About the Author

William B Rolnick, a former student of Robert Serber at Columbia University, has been a professor of physics at Wayne State University for more than three decades. During that time, he has done significant theoretical research and written an insightful and celebrated textbook on particle physics. A premier teacher at that university, he was awarded the highly prestigious President's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1999, the only recipient from the College of Science in that year. Professor Rolnick is also a professionally trained operatic bass baritone; he is a soloist with The Metropolitan Singers, and has also given many solo recitals in the Detroit area. His understanding of song has been adapted to the creation of the poetic aspects of the present work.

This is a book that sings about the beauty of the fundamental laws of nature. Clear, accurate descriptions for general science readers (no equations in sight!) are punctuated with original, scintillating verses. The reader is taken on a journey through the contemporary understanding of the building blocks of nature and their interactions — the current status of that age-old, intriguing quest. The central role of symmetry is explained in a manner suitable for general science readers, and its splendor is celebrated in verse. The book facilitates understanding of the background and significance of today's scientific discoveries in atomic, nuclear and particle physics. Many of the poems appear as interludes that reinforce the discussions as they amuse the reader, making this informative book a delight to read.

Contents:

• The Journey Begins:
• About Questions and Answers
• The Matter We Know — Properties and Principles
• The Relativity of Space and Time
• The Quantum Properties of Nature
• Quantum Mechanical Reality
• The Particles of Matter
• The Basic Interactions
• Particle Symmetries:
• Spacetime Symmetries
• "Internal" Symmetries — Isotopic Spin
• Particle Flavors
• A Larger Flavor Symmetry — Entrance to the Land of Quarks
• On to the Standard Model and Beyond:
• About Gauge Theories
• The Strong Interaction — Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
• The Weak Interaction — The Foot-Hills
• The Electroweak Interaction and the Standard Model
• Above and Beyond
• The Experiments — Exploration and Discovery:
• The Role of Experiments and Experimentalists
• The Experimental Connection
• Particle Accelerators and Detectors

"I read Remnants of the Fall with great enjoyment. With whimsy and charm, this book provides a delightful way of introducing readers who are interested in science to a contemporary understanding of some of the deepest questions in nature ... a book of substance, celebration and amusement."

"What a delight to open up a book on particle physics and find poetry and humor liberally used to engage and ultimately impart understanding to readers across a wide spectrum of disciplines. I had always heard that physicists were artists at heart ... Remnants of the Fall is clear proof."

"A charming and minimally technical description of the great progress during recent decades in learning the fundamental constituents of all that we see ... irreverence and poetic form are nicely integrated with the science to help readers enjoy the presentation."

"Remnants of the Fall is a remarkable book ... with a number of delightful poems. It is rarely that the fine arts and good science come together. The panorama from the initial state of the Universe (the Big Bang) to the observed matter of today is surveyed and the idea of a hierarchy of symmetries 'broken' successively is well exposed. This book will serve as an excellent source for real physics ... a valuable and delightful presentation."

"Rolnick's relaxed and humorous approach features dozens of clever poems always related to the physics under discussion ... his book is appropriate for anyone with an interest in particle physics and might be particularly appealing to those with a literary background. The fairly extensive glossary of terms should be helpful to many readers because a large amount of rather involved and unfamiliar material is discussed ... Highly recommended for general readers; lower division undergraduates through professionals."

“Rolnick does a solid job of discussing the equipment — particle accelerators and detectors — by which modern physicists attempt to explore the deepest secrets of matter … An entertaining survey.”