ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
Building Blocks of Matter
by Harald Fritzsch (University of Munich, Germany)
Harald Fritzsch received his Doctoral Dissertation in Theoretical Physics from the Technical University of Munich in 1971. He was previously a Research Associate with CERN and has been serving as Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Munich since 1979. Professor Fritzsch won the prestigious Award of the Volkswagen Foundation in 1989 and the Medal for Science Publishing by the German Physical Society in 1994. He has held many general talks on problems of Physics and Astrophysics and is the author of the TV series “Microcosmos”. He is the president of the German Society of Medical Doctors and Scientists — the German model for the American AAAS and the British BAAS.
This highly readable book uncovers the mysteries of the physics of elementary particles for a broad audience. From the familiar notions of atoms and molecules to the complex ideas of the grand unification of all the basic forces, this book allows the interested lay public to appreciate the fascinating building blocks of matter that make up our universe.
Beginning with a description of the quantum nature of atoms and particles, readers are introduced to the elementary constituents of atomic nuclei: quarks. The book goes on to consider all of the important ideas in particle physics: quantum electrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics, the theory of strong interactions, the gauge theories of the weak and electromagnetic interactions, as well as the problem of mass generation. To conclude the book, the ideas of grand unification are described, and finally, some applications to astrophysics are discussed.
Your guide to this exciting world is an author who, together with the originator of the idea of quarks, Murray Gell-Mann, has played an important role in the development of the theory of quantum chromodynamics and the concept of grand unification.
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