible and meaningful way using ordinary, jargon free language is just amazing. Of course particle physics is never going to be simple in laymen's terms but the ability to simplify the difficult ideas it contains as much as possible is critical for a student.

4. The ability of David Griffiths to make the subject - even at its most formal and driest points - exciting and alive is a rare and special skill.

5. The problems posed at the end of each section are the gateway to true understanding. They are clear, practical, have a definite educational purpose and are often fun to solve as well.

5. If you are affiliated with a university or other teaching institution and can get hold of the Solutions Manual, you MUST do so. It is a gem in itself and an essential part of the total "David Griffiths" experience.

Although this book is an absolute must if you are studying the subject and even if you are merely interested in it, there are a couple of minor quibbles that I need to bring to your attention.

Firstly, I would have loved to see a bit more on the fascinating subject of Renormalization and especially some of the deeper implications of Renormalization Theory. As it is the subject is treated in a very practical way and the book contains just enough material to enable one to solve the problems and to get on with other things. A little more would have been nice.

Secondly, and much more seriously, my copy of the book arrived with a double sided printout of 53 errata. These range from minor typos to complete show stoppers (if left uncorrected)! In fact there are so many of them, and they often have such serious effect on the text that I have broken a habit of a life-time and penciled in the corrections on the pages themselves. I would normally regard this as inexcusable vandalism but the constant referral to the errata sheet had become tiresome. I regard Wiley the publishers of this book to be one of the best technical publishers in the world and I can only guess at the glitch which let so many errors get through to the print stage. Having said this, once the errors are noted and corrected one can get back to the study and enjoyment of this fine work.

Elementary particles do matter!
I've just begun a wonderful voyage through the realms of the smallest entities of energy or matter (how ever one wants to see these building blocks of the world at large). Nobody, whatever the background, can remain calm and disengaged with professor Griffiths unfolding the spectrum of particles. It is his exceptional talent to word his messages such that they find their way directly to the grey cells of the reader. So far, for my way of thinking, the best written book on topics of physics was "The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Green. Now there is a second book on this shelve of "most pleasure to read": "Introduction to Elementary Particles" by David J. Griffiths

Introduction to Elementary Particles
This is an impressive book, and I feel confident in recommending it based upon an initial careful scan.I bought this book to assist with developing a project proposal, and I have not yet had a chance to use it due to competing demands for my time.Never-the-less, I am confident I will be in good hands when I am ready to ask the Authors for their guidance.
(th)

Helpful, clear, readable.
Doing physics homework is rarely truly fun, but a good textbook can at least reduce the stress and confusion/frustration levels associated with working problems and learning material.This book is basically what I said in the title:Helpful, clear, and readable, which are three things that are essential in any informational book yet sadly lacking in so many physics textbooks.Excellent book.Also, there are amusing footnotes sprinkled throughout the text, including some anecdotes/commentaries on physics pillars such as Niels Bohr.

A great book to start with
Like what the other reviews have said, this book is the ideal choice for someone who is just starting their particle physics education. If you are interested in purchasing this textbook, I would recommend that you have some familiarity with quantum mechanics before attempting this book. You don't have to be a QM expert (although the more you know, the more you will be able to get out of this book). Griffith's book on quantum mechanics, while not the best, should be all you need. You can even get by covering both books at the same time...which is what I did. Other than that, an understanding of special relativity at the level of a standard modern physics course is all that is required.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to learn more about this exciting field of physics. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a graduate-level text - complete with 75 assigned problems - which covers a broad range of topics related to the fundamental properties of collective processes and nonlinear dynamics of intense charged particle beams in periodic focusing accelerators and transport systems. The subject matter is treated systematically from first principles, using a unified theoretical approach, and the emphasis is on the development of basic concepts that illustrate the underlying physical processes in circumstances where intense self fields play a major role in determining the evolution of the system. The theoretical analysis includes the full influence of dc space charge and intense self-field effects on detailed equilibrium, stability and transport properties, and is valid over a wide range of system parameters ranging from moderate-intensity, moderate-emittance beams to very-high-intensity, low-emittance beams. The statistical models used to describe the properties of intense charged particle beams are based on the Vlasov-Maxwell equations, the macroscopic fluid-Maxwell equations, or the Klimontovich-Maxwell equations, as appropriate. ... Read more

Product Description
The third edition of this well-received book is a readable introduction to the world of particle physics. It bridges the gap between traditional textbooks on the subject and popular accounts that assume little or no background knowledge. Carefully revised and updated, this new edition covers all of the important concepts in our modern understanding of particle physics. The theoretical development of the subject is traced from the foundations of quantum mechanics and relativity through to the most recent particle discoveries and the formulation of modern string theory. It includes a full description of the prospects for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which will allow many key ideas to be tested. The book is intended for anyone with a background in the physical sciences who wishes to learn more about particle physics. It is also valuable to students of physics wishing to gain an introductory overview of the subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Particle Physics
A good introductory book, but I was looking for more mathematical detail, or at least references to more detailed books. Nice historical background of particle physics.

