The Matter of Everything

一段令人惊讶、引人入胜的实验之旅，它不仅揭开了物质的本质，塑造了我们对宇宙的理解，而且永远改变了我们在其中生活的方式。

"一本关于物理学基本问题的书，从我以前未曾接触过的观点写起：实验者的观点。一个辉煌的想法，生动的执行。" 菲利普·普尔曼，《黑暗材料》的畅销书作者

物理学一直在寻求加深我们对物质的性质和我们周围世界的理解。但你如何对存在的基本构件进行实验？你如何操纵比沙粒小一万亿倍的粒子？你如何使一个质子每秒绕着一个27公里长的环路航行11,000次？而且，关键是，为什么这一切都很重要？

在《万物之灵》中，加速器物理学家苏西·希希向我们介绍了那些通过天才、毅力和运气的结合，上演了改变历史进程的实验的人们。从德国实验室偶然发现X射线，到科学家们试图证明爱因斯坦是错的（并无意中证明他是对的），再到分裂原子的竞赛，这些杰出的实验导致了科学上一些重大的突破，并从根本上改变了我们的生活。它们帮助我们探测了火山深处的熔岩流，开发了诊断成像和放射治疗等拯救生命的医疗技术，并创造了广播、电视、微波、智能手机··甚至万维网本身——以及其他无数的进步。

一路走来，希希拉开帷幕，揭示了物理学是如何真正完成的··不仅是理论家用充满方程式的黑板，而且是实验家用手工吹制的玻璃、热气球和大教堂大小的电子产品。万物之灵》庆祝了人类的聪明才智、创造力以及重要的好奇心，是一个鼓舞人心的发现故事，并有力地提醒人们，进步是我们求知欲的一种表现。

A surprising, fascinating journey through the experiments that not only unlocked the nature of matter and shaped our understanding of the cosmos but also forever changed the way we live within it

"A book about the fundamental problems of physics written from a viewpoint I hadn't come across before: that of the experimenter. A splendid idea, vividly carried out." ·Philip Pullman, best·selling author of His Dark Materials

Physics has always sought to deepen our understanding of the nature of matter and the world around us. But how do you conduct experiments with the fundamental building blocks of existence? How do you manipulate a particle a trillion times smaller than a grain of sand? How do you cause a proton to sail around a twenty·seven·kilometer·long loop 11,000 times per second? And, crucially, why is all this important?

In The Matter of Everything, accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged the experiments that changed the course of history. From the serendipitous discovery of X·rays in a German laboratory to the scientists trying to prove Einstein wrong (and inadvertently proving him right) to the race to split open the atom, these brilliant experiments led to some of the most significant breakthroughs in science and fundamentally changed our lives. They have helped us detect the flow of lava deep inside volcanoes, develop life·saving medical techniques like diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy, and create radio, TV, microwaves, smartphones··even the World Wide Web itself··among countless other advancements.

Along the way, Sheehy pulls back the curtain to reveal how physics is really done··not only by theorists with equation·filled blackboards but also by experimentalists with hand·blown glass, hot air balloons and cathedral·sized electronics. Celebrating human ingenuity, creativity and above all curiosity, The Matter of Everything is an inspiring story of discovery and a powerful reminder that progress is a function of our desire to know.