by Edmund Wilson, 2001 Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198508298 (pbk), ISBN 0198520549 (hbk).
Having designed real accelerators himself and having spent the last nine years at the helm of the CERN Accelerator School, Edmund (Ted) Wilson is well placed to write this book, which is an excellent introduction to a fascinating field of activity.
The book provides students with an understanding of the basic physics of particle accelerators and conveys the flavour of their technology and applications. As such it fills a useful gap between journalistic descriptive works and landmark reference books, in that it treats the reader as an intelligent scientist or engineer, willing to invest some time in the understanding of the principles invoked, yet presents the information in an attractive and digestible form.
In this respect the introduction to the subject via the history of accelerators is certainly a good way to keep the reader interested while nevertheless introducing essential concepts. But, as we all know, to understand does not necessarily mean to learn, and the inclusion of a small set of exercises at the end of each chapter is an effective way of encouraging those who really want to learn about, rather than become simply acquainted with, the subject. Having the answers at the end of the book is a real encouragement to try the exercises.
After the historical introduction to the subject, the main body of the book is devoted to the behaviour of beams of particles and the methods that are used to focus, bend, accelerate and control them. In addition to classical linear theory, the mechanisms and problems associated with nonlinearities, resonances, space charge, instabilities and synchrotron radiation are all introduced.
There follows a well balanced description of the increasingly varied applications of these devices. The final chapter, giving an outline of promising ideas for accelerating beams of particles that have not yet resulted in practical machines, should stimulate students who are interested in pursuing this path into adopting or inventing new techniques to achieve evermore efficient machines.
This is not the only book on the subject, but it does serve as a well written and well balanced introduction – not only for students, but also for anyone drawn into the field in a related scientific, engineering or administrative capacity. The layout of the book is clear and the text is backed up with a wealth of good illustrations. Readers requiring a deeper insight into one aspect or another of the subject are invited to consult more specialized works, all of which are cited in the excellent bibliography.
