By John Marburger
Cambridge University Press
Hardback: £17.99 $29
E-book: $23
This is easily the best introduction to quantum theory and particle physics that I have ever seen. The book is remarkable both for what it covers and for what it does not. Unlike many recent popular books, this one avoids references to unproven hypotheses such as grand unification, supersymmetry, strings and extra dimensions. The total space devoted to these ideas is under two pages. Rather, the book describes the story of the development of physical theory from Newtonian mechanics through the changes that were required by relativity and quantum mechanics. It continues all the way through to a lucid description of the Standard Model, nuclear physics and the periodic table and conveys tremendous excitement at how far physics has advanced while sticking to what is really known. It presents a clear and deep account of the physicist’s view of the basic bits that make up the world and how they interact.
The author provides a great deal of mathematical detail, but this never requires anything beyond what would be expected of a high-school student or first-year university undergraduate. Even concepts such as complex numbers, vectors, matrices and Hilbert space are introduced just enough to make the basic ideas clear without getting bogged down in detail. If I hadn’t just read the book, I would have doubted that such a presentation would even be possible.
Each chapter has detailed notes and references at the end. These could easily lead a serious reader a good way into an undergraduate physics education. Without “dumbing things down”, the mathematical concepts are presented with clear physical insight and motivated by their necessity to understand observed reality.
One caveat is that there is little detail on experiments, but I think this sacrifice is worthwhile to maintain focus and keep the book to under 300 readable pages. Certainly the key role played by experiments in physics is made extremely clear. Perhaps the best single overall feature of the book from the view of a practicing particle physicist, is that you can give it to any bright person to give them a good idea of the field and not have them wondering which parts correspond to tested ideas and which are purely speculative.
Many friends and colleagues have asked me to point them to something that could give them a clear picture of what’s actually known and this is, in every way, just the sort of book I’ve wanted. Sadly, the author died this past July after having been director of Brookhaven National Laboratory and also director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy under US President George W Bush. I’d like to think of the book as a parting gift to those he left behind. He has done a real service to all of us in the field and I recommend the book heartily to everyone. I’ll certainly be buying quite a few for Christmas.