Unever presentation ...
I cannot agree with many of the comments in earlier reviews of this book.To begin, the intended audience remains unclear.There is insufficient mathematics to get much of a feel for the topic and frequently the mathematical ideas which do appear fall from the sky with little or no warning.Even more troubling is that these concepts, crucial for any real understanding, are often left half done.This must leave many mathematically competent readers nonplussed and leave the mathematically challenged simply out in left field.

There are better, more modern, books out there for the technically inclined.This books is not even close to being "the best physics book ever".

Look at a library copy before buying.

for physicists outside particle physics
I knew one of the authors (Coughlan) when we were undergraduates at the University of Western Australia. So it was with some interest that I went through this book. While I can't tell which was his contribution and which was the other author's, the combined effort is an elegant rendition of particle physics, circa late 1980s.

A merit of the book is who it is pitched at. It is not really for a generalist outside physics. Rather, it seems best suited for the physicist (student or not) who is not in particle physics. Non-physicists may be surprised at this, but particle physics can seem strange and forbidding even to physicists. The text gives enough detailed physics to satisfy a physicist; that he is indeed getting enough of the real stuff to gain insight.

While the title does say it is for scientists, I wonder a little about how accessible the book might be to a typical chemist or geologist.

The best particle physics book! ever
This is such an up to date and accurate book I have never read a book that explains particle physics in such detail yet keeps the information understandable. If your are just starting out in particle physics read thisbook. It's brilliant!

Clear, concise, explanations accessible to undergrad student
Excellent use of figures and pictures in place of equations.Useful for an undergrad survey course, or as a reference for grad courses. Fred Olness, SMU ... Read more

Product Description
The second volume of this authoritative work traces the material outlined in the first, but in far greater detail and with a much higher degree of sophistication.The authors begin with the theory of the electromagnetic interaction, and then consider hadronic structure, exploring the accuracy of the quark model by examining the excited states of baryons and mesons.They introduce the color variable as a prelude to the development of quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong interaction, and go on to discuss the electroweak interaction--the broken symmetry of which they explain by the Higgs mechanism--and conclude with a consideration of grand unification theories. ... Read more

Product Description
The new edition of this introductory graduate textbook provides a concise but accessible introduction to the Standard Model. It has been updated to account for the successes of the theory of strong interactions, and the observations on matter-antimatter asymmetry. It has become clear that neutrinos are not mass-less, and this book gives a coherent presentation of the phenomena and the theory that describes them. It includes an account of progress in the theory of strong interactions and of advances in neutrino physics. The book clearly develops the theoretical concepts from the electromagnetic and weak interactions of leptons and quarks to the strong interactions of quarks. Each chapter ends with problems, and hints to selected problems are provided at the end of the book. The mathematical treatments are suitable for graduates in physics, and more sophisticated mathematical ideas are developed in the text and appendices. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Why would one pay more for a Kindle Copy?
I would expect to see fairness in pricing of Kindle Books as opposed to hard or paper bound copies of the same book.But on 12 Jul 2010, here was the price structure for each edition of the book:

Hardcover ....... $44.30
Kindle Edition .. $57.60
Paperback ....... $111.25

URL: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000URVA0M/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

Who is kidding who?

Kindle version is unacceptable due to missing symbols in formulas
This book is good, but I must complain about the typos that are in many formulas in the Kindle edition. I'm assuming that the real book doesn't have this issue. Many places the del operator is not there. Particularly, chapter 4 has all del operators missing. This chapter is on electromagnetic field theory which I understand well, and so can recognize the mistakes. The problem is that the other chapters I'm trying to learn and I can't be sure where the formulas are wrong yet. There are clear places where there are white spaces indicating a missing symbol, which I assume should be the del operator again, but I can't be sure.

I've reached a point where I'm fed up with paying almost full price for digital edition of books and getting an unacceptiable number of typos in formulas, or poorly formated formulas that are difficult to interpret. Since I get these books to learn, I can't tolerate being misinformed by the book I'm trying to learn from.

Review for An Intoduction to the Standard Model of Particle Physics
According to my opinion this book is well written and well organized and also quite short so that you are not lost in details.

Updated New Edition
In this second edition the authors have upgraded their book to incorporate recent discoveries in several areas including:

o the successes of the theory of strong interactions
o the observations on matter-antimatter asymmetry
o advances in neutrino physics, especially as it has become clear that neutrinos are not mass-less
o the theoretical concepts from the electromagnetic and weak interactions of leptons and quarks to the strong interactions of quarks.

The book is aimed at the graduate student in particle physics. It has a rigorous mathematical structure. After all, the Standard Model is basically a mathematical theory that describes the interactions between leptons and quarks.

