Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics

"It should be remarked that the list of thumbnail sketches with pictures of particle physics personalities including contemporaries as seen through the eyes of the author is very impressive."

Reviews of the First Edition:

"Veltman's life spans the history of particle physics, from Antiparticles to Z bosons. So does his crystal clear book, which tells all you want to know about the strange sub-nuclear world and the stranger scientists that study it ... a thrilling tale about the world's tiniest things."

"I must congratulate you! The book you have written is truly a masterpiece. Not only have you explained the physics of the world of elementary particles to the young aspiring student, but you have made it available to the intelligent layman. On top of that you gave it the humanity it deserves; reading this book brought me back to the most exciting period of my life in which every day brought a new discovery and we all fought for recognition. I can truly say that there is no book like this."

"Veltman's ... transparent explanations of the abstract theories of quantum mechanics and special relativity, his lucid accounts of esoteric subjects in particle physics, such as scaling, Higgs particle and renormalizability ... are very impressive. The book will interest anyone who is interested in the view of the physical world held by contemporary fundamental physicists."

"I greatly enjoyed finally reading a book that goes into the details I always wanted ... Veltman has the courage to try a deeper level about what we understand and what is simply fact ... Even if you have read books popularizing physics before, you have to read this one ..."

"Veltman seamlessly combines historical and thematic descriptions of particle physics, an approach that allows the reader to appreciate how experiment and theory interrelate ... I found the book to be immensely entertaining, and I recommend it highly to anyone looking for insight into the nature of elementary particle physics."

"Veltman gives an excellent impression of how science works and how the desire to penetrate into the unknown is what fires the enthusiasm of scientists. He also manages to explain the most abstract intricacies of particle theory without using any mathematics whatsoever ... I can fully recommend this book to students and interested lay readers, who will gain a fascinating insight into the sub-nuclear world — from a theoretical experimental and personal point of view."

"... the wonderful feature of the book is that it should be extremely useful to almost anyone with an interest in this field, ranging from high school students and interested laypersons to physicists in other fields. Enthusiastically recommended as an addition to any library."

"Students and lay people will find Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics superbly enlightening."

"... students and researchers in elementary particle physics should seriously consider having this book in their personal library, partly to be able to look at the many pictures and brief biographies of their favorite elementary particle physicists, and partly to learn Veltman's incisive thinking on obscure or unsettled areas in particle physics ... there are plenty of popular books on dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and cosmology, but relatively few straightforward yet fascinating popular books on elementary particle physics, so in this sense Veltman's book is exactly what is needed." "

"As an original scientist with decided views on matters, the author provides us with define insights into the conceptual framework and history of elementary particle physics. The whole book is enlivened by a series of vignettes, with photographs, including potted biographies of important participants in this part of science or personal recollections of them."

"All JSE readers, from the merely curious to the expert in the field of modern particle physics, should read this book ... For the layman, the book is very readable and fascinating. For the expert, it is just plain fun ... I would strongly recommend it to theoretical physics graduate students, even though they may be familiar with much of the content. Like other points of a fine jewel not seen before, Veltman's engaging style of writing will remind students of the value of looking at physics through another's well-trained eye. His style will also pique the layman's interest in the most fundamental discoveries of physics in modern times."

"The author's clear and transparent explanation of the abstract theories of quantum mechanics and special relativity without using any mathematics makes the book very impressive ... The book also contains many thumbnail sketches with pictures of particle physics personalities including contemporaries as seen through the eyes of the author."

Martinus Veltman, born in 1931 in Waalwijk, the Netherlands, studied at the University of Utrecht. He started as a fellow at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, and later became Professor of Theoretical Physics in Utrecht. Together with his then student 't Hooft he developed the mathematical implementation of gauge theories. In 1977 he deduced an equation that allowed a prediction of the mass of the top quark. In 1981 he accepted a position at the University of Michigan. After retirement he moved back to the Netherlands. The top quark with a mass as predicted was found at Fermilab in 1995, and in 1999 't Hooft and Veltman were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, "for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics".

Sample Chapter(s)
Introduction (577 KB)