Before the data -- Restart -- High energy -- Standard Model -- Rumours and limits -- First Higgs hints and some crazy neutrinos -- Closing in -- Discovery -- What next?
Summary:
A vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider.”—Peter Higgs The discovery of the Higgs boson has brought us a giant step closer to understanding the fabric of our universe. But before the Higgs was found, its existence was hotly debated—and only a multi-billion-dollar machine could resolve the many vying theories on this fundamental question: Why do some particles have mass? In this first insider account of the spectacular inaugural experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, physicist Jon Butterworth captures a moment unlike any other in the annals of science—when the entire field of particle physics hinged on a single theory, and one experiment would prove or disprove the life’s work of the world’s most esteemed theoretical physicists. Most Wanted Particle deftly chronicles how scientists “replayed” the Big Bang by smashing subatomic particles at unthinkable speeds—and explains why, after our first glimpse of the Higgs, physics will never be the same.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.