Throughout the book there are many references to open questions that likewise reflect the state of the Standard Model.

workout with the Standard Model lagrangian

This book is about the experimental facts and the theoretical principles that lead to the construction of the Standard Model lagrangian. It is NOTabout calculating scattering crossections. Some of the problems ask you to calculate decay rates but only at tree level and the fields are treated like classical fields not operators, with the exception that the fermionic fields anticommute. There is a 12-page chapter on quantizing the fields and renormalization but I find it rather sketchy so don't expect to understand a lot from it if you don't already know it.

You should have some background in varying lagrangians otherwise the book will frequently seem difficult to you. The authors obtain symmetry currents corresponding to a symmetry of the lagrangian not in the standard way of Noether's theorem. Their method is entirely correct but it took me long time to understand because they didn't explain it with enough details the first time they used it(section 7.1, page 65). I think that will throw off the horse many readers.

The style is wonderfully concise which makes the logical structure easier to follow and there isn't the usual fluff `to motivate' things that are simply put guesses like the principle of local gauge invariance. On the other hand, some places definitely need more detailed explanations like signs of certain quantities or the symmetry currents I mentioned above.

The treatment of the Dirac equation and spinors is the least messy I've seen. The way they obtain the nonrelativistic limit of the Dirac equation with EM field is again the best and least messy I've seen.

The book has nice appendix on the groups of the Standard Model which covers what you need to know about SO(3), SU(2) and SU(3) in a very efficient way. There are about 5 problems after each chapter most of which have a solution outline at the end of the book.

Things I understood from this book:

-- why time reversal, space inversion and charge conjugation of fields are defined in a way that previously seemed to me quite arbitrary
-- how demanding local gauge invariance necessitates introduction of gauge fields which leads to interaction terms
-- how local gauge invariance can't be proven, it's just a guess that has worked so far hence it's called `principle' (my own interpretation)
-- global and local symmetry breaking, Goldstone bosons and Higgs boson
-- how the Lagrangian densities of the electroweak and strong interactions were constructed from the experimental input by demanding local gauge invariance and guessing the symmetry group to be SU(2) and SU(3) correspondingly
-- what's Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix that mixes the quark fields and how it arises
-- how symmetries of the lagrangian density lead to conservation numbers
-- how neglecting some terms in the lagrangian leads to effective lagrangian and effective theory
-- how to work with the terms in the QCD lagrangian where different matrices multiply different indices

... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

very nice overview
The first 8 chapters of this book are a superb overview of the mathematical underpinnings of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics, minus some of the more complicated aspects related to spin. You will need to have a background in special relativity and Lagrangian mechanics to understand the exposition, however. Symmetry breaking, electoweak mixing, and the Higgs mechanism are lucidly explained. The subsequent chapters calculate some of the more important and accessible results of the Standard Model using reasonable simplifications (again avoiding complications introduced by spin). After going through Griffiths' Introduction to Elementary Particles I found the first 8 chapters of this book an excellent refresher course which was concise enough to allow me see the forest for the trees. Five stars!

Excellent graduate-level introduction to particle physics
The typesetting and diagrams are humble, but this book delivers big. It was, for me, a superb refresher on real nuts-and-bolts particle physics. The book is a little dated: some of the unknowns, like the mass of the Top quark, are now known. Despite that, the content wears well.

It is absolutely essential to have a background in simple Lagrangian (& Hamiltonian) mechanics, and an advanced undergraduate intro to quantum mechanics course already well in hand. Also necessary is advanced science/engineering math, which would have come naturally in the quantum mechanics course.

Kane leads the reader through the standard model with smoothe explication, and presents mathematical derivation of many -- perhaps all -- crucial predictions of the standard model. His derivations have the merit of being in greatly simplified form, after which he states the "real" answer, which is always close. Best of all, the math had no errors that I could find. Wow.

This is a great text for a first-year graduate course in particle physics, but will require occasional in-class updates by the instructor.

Not for the professional, and not for the lay either.
My background is electrical engineering, so I'm not a physicist or a lay person. I thought this book would be perfect, but it wasn't. It started out well enough, and I was following along, relying on my knowledge of electrophysics, and Maxwell's equations. But I was soon in trouble, as Kane began to rely on a mathematical operator, the Lagrangian, one which I hadn't any experience. Thinking I had forgotten something, I went looking for it, but it wasn't in any of my old math books. OK, I'll just follow along, I thought, not trying to verify the results in my own mind. But soon I was in trouble, as Mr. Kane began just listing equation after equation, with little or no explanatory text to tie it all together. After a time, my interest waned; this was very frustrating, since I was tired of reading "popular physics" books, with their unsatisfying explanations, but I knew I wasn't ready for graduate level quantum physics texts since my physics background is not that sophisiticated. This book began with promise, but ended without its fulfillment.

I don't know what the answer is, except to warn readers to be versed in the Lagrangian before they get started.

