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9781615193738

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Praise for Most Wanted Particle Butterworth is an insider s insider. His narrative seethes with insights on the project s science, technology and tribes, as well as his personal (and often amusing) journey as a frontier physicist. Nature Butterworth ranges far beyond billiards to find ordinary-world comparisons that clarify abstruse scientific concepts. . . . Still, despite all of his colorful simplifying metaphors, Butterworth challenges his readers with real high-level science, taking them deep enough into the Standard Model of theoretical subatomic physics to explain why researchers around the globe monitor the reports from Europe s Large Hadron Collider with anxious expectation their most fundamental assumptions about the universe hanging in the balance. Booklist , starred review The author s real achievement is in making experimental topics such as jet algorithms, cross-sections, calorimeters, and standard deviation interesting and even exciting. [Butterworth] also does an excellent job of portraying the culture of particle physics and the life of a researcher in the field. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. Choice Most of the existing popular accounts of the events leading up to the July 2012 discovery claim at CERN are written from a theoretical perspective by outsiders. Jon Butterworth is an experimentalist and is the first to give a vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider. Peter Higgs, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics The story of the search for the Higgs boson is so edge-of-your-seat exciting that it practically tells itself but still, why not get the story from someone who was there for every step along the way? Jon Butterworth is a talented writer and a world expert in the physics, and his book is hard to put down. Sean Carroll, physicist at Caltech and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe If you want to know why the discovery of the Higgs boson matters, read this book! Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? A fascinating inside perspective of the discovery of the Higgs boson . . . combined with intimate details about the life of a high-powered physicist and some lovely explanations of the physics. New Scientist The politics, excitement, and sheer intellectual adventure of discovery . . . from someone who was actually there! Jim Al-Khalili, author of Quantum A smashing journey. Physics World If you met Jon Butterworth in a pub which, judging from the many anecdotes in Most Wanted Particle, is a non-trivial probability his is the voice you d like to hear, this is the tale you d want him to tell: a breezy recounting of the discovery of the Higgs boson that turns out to be both an accessible primer on particle physics and a lively look at behind-the-scenes Big Science. Richard Panek, author of The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality Like The Lord of the Rings, Most Wanted Particle takes readers on a long path with many moments of peril and uncertainty to reach the triumphant discovery of the Higgs Boson. It is a great chronicle of a part of the endless chain of progress in science at the LHC. Jim Gates, University System of Maryland Regents Professor of Physics An excellent, accessible guide to one of science s greatest discoveries . . . vivid insights into the doing of science, including the customs of various scientific tribes at CERN. Sunday Times An Observer Top Ten Science and Technology book Unlocks the holy grail of combining entertainment and understanding. PFILM Riveting! Gonzo journalism but in the entrails of experimental particle physics. Pedro G. Ferreira, author of The Perfect Theory [A] charming, enlightening bulletin from one of the most exciting fields of human endeavor. Guardian If you re remotely curious about the universe, read this. Steven Thompsonof PhysicsSteve.co.uk, a theoretical physics An amusing journey through the obscure world of particle physics . . . illuminates the murkiest of concepts. --Scientific American A charming, informative overview of particle physics . . . make[s] learning about this field almost effortless. --Library Journal, starred review Butterworth expertly handles even the thorniest theories and will satisfy world-weary scientists and amateur physics aficionados alike. --Publishers Weekly A noble . . . effort to demystify quantum physics. --Kirkus Yearning for a late holiday? Bosonia, the Isle of Leptons and farthest Antimatter beckon in this bracing voyage into particle physics, captained by experimental physicist Jon Butterworth. Ever an original writer, he maps the territory of the standard model and beyond, elucidating in turn wave--particle duality, the quantum field and the subatomic realm, all the way to ripples in space-time and the hunt for the Higgs boson (which, as a veteran of the Large Hadron Collider at Europe's physics lab CERN, he navigates expertly). Sea legs achieved, you're ready for wilder shores, such as the Dirac--Milne universe. --Nature A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? These are exciting times for fundamental physics, and Butterworth describes with clarity, humor, and enthusiasm the lie of the land at the ultimate frontier. You will not find a better tour guide. --Times Higher Education