Particle physics for non-physicists : a tour of the microcosmos

Description

Would you like to know how the universe works? The science that has found many of the answers to that profound and age-old question is particle physics, the study of those impossibly tiny particles with unbelievably strange names : bosons and leptons, quarks and neutrinos. Steven Pollock translates the language of the remarkable science that, in only 100 years, has unlocked the secrets of the basic forces of nature. You will become familiar with the fundamental particles that make up all matter, from the tiniest microbe to the Sun and stars. You will also learn the "rules of the game" (the forces the particles feel and the ways they interact) that underlie the workings of the universe. This course is designed to be enriching for everyone, regardless of scientific background or mathematical ability. Virtually all you will need to enjoy and benefit from it are curiosity, common sense, and "an open mind for the occasional quantum weirdness," according to Professor Pollock.  Read more... Abstract: Would you like to know how the universe works? The science that has found many of the answers to that profound and age-old question is particle physics, the study of those impossibly tiny particles with unbelievably strange names : bosons and leptons, quarks and neutrinos. Steven Pollock translates the language of the remarkable science that, in only 100 years, has unlocked the secrets of the basic forces of nature. You will become familiar with the fundamental particles that make up all matter, from the tiniest microbe to the Sun and stars. You will also learn the "rules of the game" (the forces the particles feel and the ways they interact) that underlie the workings of the universe. This course is designed to be enriching for everyone, regardless of scientific background or mathematical ability. Virtually all you will need to enjoy and benefit from it are curiosity, common sense, and "an open mind for the occasional quantum weirdness," according to Professor Pollock Content: Lecture 1. The nature of physics -- lecture 2. The standard model of particle physics -- lecture 3. The pre-history of particle physics -- lecture 4. The birth of modern physics -- lecture 5. Quantum mechanics gets serious -- lecture 6. New particles and new technologies -- lecture 7. Weak interactions and the neutrino -- lecture 8. Accelerators and the particle explosion -- lecture 9. The particle "Zoo" -- lecture 10. Fields and forces -- lecture 11. Three quarks for muster mark -- lecture 12. From quarks to QCD -- lecture 13. Symmetry and conservation laws -- lecture 14. Broken symmetry, shattered mirrors -- lecture 15. The November revolution of 1974 -- lecture 16. A new generation -- lecture 17. Weak forces and the standard model -- lecture 18. The greatest success story in physics -- lecture 19. The Higgs particle -- lecture 20. The solar neutrino puzzle -- lecture 21. Back to the future (1) : experiments to come -- lecture 22. Back to the future (2) : puzzles and progress -- lecture 23. Really big stuff : the origin of the universe -- lecture 24. Looking back and looking forward.