Primes and Particles


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A Palette of Particles


Book Description

From molecules to stars, much of the cosmic canvas can be painted in brushstrokes of primary color: the protons, neutrons, and electrons we know so well. But for meticulous detail, we have to dip into exotic hues—leptons, mesons, hadrons, quarks. Bringing particle physics to life as few authors can, Jeremy Bernstein here unveils nature in all its subatomic splendor. In this graceful account, Bernstein guides us through high-energy physics from the early twentieth century to the present, including such highlights as the newly discovered Higgs boson. Beginning with Ernest Rutherford’s 1911 explanation of the nucleus, a model of atomic structure emerged that sufficed until the 1930s, when new particles began to be theorized and experimentally confirmed. In the postwar period, the subatomic world exploded in a blaze of unexpected findings leading to the theory of the quark, in all its strange and charmed variations. An eyewitness to developments at Harvard University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Bernstein laces his story with piquant anecdotes of such luminaries as Wolfgang Pauli, Murray Gell-Mann, and Sheldon Glashow. Surveying the dizzying landscape of contemporary physics, Bernstein remains optimistic about our ability to comprehend the secrets of the cosmos—even as its mysteries deepen. We now know that over eighty percent of the universe consists of matter we have never identified or detected. A Palette of Particles draws readers into the excitement of a field where the more we discover, the less we seem to know.




Prime Symmetry and Particle Physics


Book Description

Is it possible to take a set of particle masses and then work backwards to find a hidden symmetry? Does the Higgs Boson have a partner particle and might that particle solve the mystery of dark matter? Can the tiny masses of neutrinos be predicted? Prime Symmetry and Particle Physics begins with the understanding that the constant π does not have to be measured in spacetime: it can be calculated from a set of real numbers. Former PhD student, George Brewer explores the idea that if this is true of π, why not of other constants? A standard model of physics predicts interactions between quantum fields when particles scatter, but 26 numbers, dimensionless constants for force strengths and the masses of elementary particles, still need to be put into that model. Brewer proposes that many of those constants can actually be calculated from a single equation and a set of integer parameters – a theory that he calls the prime symmetry model. Comparing a set of measured constants against their calculated counterparts provides good evidence for the model's validity. Brewer opens the door for readers to join a select group with information that theorists and experimentalists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are yet to consider, offering them the opportunity to verify the model’s deceptively simple mathematics for themselves, simply by using an online scientific calculator. Inspired by Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Sean Carroll, Prime Symmetry and Particle Physics is an essential read for all particle physics enthusiasts. The book will also appeal to readers interested in the Higgs boson events at the LHC.




The God Particle


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Dubbed the "God particle" by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman, the Higgs boson is a hypothetical particle which, like divinity, is all pervading but undetectable. Scientists around the world race to find this clandestine particle. This book is about a different quest to find a different particle. This too is all-pervasive and totally clandestine. By revisiting the key experiments of the past, those that have shaped physics as we know it today, and re-assessing them in the light of a new theory based on a prime particle, we confirm the existence of the elusive God Particle. It's a particle belonging to an as yet undreamed of class of matter, many orders of magnitude smaller than anything we have even imagined. The theory based on this particle ultimately leads to an overarching but simple proposition that all of the phenomena of nature can be described in terms of one particle, one force and one law.




Particles and Fundamental Interactions


Book Description

The book provides theoretical and phenomenological insights on the structure of matter, presenting concepts and features of elementary particle physics and fundamental aspects of nuclear physics. Starting with the basics (nomenclature, classification, acceleration techniques, detection of elementary particles), the properties of fundamental interactions (electromagnetic, weak and strong) are introduced with a mathematical formalism suited to undergraduate students. Some experimental results (the discovery of neutral currents and of the W± and Z0 bosons; the quark structure observed using deep inelastic scattering experiments) show the necessity of an evolution of the formalism. This motivates a more detailed description of the weak and strong interactions, of the Standard Model of the microcosm with its experimental tests, and of the Higgs mechanism. The open problems in the Standard Model of the microcosm and macrocosm are presented at the end of the book. For example, the CP violation currently measured does not explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the observable universe; the neutrino oscillations and the estimated amount of cosmological dark matter seem to require new physics beyond the Standard Model. A list of other introductory texts, work reviews and some specialized publications is reported in the bibliography. Translation from the Italian Language Edition "Particelle e interazioni fondamentali" by Sylvie Braibant, Giorgio Giacomelli, and Maurizio Spurio Copyright © Springer-Verlag Italia, 2009 Springer-Verlag Italia is part of Springer Science+Business Media All Rights Reserved




Computer Simulation Using Particles


Book Description

Computer simulation of systems has become an important tool in scientific research and engineering design, including the simulation of systems through the motion of their constituent particles. Important examples of this are the motion of stars in galaxies, ions in hot gas plasmas, electrons in semiconductor devices, and atoms in solids and liquids. The behavior of the system is studied by programming into the computer a model of the system and then performing experiments with this model. New scientific insight is obtained by observing such computer experiments, often for controlled conditions that are not accessible in the laboratory. Computer Simulation using Particles deals with the simulation of systems by following the motion of their constituent particles. This book provides an introduction to simulation using particles based on the NGP, CIC, and P3M algorithms and the programming principles that assist with the preparations of large simulation programs based on the OLYMPUS methodology. It also includes case study examples in the fields of astrophysics, plasmas, semiconductors, and ionic solids as well as more detailed mathematical treatment of the models, such as their errors, dispersion, and optimization. This resource will help you understand how engineering design can be assisted by the ability to predict performance using the computer model before embarking on costly and time-consuming manufacture.




Reactor Materials


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You Can Count on Monsters


Book Description

This book is a unique teaching tool that takes math lovers on a journey designed to motivate kids (and kids at heart) to learn the fun of factoring and prime numbers. This volume visually explores the concepts of factoring and the role of prime and composite numbers. The playful and colorful monsters are designed to give children (and even older audiences) an intuitive understanding of the building blocks of numbers and the basics of multiplication. The introduction and appendices can also help adult readers answer questions about factoring from their young audience. The artwork is crisp and creative and the colors are bright and engaging, making this volume a welcome deviation from standard math texts. Any person, regardless of age, can profit from reading this book. Readers will find themselves returning to its pages for a very long time, continually learning from and getting to know the monsters as their knowledge expands. You Can Count on Monsters is a magnificent addition for any math education program and is enthusiastically recommended to every teacher, parent and grandparent, student, child, or other individual interested in exploring the visually fascinating world of the numbers 1 through 100.




Public Roads


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Proceedings of the 2014 Energy Materials Conference


Book Description

This DVD contains a collection of papers presented at EnergyMaterials 2014, a conference organized jointly by The ChineseSociety for Metals (CSM) and The Minerals, Metals & MaterialsSociety (TMS), and held November 4-6, 2014, in Xi’an, ShaanxiProvince, China. With the rapid growth of the world’s energyproduction and consumption, the important role of energy materialshas achieved worldwide acknowledgement. Material producers andconsumers constantly seek the possibility of increasing strength,improving fabrication and service performance, simplifyingprocesses, and reducing costs. Energy Materials 2014 has provided aforum for academics, researchers, and engineers around the world toexchange state-of-the-art development and information on issuesrelated to energy materials. The papers on the DVD are organized around the followingtopics: Materials for Coal-Based Systems Materials for Gas Turbine Systems Materials for Nuclear Systems Materials for Oil and Gas Materials for Pressure Vessels