Higgs Force: The Symmetry-Breaking Force that Makes the World an Interesting Place

by Nicholas Mee

Higgs Force is a gripping account of the scientists who have revealed the hidden structure of the natural world. It is the story of the fundamental components of matter and the forces that bind them together; a tale that is woven around the symmetry at the heart of the universe and the mystery of how this symmetry is broken. The book is divided into three parts. The first three chapters provide the broad historical and philosophical context. The next three describe, in turn, each of the forces that are important in particle physics. The final three chapters are about the modern synthesis of the particles and forces and the search for the last missing piece in the particle physics jigsaw.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

330 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2012

Reviews

[Emma Sea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page 176. Page 176 is where it all started to go pear shaped for me. I always knew this book would be a stretch for me to understand, and the contents have now officially passed my ability to conceptualize. Imma keep ploughing on to the end, though, reading what I can grok....aaaand this was a sound decision, or I would have missed the fact that Bob Wilson would furtively draw designs for improved particle accelerators underneath the sketches of naked women he was supposed to be drawing in art classes in Paris.

Side note: quarks were nearly called aces. Not half as cool.

[WarpDrive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice introductory review of modern particle physics, leading to the Higgs field. The author demonstrates an amazing ability to explain, in a lucid and very accessible way, even the most difficult concepts such as spontaneous symmetry breaking.
While this book is certainly highly recommended to anybody interested in a non-mathematical introductory treatment of this subject, it is not at a sufficient level of detail if you are after a more quantitative and mathematical description (which I would have really loved and would have made this book a 5-star for me).

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good review of things , if you're already very familar with all this. One page about Higgs and a photograph