Great Intuition
Great ! Great ! Great !This book is all about physics. The real physics... The physics is not lying in the trace theorems or in other technicalities of Quantum Field Theory but in simple, straightforward, physical arguments that arise from the basic principles ofrelativity and quantum mechanics. And Kane's book is all about that. As J.JSakurai once said, a student may be a leading expert in calculating stateof the art cross sections but if he/she cannot answer the simple questions,quickly and easily, then all is lost. Kane gives the reader the ability toquickly come up with answers for questions like "what do I expect thewidth for this particle to be", or "taking into acount thissymmetry how do I expect this cross section to behave". As Fermi said,dont start the long calculation if you dont have a quick and dirty firstresult that will guide you along the more rigorous and exact calculation.So this book is all about that and physicists from all backgrounds will beable to follow it. I think that the book can serve excelently as anintroductory graduate course before the hifh energy student moves to themore technical Field Theory books. In my opinion it is a disaster to jumpinto a rigorous Quantum Field Theory book before grasping the big pictureand understanding why the heck all the pain is needed for the longtheoretical calculations. And Kane's book serves this purpose. I am agraduate student at Stony Brook in experimental heavy ion physics and Ispent some gratifying evenings going through the pages of the book. Afterthe reading of this book interested readers in particle physics should alsoconsider the books by Chris Quigg and also the classic Halzen - Martinbook.The book touches upon all aspects of the standard model. I stronglysuggest it !

Excellent, very readable intro to the Standard Model
Particularly good are the first 8 chapters introducing gauge theories and the Standard Model.This isn't a field theory text - Kane doesn'tintroduce spin sums or trace theorems so he never fully calculates aprocess; instead, he relies on dimensional analysis to provide approximateresults.As a high energy theory student, I found this to be a drawback,but I guess that's what Peskin's book is for.Also, there are a fairnumber of minus signs and indices incorrect throughout the book (nothingserious, just a little annoying). ... Read more

Product Description
The Consortium for Upper Level Physics Software (CUPS) has developed a comprehensive series of Nine Book/Software packages that Wiley will publish in FY `95 and `96. CUPS is an international group of 27 physicists, all with extensive backgrounds in the research, teaching, and development of instructional software. The project is being supported by the National Science Foundation (PHY-9014548), and it has received other support from the IBM Corp., Apple Computer Corp., and George Mason University. The Simulations being developed are: Astrophysics, Classical Mechanics, Electricity & Magnetism, Modern Physics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Solid State, Thermal and Statistical, and Wave and Optics. ... Read more

Product Description
A revision of a successful junior/senior level text, this introduction to elementary quantum mechanics clearly explains the properties of the most important quantum systems. Emphasizes the applications of theory, and contains new material on particle physics, electron-positron annihilation in solids and the Mossbauer effect. Includes new appendices on such topics as crystallography, Fourier Integral Description of a Wave Group, and Time-Independent Perturbation Theory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Very dense and plain, but a solid text.
This text is well written in that it thoroughly covers each topic in well organized fashion, clear writing and understandable justification. One thing I have against this text is that its examples are somewhat simple and do not cover the application of the complex ideas presented in the chapter. I found it hard to solely use this text to answer the problem sets at the end of the chapter because of this.

Good condition
The book was in great condition and arrived on time, just as described in their ad.

The best for physics understanding
I think that this book on quantum physics is one of the best book ever written about the matter. I suggest this title for graduating students and for everyone that needs to improve or refresh its knowledge on quantum physics. Advice: it needs a previous study of quantum mechanics theory, but chapters about atoms, molecules and solids are very well done.

Great Intro, Plenty of Explanations of Natural Phenomena, Lacks Mathematical Rigor
Quantum physics is notoriously for crushing the enthusiasm of many a young physics student with a massive iron club of mathematics but this is a surprisingly gentle introduction that doesn't sacrifice the theory.

Quantum theory grew out of investigations into atoms and the basic approach of this book parallels that historical development, tracing quantum theory through the study of atoms, molecules, solids, and nuclei.Many other books simply toss chuck wave functions at you and hope that you learn to juggle quickly.Now, I'm a man who likes my theory but some motivation and links to observable effects are always refreshing.Unlike many quantum books, there are plenty of references to experiments and natural phenomena, including nice explanations of lasers, superconductors, semiconductor devices, and more.

The drawback to this abundance of explanations is that much of the mathematics gets swept under the rug.If you require a thorough derivation of every equation presented to you, expect frustration.The author's approach is to introduce many of the ideas of quantum theory, but not always provide a rigorous mathematical background.That said, this is a great starting point for understanding quantum theory but definitely not comprehensive.

The book also includes two sections on particle physics.Studying particle physics is already like visiting the zoo but doing so with this book is like visiting the zoo on a train.The authors fly through the material so quickly, trying to pack a massive amount of information into the final 100 pages of the book its almost unreadable at points.I'd recommend skipping it and saving yourself the confusion.

review
Not for self study. a fantastic book if you already have some grasp of elementary quantum mechanics and a real talent for following equation manipulation. ... Read more

Product Description
This unique book gives a unified presentation of the entire subject of particle physics, starting with a self-contained discussion of quantum field theory and going on with the symmetry and interaction of particles. It expresses the author's personal approach to the subject, and will be useful to beginning students as well as seasoned workers in the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The best.
This is the best by all means, matched by Weinberg's "Gravitation and Cosmology" and a few others.

