The Greatest Story Ever Told—So Far
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learning by seeing and, 19
Maxwell’s research on, 33–34, 36–43, 94
Newton’s research on, 22–24, 73–74
Plato’s cave allegory and role of, 13, 17, 19, 304
religion’s focus on, 19–20
speed of, equation for, 42
understanding our place in universe and changing understanding of, 20
wave theory of, 22, 23, 24, 73–74
Young’s double-slit experiment on behavior of, 74–76, 77, 88
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The (Lewis), 10–11
London, Fritz and Heinz, 195, 196
London penetration depth, 196–97
Lorentz, Hendrik, 69, 127
Lorentz force, 68–69
Low, Francis, 237
M
magnetic induction, Faraday’s discovery of, 26–27, 30, 36
magnets and magnetism
Faraday’s research on, 25–30, 37–38, 68, 195
Lorentz force and, 68–69
Maxwell’s research on electricity and, 36–39, 48, 94, 218, 219
Maiani, Luciano, 234
Manhattan Project, 31, 129
Marsden, Ernest, 116
Marshak, Robert, 147, 162–64
mass gap, in superconductivity, 187
massive vector mesons, 193–94, 211
Maxwell, James Clerk, 33–43
background of, 34–35
displacement current used by, 37
Einstein on Galileo-Maxwell paradox, 48–54, 58, 64–65
electromagnetic wave measurements of, 39–43, 46, 50–51, 68, 74, 109
impact of research of, 33, 35–36, 48
light as focus of research of, 33–34, 43, 94
meetings with Faraday, 36
Saturn’s rings and, 36
theory of electricity and magnetism of, 36–39, 48, 94, 218, 219
Maxwell’s Equations, 38, 43
McIntyre, Peter, 251
Meissner, Walther, 195
Meissner effect, 195–96, 197, 200
mesons
Heisenberg’s naming of, 144
massive vector, 193–94, 211
muon discovery and, 148–49
Powell’s research on, 154, 162
quark-antiquark pairs in, 233–34
Yukawa’s discovery of, 144–47
Mills, Robert, 171, 172, 231
gauge symmetry and, 171–74, 175, 188
Yang’s collaboration with. See Yang-Mills symmetry
Minkowski, Hermann
background of, 65
Einstein’s reaction to research of, 68
four-dimensional “space-time” theory of, 66–68, 71
Minkowski space, 67–68
M-theory, 288
motion
Galileo’s exploration of, 45–48, 49, 70, 97, 168, 245
as key to a new reality, 70
muon neutrinos, 132, 133
muons
Carl Anderson’s discovery of, 132
decay of, 61, 152, 160, 162, 179
Higgs condensate and, 217
Higgs particles and, 254
quark families with, 247
symmetry pairing of, 234
time dilation in detection of, 61
tracking of, 223–24
N
Nambu, Yoichiro
background of, 188
quarks and, 233
skepticism about ideas of, 202
superconductivity research of, 188–89, 191
symmetry breaking and, 183, 188, 189, 200, 202, 204, 207, 214
Weinberg’s research and, 214
Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons, 188–89, 199–200
natural selection, 5, 20
Nature (journal), 118, 128, 148
Neddermeyer, Seth, 146, 147
Neptune, prediction of existence of, 94
neutral currents
difficulties in testing, 226
Gargamelle search for, 223, 224–25
Glashow’s research on, 222, 225, 234
neutrinos and, 222, 223, 224, 225, 228
quarks and, 234
neutrino astrophysics, detectors in, 280–81, 286
neutrinos, 139
electron pairing with, in quarks, 234–35, 246–47
exploding stars and release of, 280
Fermi’s naming of, 123, 127, 130
gauge bosons and, 277
interaction in human body, 136
muon decay and, 61, 132, 133
muon tracking experiments using, 223–24
neutral current interactions and, 222–23, 224, 228
neutron decay and, 131, 132, 143, 145, 166, 176
Pauli’s discovery of, 122–23, 130
spin angular momentum of, 164, 166
