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Frank Close
£7.99
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Frank Close
£7.99
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Antimatter
Frank Close
176 pages
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15 B&W halftones
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196x129mm
978-0-19-955016-6
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Hardback
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22 January 2009
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- Antimatter is one of the strangest discoveries in physics - an opposite to the 'normal' matter which makes up the world in which we live our everyday lives, and which annihilates anything it touches in a blinding flash of energy
- Explores the science of antimatter - what it is, and what it can tell us about the origins and structure of the cosmos
- Tells the story of the prediction and discovery of the first antiparticles - borne out of Dirac's inspired combination of quantum theory and relativity
- Explains how antimatter is created in particle accelerators such as CERN, and asks whether antimatter bombs and antimatter-powered spacecraft could ever become a reality
- Accessible as well as being authoritative: Frank Close is a renowned science writer who was on the committee at CERN which authorised research into antimatter, and which inspired Dan Brown's novel Angels and Demons
Antimatter explores a strange mirror world, where particles have identical yet opposite properties to those that make up the familiar matter we encounter everyday; where left becomes right, positive becomes negative; and where, should matter and antimatter meet, the two annihilate in a blinding flash of energy that makes even thermonuclear explosions look feeble by comparison.
It is an idea long beloved of science-fiction stories - but here, renowned science
writer Frank Close shows that the reality of antimatter is even more fascinating than the fiction itself.
We know that once, antimatter and matter existed in perfect counterbalance, and that antimatter then perpetrated a vanishing act on a cosmic scale that remains one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. Today, antimatter does not exist normally, at least on Earth, but we know that it is real for scientists are now able to make small pieces of it in particle accelerators, such as that at CERN in Geneva. Looking at the remarkable prediction of antimatter and how it grew from the meeting point of relativity and quantum theory in the early 20th century, at the discovery of the first antiparticles, at cosmic rays, annihilation, antimatter bombs, and antiworlds,
Close separates the facts from the fiction about antimatter, and explains how its existence can give us profound clues about the origins and structure of the universe.Readership: Readers of popular science and general readers interested in the science of particle physics, and anyone wanting to find out the truth behind the science fiction stories about antimatter.
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Frank Close, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Oxford University, and Fellow in Physics, Exeter College, Oxford
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"This compact book is a wonderful source of information on antimatter and offers us a meticulously researched account of the nature, properties and applications of the often overlooked entities in the fantastic antiworld around us." - Chemistry World "A meticulously researched account of the nature, properties and application of the ...antiworld around us." - Dennis Rouvray, Chemistry World "...worth reading for its beautifully concise history of one vital aspect of twentieth-century particle physics" - Mark Ronan, Times Literary Supplement "His prose is clear, the concepts always understandable, his analysis always insightful." - Mark Greener, Fortean
Times "Beautifully written..This book will inspire a sense of awe in even the most seasoned of physics readers." - Amanda Gefter, New Scientist "This is a must read for fans of science and science fiction alike." - Dr John Gribbin, www.bbcfocusmagazine.com
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Foreword: 'Genesis'
1: Antimatter: fact or fiction?
2: The material world
3: Tablets of stone
4: A cosmic discovery
5: Annihilation
6: Storing antimatter
7: Why is there anything at all?
8: Through the looking glass
9: Antiworlds
10: Revelations
Appendix: 'The Dirac Code'
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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