Learn particle physics from a great master!
This is one of the best books I ever read. T.D. Lee, a distinguished Nobel prize winner, wrote this book so that bright chinese students could learn both quantum field theory and particle physics with little more than the book itself. It was a great success. The book is practically self contained, starting from classical point dynamics and going up to quantum chromodynamics, Weinberg-Salam, etc., in a very organized and pedagogical way, which doesn't exclude depth and great originality, even in much treaded soil. Don't think it has been superseded. You won't find such a delightful treatment of field theory and its applications anywhere else. This is my absolute favorite. ... Read more

Product Description
A treatment of the experimental techniques and instrumentation most often used in nuclear and particle physics experiments as well as in various other experiments, providing useful results and formulae, technical know-how and informative details. This second edition has been revised, while sections on Cherenkov radiation and radiation protection have been updated and extended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fast delivery, book in excellent condition.
The book was like new (as promised by the seller) and reached me in a very timely manner.

Nuclear Physics
On my opinion this book is very well developed with theoretical and practical information with exercises (examples) that helps in subject understanding and study. Would definitely recommend to everyone starting in college nuclear physics. Believe has data/information that can help to personal involved in research, development and engineering of nuclear physics.

Concise overview for the nuclear experimentalist
Leo's book is a good, concise and concerning standard methods especiallyin nuclear spectroscopy up-to-date summary of the field. The basic physicsideas are introduced, although not too deeply discussed (but this is a bookfor the experimentalist, therefore no objections). It is a helpfulcompanion in simple experimental considerations which come to anexperimental nuclear spectroscopist every day: The color codes of resistorsand the overview over the connectors in a CAMAC crate are examples forthese features.

Elaborate references are given for each section that makeit possible for the reader to find additional descriptions rather easily.Additional insight on dosimetry and radiation damage and some remarks onstatistics make this book an interesting alternative to G.F. Knoll's"Radiation detection and measurement".

The emphasis of Leo'sapproach is surely (a) on a concise overview rather than an in-depthdiscussion and (b) on nuclear spectroscopy (gamma and particle detection atsome MeV or so) rather than medium and large-scale high-energy physicsexperiments. Widely used components of high-energy physics equipment are,however, presented, but additional literature might be needed.

One finalremark to my fellow reviewer Fabio: One example for a "statisticalprocess" is e.g. the number of electron-hole pairs created in thedetection of a charged particle or gamma ray. This process is truelystatistical, i.e. it does not depend on things that the experimentator hasat hand. The intrinsic resolution of a high-purity Germanium detector withrespect to a, say, 3 MeV gamma ray cannot be changed (at least to a largeextent). Have a look into Leo's book if you don't believe me!

Quite deep overview, but statistics...
It's a good book: very good English, it treats quite everything from the point of view of CAUSES! It's full of precise references (good for the thesis!).

Expecially good topics: ionization and scintillation detectors;photomultipliers. Lacks: calorimetres and Cerenkov counters! For thesetopics I suggest: 'Particle Detectors' (many auth.), Cambridge UniversityPress.

Just one thing about statistics: you have always to substitutethis sentence:

''... because ofthe statistical nature of theprocess...''

with

''...because of the uncertainties related to theprocess, we choose to treat it as statistical...'' OK, it's a bit longer;but are you sure that all advanced physicians know that Caos does not existas a real entity? It's just a choice of the experimenter to supply lacks inunderstanding and measuring the process or to simplify it. If you don'tbelieve so, I ask you: why do you make research?Let's talk about it. ... Read more

Product Description
In Particles: A Very Short Introduction, best-selling author Frank Close provides a compelling and lively introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe. The book begins with a guide to what matter is made up of and how it evolved, and goes on to describe the fascinating and cutting-edge techniques used to study it. The author discusses particles such as quarks, electrons, and the neutrino, and exotic matter and antimatter. He also investigates the forces of nature, accelerators and detectors, and the intriguing future of particle physics. This book is essential reading for general readers interested in popular science, students of physics, and scientists at all levels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A good short introduction to Particle Physics.
This small 100 page book was just enough info for me on particle physics.I'm not interested in the heavy math, just to understand the characteristics of the particle families and how they interact.I enjoyed it, a good, simple read.I would try another subject in this same series.

Nice Little Book
It helps to have a little knowledge of chemistry and physics but overall a very good introduction!

Good intro
I agree with many other readers in that you could do worse in finding a book on Particle Physics.The book is not overly academic.Sometimes it can get a little detailed and requires some extra attention, but I feel the reader could forget these parts and still have a good basic idea of what particle physics is about.Someone who reads this will feel a little more in the know when they read news articles about the subject, or at the very least it may whet their appetite to learn more about the topic.

A great read which I highly recommend.