Sun proton interactions producing, 136, 280–81, 298
W particles and, 253
Z particles and, 220, 221–22, 225
neutron decay, Fermi’s research on, 127–29, 130–32, 136, 142, 143, 145–46, 149
neutrons
beta decay of, 120, 122
Chadwick’s research on, 118–19
decay of, 113
human radioactivity from instability of, 113, 120
Joliot-Curies’ experiments on, 117, 118
measurements of mass of, 119
Pauli’s research on, 122–23
Newton, Isaac
fascination with religion held by, 21–22, 43
gravity and, 5, 27–28, 38, 48
Keynes on importance of work of, 20–21
law of motion of, 48, 72–73, 245
light as focus of research of, 22–24, 31, 39, 73–74
Maxwell compared with, 33
New York Times, 259, 271
Nobel Prize laureates, 80, 85, 98, 99, 105, 116, 118–19, 123, 127, 128, 130, 134, 136, 142, 148, 153, 158, 161, 169, 175, 177, 183, 184, 186, 193, 204, 205, 211, 213, 218, 228, 235, 239, 245, 254, 262, 271, 279, 281, 295
Noether, Emmy, 169–70
Noether’s theorem, 170, 171
nuclear bomb research, in Manhattan Project, 129
nucleus
neutron and proton mass and stability of, 120–21
potential dangers in releasing energy of, 129
Rutherford’s discovery of existence of, 114, 116
O
observer effect, in quantum mechanics, 90
Occhialini, Giuseppe, 147–48
Oersted, Hans Christian, 25–26, 27, 36, 38
Onnes, Kamerlingh, 184
Opticks (Newton), 24
Overbye, Dennis, 271
P
Parisi, Giorgio, 238
parity doubling, 157, 158–59, 162, 168
parity violation, 158–59, 160, 161, 162, 163, 168, 175, 179, 228
particle astrophysics, 289
partons, 233, 237
Pauli, Wolfgang, 127, 151, 160, 175
exclusion principle of, 123, 127
Fermi’s research and, 127
Heisenberg’s research and, 85–86
neutrinos and, 130
neutron research of, 122–23
parity violation and, 161
personality of, 123
Perlmutter, Saul, 295
phase transition, 183–84, 185, 291, 295, 296, 298
photoelectric effect, 80–81
photographic emulsions, tracking cosmic rays in, 147
photography
Maxwell’s work on, 33, 35
space and time interaction in, 56
supernovas recorded using, 279
photons. See also quanta
neutron decay and, 131, 132
Planck, Max, 78–81, 142
background of, 78
Einstein’s relationship with, 80–81
photons (quanta) research and, 78, 79–80
radiation research of, 78–81, 89, 115
research on nucleus makeup and, 115–16
revolutionary approach to research used by, 78–79
Planck�
�s constant, 79
Plato, 11–14, 15, 39, 65, 201
Plato’s cave allegory, 247, 273–74
Einstein’s relativity and, 65–66
experience of reality and, 11
history of science and, 13, 303
nature of scientific discoveries illustrated by, 15–17
philosopher likened to prisoner in, 12–13
role of light in, 13, 17, 19, 304
search for meaning as subject of, 11–14, 17
seeking the “good” in, 14
Young’s double-slit experiment with light and, 74–76, 77
Politzer, David, 239, 241, 245, 277
positrons, Carl Anderson’s discovery of, 94, 117
Powell, Cecil, 147–48, 154, 156, 157–58, 162, 189
Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Newton), 20–21
Principle of Least Time, 99
proton accelerator, CERN, 222–23, 251
protons, spin angular momentum of, 164
Pythagoras, 66
Pythagorean theorem, 66
Q
quanta. See also photons
Einstein’s research on photoelectric effect and, 81
electromagnetic interactions and, 103, 133
Planck’s research on, 78, 79–80
quantum chromodynamics (QCD), 241–43, 244–45
quantum electrodynamics (QED)
Feynman’s research on, 99, 102–6, 142, 175, 221, 235
gauge symmetry in, 111–12
renormalization and predictions using, 106
symmetry of electric charges in, 106, 107, 109
