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Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 4:30 pm
by MarkyB
Hi all,

Just thought I'd tell you about a book I've just read, Collider, by Paul Halpern. The sleeve note says "Halpern starts you off with a crash course in the essentials of physics. With clear explanations of the Standard Model, the four forces that govern the universe (weak, strong, gravity, and electromagnetism), and the vast array of particles already discovered using colliders, he helps you understand why scientists might be on the verge of confirming or disproving some of the predictions of string theory and how the LHC could help unlock the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy, supersymmetry, and portals to higher dimensions. You'll also find out why the theoretical Higgs boson is often referred to as the God particle and how its discovery could change our understanding of the universe".

I found the whirlwind tour of physics, particles and collider development quite easy to digest, with no maths apart from the usual E=mc2 (and even that is explained very well!). Great for the untrained / amateur physicist.

232 pages of text, plus detailed Notes, exhaustive further reading list, and an index. Published mid-2009, so quite timely and still relevant.
ISBN 978-0-470-28620-3

PS. Absolutely no mention whatsoever of "magnetic holes", whatever the heck they are!

Re: Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 4:31 pm
by MarkyB
Other physics-related books I've enjoyed...

Einstein's Universe, Nigel Calder - a layperson's guide to relativity.
In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, John Gribbin - a complete story of quantum mechanics.
Schrodinger's Kittens, John Gribbin - the nature of light and the search for reality.
Black Holes and Time Warps, Kip S Thorne - a detailed account of relativity and black holes.
The Arrow of Time, Peter Coveney & Roger Highfield - a study of the most profound aspect of time - why it points from the past to the future.
The End of Time, Julian Barbour - profoundly interesting questions about one of the most mysterious notions in science.

MarkyB

Re: Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 4:43 pm
by CharmQuark
MarkyB :D

Thank you so much for posting this :thumbup:

Emmylou :ugeek:

Re: Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:26 am
by Tau
You could also read a book by Underwood Dudley:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwood_Dudley
This guy investigates (mathematical) cranks. The books are fun to read, and help you to see certain people on this forum in perspective. :-)
For starters, here's a nice article by Dudley: http://web.mst.edu/~lmhall/WhatToDoWhen ... rComes.pdf

Re: Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:37 am
by tswsl1989
Scrodingers Kittens is well worth reading IMO
I haven't read In search of Schrodingers Cat, but I imagine that it is also well written.

Re: Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:44 am
by chriwi
I read "In search of Schrödingers cat" a long time ago and remember there were some more books of the "in search of ..." series, like "In search of the big bang" and "In search for the doubblehelix" (not exactly physics but biochemistry).
Maybe I should also read this one about shrödingers kittens.

Re: Physics Reading for Non-Physicists

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:46 am
by chriwi
Other good books about physics for non physicists are "The Quark and the jaguar" by Murry Gellman and of corse "A brife history of time" by the enemy of Ivan ;) .