Particle Physics for the rest of us
One of the most intriguing and fascinating scientific stories of the 20th century has been the incredible advance in our understanding of matter in its most fundamental form. In a nutshell, the 20th century has seen the vindication of the atomic hypothesis: all of the nature, the matter and even the interactions of matter, can be reduced to a finite number of indivisible particles. It turns out that atoms, the original candidates for irreducible particles as their name suggests, are in fact composed of a myriad other particles which to the best of our knowledge and understanding are truly fundamental. Furthermore, we have discovered many other particles that cannot be found in an atom, and many of those turned out to be composites of other fundamental particles. Considering how many different kinds of these extra-atomic particles were discovered, it is quite remarkable that we were able to reduce this "zoo" to just a few basic ones. This book presents an interesting and accessible account of how we managed to get to this point. The book presents both the experimental and theoretical developments in Particle Physics that has led us to the point where we are at. The book is intelligible to anyone who has any interest in the subject, and it doesn't require any special mathematical knowledge. And yet, like most books in this series, it does not condescend to the reader but tries to educate him and bring him up to the latest in our understanding of this fascinating field. All of that makes this book an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Good Read!
This book provides a lively review of particle physics with illustrations. The introductory notes of each chapter are useful. Many interesting topics are covered, such as: the elementary particles of matter (electron and quark); strange particles, anti-matter and dark matter in cosmology; and the forces of nature (gravity, electromagnetic force, strong and weak force).

By the way, it is fascinating to know that we exist because of a series of fortunate accidents: the Sun burns at just the right rate; the stable protons (seeds of hydrogen) enables stars to cook the chemical elements essential for the Earth to be built; neutrons are slightly heavier than protons, which enables beta radioactivity and transmutation of the elements for the Sun to shine. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive textbook utilizes Green's functions and theequations derived from them to solve real physical problems insolid-state theoretical physics. Green's functions are used todescribe processes in solids and quantum fluids and to addressproblems in areas such as electron gas, polarons, electron transport,optical response, superconductivity and superfluidity.
The updated third edition features several new chapters on differentmean-free paths, Hubbard model, Coulomb blockade, and the quantum Halleffect. New sections have been added, while original sections havebeen modified to include recent applications.
This text is ideal for third- or fourth-year graduate students andincludes numerous study problems and an extensive bibliography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Comprehensive reference
If you're a condensed matter theorist, you'll want to have this book on your shelf to refer to.It is extremely comprehensive.If you're just starting out learning many body theory, I wouldn't recommend this book-- it doesn't give enough physical intuition, and because of its comprehensive nature, doesn't give you a good feeling for what is more or less important.I'd recommend reading Mattuck's "A Guide to Feynman Diagrams in the Many-Body Problem" and Bruus & Flensberg's "Many Body Quantum theory in condensed matter physics" first, and then reading Mahan.Now I'm rereading Mahan after reading Mattuck and Bruus, and I'm getting much more out of it than my first attempt.

If you got here, you probably need this as a reference
Dr. Mahan has crafted a veritable encyclopedia of results and methods in quantum many body and beyond.Much more complete that others, much clearer, less pedantic, it also has the advantage of not being too wedded to any particular formalism (like e.g. Fetter Walecka does with Green functions). Dr. Mahan, does not force unifying frameworks on the issue at hand, butinstead takes a more empirical approach, which allows him to present each problem in the most spontaneous and clear way. Highly recommended for all theoretical physicists.

Good Book for reference
It certainly deserves the title for encyclopedia. Has a lot of thing. Must keep if you are into into condensed matter physics.

But beware of misprints!! thats why 4 stars

Good book but so much money
This book is massive and covers a huge spectrum of material.Probably not cost effective in comparison to Fetter and Walecka unless you get it for under eighty bucks.I enjoyed it quite a bit until the Postal Service stole it from me.

Containing too many misprints.
Unfortunately, the 3rd edition of Mahan's book contains enormous number of misprints. Sometimes, it is impossible to understand what is meant by the author without consulting the previous edition. For example, in Sec. 4.1.5. the author refers in the text to the equation which apparently should be between Eqs. (4.126) and (4.127) but which had been omitted. At the same time, some evident drawbacks of the previous edition have not been corrected. For example, the definition of the thermodynamic average used in Sec. 3.6 is different from that used in the previous sections, although it is not mentioned in the text. Despite the book is an excellent introduction into the field of Many-Particle Physics, I would recommend to the customer to either buy the previous edition or to wait for a new one. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a practical introduction to the principal ideas in gauge theory and their applications to elementary particle physics.It explains technique and methodology with simple exposition backed up by many illustrative examples. Derivations, some of well known results, are presented in sufficient detail to make the text accessible to readers entering the field for the first time.The book focuses on the strong interaction theory of quantum chromodynamics and the electroweak interaction theory of Glashow, Weinberg, and Salam, as well as the grand unification theory, exemplified by the simplest SU(5) model.Not intended as an exhaustive survey, the book nevertheless provides the general background necessary for a serious student who wishes to specialize in the field of elementary particle theory. Physicists with an interest in general aspects of gauge theory will also find the book highly useful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent book
The book is written at a medium to advanced Physics level. Not an easy book for those who study the subject for the first time. Excellent for more advanced readers. Can also be used as e reference book.