quantum mechanics, 3, 28, 245
antiparticles and, 97, 100, 102
behavior of electrons in, 92, 93–94
Bose-Einstein condensation and, 185–86
Dirac on need for new approach to, 98, 99
Dirac’s research on relativity and, 92, 95, 151
Einstein on probabilistic essence of, 81
Einstein’s use of probabilistic arguments and, 81
fermion behavior under rules of, 155
Feynman on understanding, 71
first use of term, 84
Heisenberg on his discovery of, 84, 85–86
Heisenberg uncertainty principle and, 86
issues with “interpretation” of, 72–73
measurement of system altering its behavior in, 77
observer effect in, 90
Pauli’s exclusion principle in, 123
spin angular momentum of particles in, 164
superconductivity and, 184
symmetry of electric charges and, 107
theoretical insights in development of, 151
theory of intensity interferometer and, 72
trip in strange, new country analogy for experience of, 83–84
wave function of the particle in, 87, 114–15
Young’s double-slit experiment and, 73, 76
quarks
Gell-Mann’s research on, 163, 193–94, 231–32, 233–34, 236, 240
Higgs boson emergence and, 256–57
origin of name, 193
Quinn, Helen, 277, 278
R
Rabi, I. I., 132, 148
radiation
cosmic microwave background (CMB), 290, 292–93
Dirac’s research on, 98, 114
Einstein’s research on, 81, 89
Planck’s research on, 78–81, 89, 115
radioactivity
artificial, 119, 128
Fermi’s research on, 125, 128
human bodies with, 113, 120
types of rays in, 119–20
in uranium, 119
relativity
antiparticles and, 97, 100, 102
clocks relative to moving objects (time dilation) research on, 58–61
Dirac’s research on quantum mechanics and, 92, 95, 151
impact of Einstein’s discovery of, 95
Minkowski’s four-dimensional “space-time” theory and, 66–68, 71
Plato’s cave allegory and, 65–66
ruler measurement example of, 65–67
religion
compatibility between science and, 21, 22
early pioneers in science and belief in, 21–22, 43
Galileo’s belief about Earth and rest and, 45, 46–47
longing as ultimate motive for exploration in, 6
role of light in, 19–20
renormalization, 105–6
Republic (Plato), 11. See also Allegory of the Cave
Riess, Adam, 295
Roosevelt, Franklin D., Einstein’s letter to, 129
Ross, Graham, 204
Royal Institution, 25, 26, 36
Royal Society, 23, 24, 25, 35, 118
Rubbia, Carlo, 251, 252–54, 262, 270
Rutherford, Ernest, 114, 116, 118, 119–20
S
“sacred,” concept of the, 2, 14–15
Sakurai, J. J., 192–93, 211
Salam, Abdus, 183, 204, 214, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 225, 228
Saturn’s rings, Maxwell’s theory on, 36
Schmidt, Brian, 295
Schrieffer, Robert, 184, 188
Schrödinger, Erwin, 85, 86, 87, 92, 93, 95, 98, 99, 151
Schwinger, Julian, 99, 142, 175–77, 178, 184, 202, 203, 205, 212, 215, 216, 221
science
compatibility between religion and, 21, 22
concept of the “sacred” and, 2, 14–15
creativity and, 51
curiosity-driven research in, 26
intellectual consistency in, 22
longing as ultimate motive for exploration of hidden world in, 6
religiosity of the early pioneers in, 21–22
understanding our place in universe using, 30
scientific method, 3, 14
Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics, 203–4
Sommerfeld, Arnold, 85, 134
Special Theory of Relativity (Einstein), 68, 80
speed of light
Einstein’s research on clocks relative to moving objects (time dilation) and, 58–61
Fizeau’s formula for, 42
shared reality and, 56
Standard Model
creation and verification of, 245, 249
Higgs field and, 271
Higgs particle mass and, 254–55
limitation of, 5
