The Theory of Almost Everything

Book Description

The Standard Model is the most important theory in modern physics. It is the tried-and-true theory of all known physical interactions, with the exception of gravity. Outside of scientific circles it is not nearly as well known as string theory or chaos theory. But it is more important than both, and it is absolutely essential to understanding where we are heading next in physics. Physicist Robert Oerter reveals the Standard Model to the general public.

Making use of rich analogy and metaphor, Oerter illuminates the quantum world of the Standard Model. He shows that although the theory seems absurd from a common-sense point of view, it nonetheless fully agrees with experiment. Oerter explores the conceptual framework of the Standard Model - what he considers its most fascinating aspect. He shows that different types of symmetry are at the heart of the theory.

After explaining the Standard Model's implications for the universe as a whole, Oerter takes readers to the edge of physics. He shows how new developments could alter the Standard Model. Experiments now running are searching for neutrino mass and the holy grail of particle physics, the Higgs boson. Grand unified theories, super-symmetry, preon theories, and string theory - although not verified by experiment - could be the next steps in theory.

Publisher Comments:

The most successful and important theory in physics today, fully explained to general readers

* This book does for the Standard Model what Brian Greene did for string theory

* Historical perspective begins in the 19th century and explains where we are today and where we are heading next

* Compelling writing full of rich metaphor and analogy, like Feynman's lectures

* 70 illustrations present concepts to readers visually

Although many people are talking about string theory, it may only amount to a passing fashion: It hasn't yet been confirmed by experiment, the real test. What has? Where do we really stand? Robert Oerter shows what the next step in physics will without question be based on: The Theory of Almost Everything; the single theory that has dominated particle physics for the past 30 years. Cobbled together by many brilliant minds throughout the 20th century, and modestly known as the Standard Model of Elementary Particles, it is the most wide-ranging and precise theory in the history of physics. From the chemical reactions that power all living things to the nuclear reactions that power the sun, except for gravity, it describes all known physical interactions.

From Publishers Weekly

The Standard Model of Elementary Particles (the "Standard Model" to those in the know) can explain nearly everything from the workings of the sun to the structure of, say, a garbage can, but it can't explain gravity, which is why physicists still have jobs. Oerter, in this highly accessible volume, explains the Standard Model to the everyman, using literary references and easy-to-follow analogies to make clear mind-bending physics principles. Subatomic particles got you down? Think about a BB gun and a Nerf ball. String theory? Why, it's similar to a guitar, of course. Oerter concedes "the Theory of Almost Everything has major deficiencies," especially in light of the recently discovered dark matter and dark energy, and physicists are closer than ever to discovering the Theory of Everything that will supplant the Standard Model, but this relentlessly informative and digestible primer on just about everything should appease armchair scientists in the meantime.

About Author

Robert Oerter teaches physics at George Mason University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. He has done research in the areas of supergravity, especially as applied to superstring theories, and in the quantum mechanics of chaotic systems. He lives in Maryland.

Book Dimension :

length: (cm)23.1 　　　 　　　　　 　 width:(cm)16.1