Poor Binding
I have no issues with the contents: you should know QFT at the level of Weinberg Vol 1 and group theory at the level of Tung. If it were not for the construction of this book I would probably have rated it 5 stars. The cover and binding are what you would expect from a cheap five-dollar paperback. I wasn't reading it much longer than two ot three weeks before sections started to fall out. At the price its being sold, its poor quality is nothing but a crime.

Not so elementary
This book was "recommended" for an elective course in particle physics for PhD students at OSU.Having little to no experience in the field (besides simple modern physics topics like bubble chamber examples and time-dilated lifetimes of particles, etc.) I was hoping that I would get a better introduction.The book offers no such thing.It jumps right in with "Basics in Field Quantization" (which is hardly comprehensive) and then blows through everything in high gear. Considering that most students in physics haven't seen particle physics in their core sequence of coursework, I would not recommend this book for a course in particle physics unless the requisites for the course explicitly state that the student should have experience with field theory and an understanding of group theory.This is definitely a poor source for a student who is seeing the subject for the first time.For those who are more experienced in particle physics, I would expect that this book is a good reference, though I cannot say that for sure because I am not a member of such a group.

I also purchased the book of solutions to problems in this book.It sheds some light on the topic, but not much.Nonetheless, I won't sell this book because sometime down the road I might find it and its companion to be useful.

a classicto learn particle physics
The book presents the basics of the particle physics. I don't like the first of the book: field theory part is bad. But the rest of the book is very well written. It was very help for me to understand particle physics.

gauge theory of elementary particle physics
since field theory is not setisfectory in any sense the book seems to present it not as ugly. ... Read more

Product Description
Developing a theory that seamlessly combines relativity and quantum mechanics, the most important conceptual breakthroughs in twentieth century physics, has proved to be a difficult and ongoing challenge. Thisbook details how two distinguished physicists and Nobel laureates have explored this theme in two lectures given in Cambridge, England, in 1986 to commemorate the famous British physicist Paul Dirac. Given for nonspecialists and undergraduates, the talks transcribed in Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics focus on the fundamental problems of physics and the present state of our knowledge. Professor Feynman examines the nature of antiparticles, and in particular the relationship between quantum spin and statistics. Professor Weinberg speculates on how Einstein's theory of gravitation might be reconciled with quantum theory in the final law of physics. Highly accessible, deeply thought provoking, this book will appeal to all those interested in the development of modern physics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great book
Feynman's lecture is the simplest and the most intuitive explanation of the connection between spin and statistics that I have ever seen! This is a very readable book, no knowledge of quantum field theory is required, but a good understanding of relativity and quantum mechanics is essential for understanding the book. I think every physicist should read these lectures, although very simple, they add a lot to our understanding and even to our knowledge of fundamental physics.

Summary of Paul Dirac Memorial Lectures
This book is a summary of 1986 Paul Dirac memorial lectures delivered by physicists, Richard Feynman and Steven Weinberg. This book requires the knowledge of undergraduate level physics and perturbation theory, and it is described in two chapters; the first is by Feynman under the title "The reason for antiparticle." This section describes the first attempt of Dirac in 1928 to "wed" newly discovered quantum mechanics and theory of relativity. When relativity was included into Schrodinger's pure wave equations, the relativistic equation (Dirac equations) would only be satisfied if there were two solutions corresponding to positive and negative energy states, and in the case of the electron, an electron with a positive charge was required for negative energy state. Thus the existence of antiparticles (positron) was predicted as a direct result of combining the relativity with quantum mechanics. Paul Dirac was also able to explain the origin of the electron magnetic moment and spin. Feynman postulated one of the revolutionary thought in quantum field theory, that antiparticles could be viewed as particles going back in time. This should not be taken as a physical reality in which cause - effect sequence could be revered. Because during the Lorentz transformation the time sequence of two events gets reversed, one of them could not have been the cause of the other because the two events are outside each other's sphere of influence. In frame A, if event 1 occurs first and event 2 occurs after event 1, but in frame B, event 2 occurs before event 1. This is possible in relativity because the time ordering of two events is not an absolute concept; one event can be in the past of another event in one frame, and in its future in a different frame. An observer in frame A will see an electron before event 1, an electron between events 1 and 2, and an electron after event 2, but in frame B, he will see one electron before event 2 and only one electron after event 1.

In the second part under the title, Toward the final laws of physics, Steven Weinberg discusses the developments in physics to explain physical reality with one set of physical laws. This has lead to several unsuccessful theories to unify relativity and quantum physics, finally leading to String theory.