When traveling in a strange new land (and the world of particle physics is as strange as it gets) it is always helpful to carry along a friendly guidebook like this one to help steer you away from blind alleys and toward rewarding discoveries. Happy travels! --Lawrence M. Krauss, author of A Universe from Nothing A charming, informative overview of particle physics . . . make[s] learning about this field almost effortless. --Library Journal, starred review Butterworth expertly handles even the thorniest theories and will satisfy world-weary scientists and amateur physics aficionados alike. --Publishers Weekly A noble . . . effort to demystify quantum physics. --Kirkus Yearning for a late holiday? Bosonia, the Isle of Leptons and farthest Antimatter beckon in this bracing voyage into particle physics, captained by experimental physicist Jon Butterworth. Ever an original writer, he maps the territory of the standard model and beyond, elucidating in turn wave--particle duality, the quantum field and the subatomic realm, all the way to ripples in space-time and the hunt for the Higgs boson (which, as a veteran of the Large Hadron Collider at Europe's physics lab CERN, he navigates expertly). Sea legs achieved, you're ready for wilder shores, such as the Dirac--Milne universe. --Nature A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? These are exciting times for fundamental physics, and Butterworth describes with clarity, humor, and enthusiasm the lie of the land at the ultimate frontier. You will not find a better tour guide. --Times Higher Education When traveling in a strange new land (and the world of particle physics is as strange as it gets) it is always helpful to carry along a friendly guidebook like this one to help steer you away from blind alleys and toward rewarding discoveries. Happy travels! --Lawrence M. Krauss, author of A Universe from Nothing Butterworth expertly handles even the thorniest theories and will satisfy world-weary scientists and amateur physics aficionados alike. --Publishers Weekly A noble . . . effort to demystify quantum physics. --Kirkus Yearning for a late holiday? Bosonia, the Isle of Leptons and farthest Antimatter beckon in this bracing voyage into particle physics, captained by experimental physicist Jon Butterworth. Ever an original writer, he maps the territory of the standard model and beyond, elucidating in turn wave--particle duality, the quantum field and the subatomic realm, all the way to ripples in space-time and the hunt for the Higgs boson (which, as a veteran of the Large Hadron Collider at Europe's physics lab CERN, he navigates expertly). Sea legs achieved, you're ready for wilder shores, such as the Dirac--Milne universe. --Nature A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? These are exciting times for fundamental physics, and Butterworth describes with clarity, humor, and enthusiasm the lie of the land at the ultimate frontier. You will not find a better tour guide. --Times Higher Education When traveling in a strange new land (and the world of particle physics is as strange as it gets) it is always helpful to carry along a friendly guidebook like this one to help steer you away from blind alleys and toward rewarding discoveries. Happy travels! --Lawrence M. Krauss, author of A Universe from Nothing Makes the unbelievably small world of particle physics fun and accessible. CERN physicist Butterworth conjures a rich landscape of electron ports, boson continents, and hardon islands in the subatomic sea. --Publishers Weekly Yearning for a late holiday? Bosonia, the Isle of Leptons and farthest Antimatter beckon in this bracing voyage into particle physics, captained by experimental physicist Jon Butterworth. Ever an original writer, he maps the territory of the standard model and beyond, elucidating in turn wave--particle duality, the quantum field and the subatomic realm, all the way to ripples in space-time and the hunt for the Higgs boson (which, as a veteran of the Large Hadron Collider at Europe's physics lab CERN, he navigates expertly). Sea legs achieved, you're ready for wilder shores, such as the Dirac--Milne universe. --Nature A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? These are exciting times for fundamental physics, and Butterworth describes with clarity, humor, and enthusiasm the lie of the land at the ultimate frontier. You will not find a better tour guide. --Times Higher Education Yearning for a late holiday? Bosonia, the Isle of Leptons and farthest Antimatter beckon in this bracing voyage into particle physics, captained by experimental physicist Jon Butterworth. Ever an original writer, he maps the territory of the standard model and beyond, elucidating in turn wave--particle duality, the quantum field and the subatomic realm, all the way to ripples in space-time and the hunt for the Higgs boson (which, as a veteran of the Large Hadron Collider at Europe's physics lab CERN, he navigates expertly). Sea legs achieved, you're ready for wilder shores, such as the Dirac--Milne universe. --Nature A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? These are exciting times for fundamental physics, and Butterworth describes with clarity, humor, and enthusiasm the lie of the land at the ultimate frontier. You will not find a better tour guide. --Times Higher Education A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? Praise