At the Root of Things

At the Root of Things: The Subatomic World is a journey into the world of elementary particles—the basic constituents of all matter in the universe—and the nature of the interactions among them.

The book begins with a summary of pre-quantum physics and later tackles quantum physics, which is essential for the study of elementary particles. The book discusses the emergence of quantum theory from studies in heat radiation and the photoelectric effect as well as developments that led to the concept of duality between particles and waves. Also discussed is how quantum theory helped to better understand the structure of atoms and the discovery of particles that were not constituents of atoms, such as the positron and the muon.

Dozens of particles that were discovered experimentally in the 1950s and the 1960s are described along with fundamental particles—quarks and leptons. The book concludes with a discussion on fundamental interactions, the basic nature of quantum theories surrounding these interactions, and a discussion of how these interactions might be unified.

At the Root of Things: The Subatomic World is written in non-technical language making it accessible to a broad audience. It helps outsiders understand the subject in a non-mathematical manner and inspires them to learn more about this interesting field.