neutrino masses and, 281
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC), 223, 226–27, 228, 232–33, 237, 238, 239, 241, 244, 245
statistical mechanics, 35–36, 127
Sudarshan, George, 162–63, 164
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), Canada, 281
Sundaresan, M. K., 135
Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), 260–62, 278
superconductivity
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of, 187, 188
discovery of, 184
initial lack of recognition of importance of, 200
spontaneous symmetry breaking in, 189
superconductors
high-temperature, 194–95
Meissner effect in, 195–96
Super-Kamiokande detector, Japan, 280, 281
supernovas
Chandra’s theory on, 153
neutrinos in, 279–80
Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), CERN, 251–52, 260, 262
Symanzik, Kurt, 237
symmetries
chessboard analogy to explain conservation of energy in, 107
electric charges in quantum electrodynamics (QED) with, 106, 107, 109
of physical law with time, 106–7
symmetry breaking
examples of, 182–83
Goldstone bosons in, 214
Higgs’s research on, 205–6, 207
massless particles and, 202–3, 205, 246
Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons and, 188, 189
Nambu’s research on, 183, 189, 200, 202, 204, 207, 214
Weinberg’
s research on nuclear masses using, 214
T
tau particles, 157, 158, 247, 272
Taylor, Richard, 232–33
Telegdi, Val, 160
Teller, Edward, 153
Tevatron, Fermilab (Batavia, Illinois), 262–63
theta mesons, 154
theta particles, 157, 158
’t Hooft, Gerardus, 204, 220–21, 222, 223, 237
background of, 220–21
thorium, in nuclear decay experiments, 128
time dilation
Einstein’s research on clocks relative to moving objects and, 58–61
muon cosmic ray detection and, 61
Tomonaga, Sin-Itiro, 99, 142
top quarks, 247, 257, 258, 263, 284
Turner, Michael, 295
Twiss, Richard, 72
U
Universal Law of Gravity, 48
Universe from Nothing, A (Krauss), 3–4, 214, 289–90
uranium
nuclear decay experiments using, 128, 129
radioactivity in, 119
Ussher, Bishop James, 133
V
van der Meer, Simon, 252, 254
van Gogh, Vincent, 55–56
V-A theory of weak interaction, 164
vector mesons, 193–94, 211
vector spin, 193
Veltman, Martinus (“Tini”), 203, 204, 220, 221, 223, 237
W
wave function of particles, 77, 87
Heisenberg’s uncertainty relation on, 89–90
mathematical behavior of groups or pairs of particles and, 155–56
specific frequency of, for each particle, 90
wave theory of light
Newton and, 22, 23, 24
Young’s double-slit experiment with light and, 73–76, 77–78, 88
W bosons, 216–17, 250, 254, 271
weak interaction
Fermi’s theory of, 161, 162, 164
V-A theory of, 164
Weinberg’s research on, 215–18, 219, 221, 223, 225–26
Weinberg, Steven, 204, 212–18, 276, 277, 278, 296
background of, 212–13
electroweak unification model and, 222, 228
Glashow’s research and, 212–13, 218
Krauss’s education and, 213–14
quantum field theory and, 214
research approach of, 213–14
response to paper of, 219
symmetry breaking and, 214–16
weak interaction theories of, 215–18, 219, 221, 223, 225–26
Z boson discovered by, 217
Weinrich, Marcel, 160
Weisskopf, Victor, 160, 202, 269
Weyl, Hermann, 110–11
Wieman, Carl, 186
Wigner, Eugene, 158, 169
Wilczek, Frank, 36, 238–39, 240, 241, 245, 277, 293
Wilson, Robert R., 30–31, 261
Witten, Edward, 238, 283
W plus and W minus bosons, 216. See also W bosons
Wu, Chien-Shiung, 159–60, 161
Y
Yang, Chen-Ning, 152–53
background of, 152–54
parity doubling concept of, 157, 158–59, 161, 168