for Most Wanted Particle Butterworth is an insider's insider. His narrative seethes with insights on the project's science, technology and 'tribes, ' as well as his personal (and often amusing) journey as a frontier physicist. --Nature Butterworth ranges far beyond billiards to find ordinary-world comparisons that clarify abstruse scientific concepts. . . . Still, despite all of his colorful simplifying metaphors, Butterworth challenges his readers with real high-level science, taking them deep enough into the Standard Model of theoretical subatomic physics to explain why researchers around the globe monitor the reports from Europe's Large Hadron Collider with anxious expectation--their most fundamental assumptions about the universe hanging in the balance. --Booklist, starred review The author's real achievement is in making experimental topics such as jet algorithms, cross-sections, calorimeters, and standard deviation interesting and even exciting. [Butterworth] also does an excellent job of portraying the culture of particle physics and the life of a researcher in the field. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. --Choice Most of the existing popular accounts of the events leading up to the July 2012 discovery claim at CERN are written from a theoretical perspective by outsiders. Jon Butterworth is an experimentalist and is the first to give a vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider. --Peter Higgs, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics The story of the search for the Higgs boson is so edge-of-your-seat exciting that it practically tells itself--but still, why not get the story from someone who was there for every step along the way? Jon Butterworth is a talented writer and a world expert in the physics, and his book is hard to put down. --Sean Carroll, physicist at Caltech and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe If you want to know why the discovery of the Higgs boson matters, read this book! --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? A fascinating inside perspective of the discovery of the Higgs boson . . . combined with intimate details about the life of a high-powered physicist and some lovely explanations of the physics. --New Scientist

Praise for Most Wanted Particle Butterworth is an insider s insider. His narrative seethes with insights on the project s science, technology and tribes, as well as his personal (and often amusing) journey as a frontier physicist. Nature Butterworth ranges far beyond billiards to find ordinary-world comparisons that clarify abstruse scientific concepts. . . . Still, despite all of his colorful simplifying metaphors, Butterworth challenges his readers with real high-level science, taking them deep enough into the Standard Model of theoretical subatomic physics to explain why researchers around the globe monitor the reports from Europe s Large Hadron Collider with anxious expectation their most fundamental assumptions about the universe hanging in the balance. Booklist , starred review The author s real achievement is in making experimental topics such as jet algorithms, cross-sections, calorimeters, and standard deviation interesting and even exciting. [Butterworth] also does an excellent job of portraying the culture of particle physics and the life of a researcher in the field. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. Choice Most of the existing popular accounts of the events leading up to the July 2012 discovery claim at CERN are written from a theoretical perspective by outsiders. Jon Butterworth is an experimentalist and is the first to give a vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider. Peter Higgs, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics The story of the search for the Higgs boson is so edge-of-your-seat exciting that it practically tells itself but still, why not get the story from someone who was there for every step along the way? Jon Butterworth is a talented writer and a world expert in the physics, and his book is hard to put down. Sean Carroll, physicist at Caltech and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe If you want to know why the discovery of the Higgs boson matters, read this book! Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? A fascinating inside perspective of the discovery of the Higgs boson . . . combined with intimate details about the life of a high-powered physicist and some lovely explanations of the physics. New Scientist The politics, excitement, and sheer intellectual adventure of discovery . . . from someone who was actually there! Jim Al-Khalili, author of Quantum A smashing journey. Physics World If you met Jon Butterworth in a pub which, judging from the many anecdotes in Most Wanted Particle, is a non-trivial probability his is the voice you d like to hear, this is the tale you d want him to tell: a breezy recounting of the discovery of the Higgs boson that turns out to be both an accessible primer on particle physics and a lively look at behind-the-scenes Big Science. Richard Panek, author of The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality Like The Lord of the Rings, Most Wanted Particle takes readers on a long path with many moments of peril and uncertainty to reach the triumphant discovery of the Higgs Boson. It is a great chronicle of a part of the endless chain of progress