Paul Dirac believed that physical laws should have mathematical beauty. Both Feynman and Weinberg have made beautiful theories. Weinberg played a key role in the unification of electricity and magnetism with the weak forces of radioactivity, and Feynamn expanded the understanding of quantum electrodynamics; they were best suited to deliver the Paul Dirac memorial lectures.

1. Paul Dirac: The Man and his Work
2. Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac: Reminiscences about a Great Physicist
3. Dirac: A Scientific Biography
4. Lectures on Quantum Mechanics
5. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)
6. Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character
7. Positron Physics (Cambridge Monographs on Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physics)
8. Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature
9. QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Princeton Science Library)
10. Cosmology

Tougher than the Lectures on Physics
When I readThe Feynman Lectures on Physics including Feynman's Tips on Physics: The Definitive and Extended Edition, I was hoping to understand the reasoning behind the exclusion principle, and was disappointed to find that RPF felt that this was too complex for undergraduates, so he asked them to take it on faith for the moment.

Here he is talking to a more advanced audience, and explains it - he was right, it's tough.I'm still struggling to understand it, but I have confidence that this is a good book to help.

[Added nearly a year later] Having reread the book several times, I finally understand Feynman's lecture!As is often the case, once I understand the principle, I see relationships to various other things I had not fully understood before.

I should also comment on Weinberg's lecture: he's talking about more speculative areas than Feynman, which is perhaps one reason I found him less enlightening than Feynman, but in a rather vague way I follow what he's saying.Certainly these are fascinating ideas, but they don't sing to me like Feynman's lecture.

Recommended
From Richard Feynman, with love. Need more to be said? Read it, and read it again. This one can be read all over again once in a while and does not get boring.

Great Lectures.Requires Math Background.
This short book, Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics, offers two lectures: Richard Feynman's The Reason for Antiparticles and Steven Weinberg's Toward the Final Laws of Physics. These two talks comprise the 1986 Dirac Memorial lectures at Cambridge University. Both presentations are cogently structured and make fascinating reading.

The talks were directed at an advanced audience, one that was familiar with quantum mechanics. Unlike many popular presentations by Feynman and Weinberg, these lectures are not suitable for the general layman.

However, these lectures are accessible to a persistent (perhaps, stubborn) layman with a calculus background and a deep interest in particle physics. I am not a physicist, but I did take my share of physics, chemistry, and math courses several decades ago. I encountered Schrodinger's equation in more than one class, but not relativistic quantum mechanics. However, having recently read Bruce Schumm's wonderful review of particle physics (titled Deep Down Things), I was sufficiently motivated to work my way through both Dirac memorial lectures.

Richard Feynman's lecture, The Reason for Antiparticles, is decidedly the more difficult. Feynman first demonstrates that quantum mechanics and relativity together require the existence of antiparticles, and then shows that they also establish the spin-statistics connection. Within a few pages advanced mathematical expressions appear and then persistently stay in the foreground for nearly the entire talk.

Although understanding Feynman's mathematics is critical for a full and deep appreciation of his exposition, with careful, repeated readings the stubborn layman will have sudden moments of enlightenment and can come away with a deeper understanding of antiparticles and spin statistics.For readers engaged in some self-tutorial readings, it may prove helpful to return occasionally to this classic Feynman lecture to qualitatively measure progress.I have no doubt that, on a deeper level, Feynman's lecture will similarly challenge and enlighten physics majors as well.

Steven Weinberg discusses his speculations on the shape of a final underlying theory of particle physics.Initially, his talk is deceptively easy as few mathematical expressions are used.However, about midway a Lagrangian density equation appears, ratcheting the difficulty several notches, as Weinberg considers a theoretical framework based on quantum mechanics and a few symmetry principles, that is also mathematically consistent with the Lagrangian dynamical principle. After discussion of some limitations of the Standard Model, Weinberg concludes his talk with a somewhat mathematical introduction to string theory. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides a collection of up-to-date lectures on the physics of CP violation. As such it covers all relevant modern fields of elementary particle, nuclear and astrophysics. Special attention is paid to the neutral meson systems and the recent confirmation of CP violation in the B meson system. The theory and the novel methods needed for these experiments are given in detail. The classical and ongoing searches for the electric dipole moment of the neutron and other null tests of time-reversal symmetry are included. An elementary introduction is given to the astrophysical implications of CP violation, to tackle the puzzle of matter--antimatter asymmetry in our Universe. The aim of the book is to present recent achievements and discuss future developments in a way accessible to both postgraduate students and nonspecialist researchers. For the experienced researcher, the book will serve as a modern source of reference on this topic. ... Read more

Product Description
Written by one of the world's leading theoretical physicists, this comprehensive volume offers a thorough overview of elementary particle physics and discusses progress in the field over the past two decades. The book forges links between new theoretical concepts and long-established facts in a style that both experts and students will find readable, informative, and challenging. A special section explains the use of relativistic quantum units, enabling readers to carry out back-of-the-envelope dimensional estimates. This ambitious book opens the door to a host of intriguing possibilities in the field of high-energy physics. ... Read more