1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910817734403321

Autore

Fritzsch Harald <1943->

Titolo

The fundamental constants : a mystery of physics / / Harald Fritzsch ; translated by Gregory Stodolsky

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Hackensack, NJ, : World Scientific, c2009

ISBN

1-282-44138-8

9786612441387

981-281-820-0

Edizione

[English ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (214 p.)

Disciplina

530.8/1

Soggetti

Physical constants

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Preface; CONTENTS; Chapter 1 The Constants of Nature; Chapter 2 Elementary Interactions; Chapter 3 Elementary Interactions and Quantum Theory; Chapter 4 Atomic Nuclei and Particles; Chapter 5 Big Accelerators; Chapter 6 Colorful Quarks and Gluons; Chapter 7 The Standard Model; Chapter 8 The Standard Model and the Natural Constants; Chapter 9 The Grand Unification; Chapter 10 In the Garden of San Marino; Chapter 11 On the Road to El Capitan Beach; Chapter 12 In Esalen; Chapter 13 At the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Chapter 14 A Strange Big Bang; Epilogue; Index

Sommario/riassunto

The speed of light, the fine structure constant, and Newton's constant of gravity - these are just three among the many physical constants that define our picture of the world. Where do they come from? Are they constant in time and across space? In this book, physicist and author Harald Fritzsch invites the reader to explore the mystery of the fundamental constants of physics in the company of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and a modern-day physicist. The conversation that the three scientists are imagined to have provides an entertaining introduction to the constants and covers topics ranging