in science at the LHC. Jim Gates, University System of Maryland Regents Professor of Physics An excellent, accessible guide to one of science s greatest discoveries . . . vivid insights into the doing of science, including the customs of various scientific tribes at CERN. Sunday Times An Observer Top Ten Science and Technology book Unlocks the holy grail of combining entertainment and understanding. PFILM Riveting! Gonzo journalism but in the entrails of experimental particle physics. Pedro G. Ferreira, author of The Perfect Theory [A] charming, enlightening bulletin from one of the most exciting fields of human endeavor. Guardian If you re remotely curious about the universe, read this. Steven Thompsonof PhysicsSteve.co.uk, a theoretical physics Yearning for a late holiday? Bosonia, the Isle of Leptons and farthest Antimatter beckon in this bracing voyage into particle physics, captained by experimental physicist Jon Butterworth. Ever an original writer, he maps the territory of the standard model and beyond, elucidating in turn wave--particle duality, the quantum field and the subatomic realm, all the way to ripples in space-time and the hunt for the Higgs boson (which, as a veteran of the Large Hadron Collider at Europe's physics lab CERN, he navigates expertly). Sea legs achieved, you're ready for wilder shores, such as the Dirac--Milne universe. --Nature A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? These are exciting times for fundamental physics, and Butterworth describes with clarity, humor, and enthusiasm the lie of the land at the ultimate frontier. You will not find a better tour guide. --Times Higher Education A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? Praise for Most Wanted Particle Butterworth is an insider's insider. His narrative seethes with insights on the project's science, technology and 'tribes, ' as well as his personal (and often amusing) journey as a frontier physicist. --Nature Butterworth ranges far beyond billiards to find ordinary-world comparisons that clarify abstruse scientific concepts. . . . Still, despite all of his colorful simplifying metaphors, Butterworth challenges his readers with real high-level science, taking them deep enough into the Standard Model of theoretical subatomic physics to explain why researchers around the globe monitor the reports from Europe's Large Hadron Collider with anxious expectation--their most fundamental assumptions about the universe hanging in the balance. --Booklist, starred review The author's real achievement is in making experimental topics such as jet algorithms, cross-sections, calorimeters, and standard deviation interesting and even exciting. [Butterworth] also does an excellent job of portraying the culture of particle physics and the life of a researcher in the field. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. --Choice Most of the existing popular accounts of the events leading up to the July 2012 discovery claim at CERN are written from a theoretical perspective by outsiders. Jon Butterworth is an experimentalist and is the first to give a vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider. --Peter Higgs, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics The story of the search for the Higgs boson is so edge-of-your-seat exciting that it practically tells itself--but still, why not get the story from someone who was there for every step along the way? Jon Butterworth is a talented writer and a world expert in the physics, and his book is hard to put down. --Sean Carroll, physicist at Caltech and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe If you want to know why the discovery of the Higgs boson matters, read this book! --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? A fascinating inside perspective of the discovery of the Higgs boson . . . combined with intimate details about the life of a high-powered physicist and some lovely explanations of the physics. --New Scientist

Praise for Most Wanted Particle Butterworth is an insider s insider. His narrative seethes with insights on the project s science, technology and tribes, as well as his personal (and often amusing) journey as a frontier physicist. Nature Butterworth ranges far beyond billiards to find ordinary-world comparisons that clarify abstruse scientific concepts. . . . Still, despite all of his colorful simplifying metaphors, Butterworth challenges his readers with real high-level science, taking them deep enough into the Standard Model of theoretical subatomic physics to explain why researchers around the globe monitor the reports from Europe s Large Hadron Collider with anxious expectation their most fundamental assumptions about the universe hanging in the balance. Booklist , starred review The author s real achievement is in making experimental topics such as jet algorithms, cross-sections, calorimeters, and standard deviation interesting and even exciting. [Butterworth] also does an excellent job of portraying the culture of particle physics and the life of a researcher in the field. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. Choice Most of the existing popular accounts of the events leading up to the July 2012 discovery claim at CERN are written from a theoretical perspective by outsiders. Jon Butterworth is an experimentalist and is the first to give a vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider. Peter Higgs, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics The story of the search for the Higgs boson is so edge-of-your-seat exciting that it practically tells itself but still, why not get the story from someone who was there for every step along the way? Jon Butterworth is a talented writer and a world expert in the physics, and his book is hard to put down. Sean Carroll, physicist at Caltech and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe If you want to know why the discovery of the Higgs boson matters, read this book! Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? A fascinating inside perspective of the discovery of the Higgs boson . . . combined with intimate details about the life of a high-powered physicist and some lovely explanations of the physics. New Scientist The politics, excitement, and sheer intellectual adventure of discovery . . . from someone who was actually there! Jim Al-Khalili, author of Quantum A smashing journey. Physics World If you met Jon Butterworth in a pub which, judging from the many anecdotes in Most Wanted Particle, is a non-trivial probability his is the voice you d like to hear, this is the tale you d want him to tell: a breezy recounting of the discovery of the Higgs boson that turns out to be both an accessible primer on particle physics and a lively look at behind-the-scenes Big Science. Richard Panek, author of The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality Like The Lord of the Rings, Most Wanted Particle takes readers on a long path with many moments of peril and uncertainty to reach the triumphant discovery of the Higgs Boson. It is a great chronicle of a part of the endless chain of progress in science at the LHC. Jim Gates, University System of Maryland Regents Professor of Physics An excellent, accessible guide to one of science s greatest discoveries . . . vivid insights into the doing of science, including the customs of various scientific tribes at CERN. Sunday Times An Observer Top Ten Science and Technology book Unlocks the holy grail of combining entertainment and understanding. PFILM Riveting! Gonzo journalism but in the entrails of experimental particle physics. Pedro G. Ferreira, author of The Perfect Theory [A] charming, enlightening bulletin from one of the most exciting fields of human endeavor. Guardian If you re remotely curious about the universe, read this. Steven Thompsonof PhysicsSteve.co.uk, a theoretical physics A magnificent, compelling, and insightful voyage to the frontier of knowledge from a great writer with a deep understanding. --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? Praise for Most Wanted Particle Butterworth is an insider's insider. His narrative seethes with insights on the project's science, technology and 'tribes, ' as well as his personal (and often amusing) journey as a frontier physicist. --Nature Butterworth ranges far beyond billiards to find ordinary-world comparisons that clarify abstruse scientific concepts. . . . Still, despite all of his colorful simplifying metaphors, Butterworth challenges his readers with real high-level science, taking them deep enough into the Standard Model of theoretical subatomic physics to explain why researchers around the globe monitor the reports from Europe's Large Hadron Collider with anxious expectation--their most fundamental assumptions about the universe hanging in the balance. --Booklist, starred review The author's real achievement is in making experimental topics such as jet algorithms, cross-sections, calorimeters, and standard deviation interesting and even exciting. [Butterworth] also does an excellent job of portraying the culture of particle physics and the life of a researcher in the field. . . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. --Choice Most of the existing popular accounts of the events leading up to the July 2012 discovery claim at CERN are written from a theoretical perspective by outsiders. Jon Butterworth is an experimentalist and is the first to give a vivid account of what the process of discovery was really like for an insider. --Peter Higgs, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics The story of the search for the Higgs boson is so edge-of-your-seat exciting that it practically tells itself--but still, why not get the story from someone who was there for every step along the way? Jon Butterworth is a talented writer and a world expert in the physics, and his book is hard to put down. --Sean Carroll, physicist at Caltech and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe If you want to know why the discovery of the Higgs boson matters, read this book! --Brian Cox, author of Why Does E=mc2? A fascinating inside perspective of the discovery of the Higgs boson . . . combined with intimate details about the life of a high-powered physicist and some lovely explanations of the physics. --New Scientist

Author Information

Jon Butterworth is a professor of physics and astronomy at University College London and a member of the ATLAS collaboration at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. He writes the Life and Physics blog for the Guardian. In 2013, he received the Chadwick Medal of the Institute of Physics. He is also the author of Most Wanted Particle, shortlisted for Book of the Year by Physics World.

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