The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe

( 7 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Hardcover
$18.11
BN.com price
$28.99 List Price (Save 38%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$6.11
$28.99 List Price (Save 79%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (42)  
Used (15)  
New (27)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 42 (5 pages)
$6.11
(Save 79%)
GICW Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(712)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Sound copy, mild reading wear. May have scuffs . May have some notes, highlighting or underlining. Purchasing this item helps us provide vocational opportunities to people with ... barriers to employment. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Hillsboro, OR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.11
(Save 79%)
Big River Books
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1379)

Condition: Good
2011 Hardcover Good Cover and pages may have some wear or writing. Binding is tight. We ship daily Monday-Friday.

Ships from: Powder Springs, GA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.11
(Save 79%)
Big River Books
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1379)

Condition: Good
2011 Hardcover Good Cover and pages may have some wear or writing. Binding is tight. We ship daily Monday-Friday.

Ships from: Powder Springs, GA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.11
(Save 79%)
Blue Cloud Books
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(2520)

Condition: Very Good
This book shows minor wear and is in very good condition. Blue Cloud Books ??? Hot deals from the land of the sun.

Ships from: Phoenix, AZ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.11
(Save 79%)
Big River Books
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1379)

Condition: Good
2011 Hardcover Good Cover and pages may have some wear or writing. Binding is tight. We ship daily Monday-Friday.

Ships from: Powder Springs, GA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$8.74
(Save 70%)
Bookem IL
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(294)

Condition: Very Good
2011-11-29 Hardcover Very Good Very good condition hard cover with dust jacket, clean unmarked text.

Ships from: Batavia, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$10.83
(Save 63%)
spellbound PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(9713)

Condition: New
11/29/2011 Hardcover New 0465021441 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Publisher overstock. --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--

Ships from: McKeesport, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$10.88
(Save 62%)
RightChoiceBooks!
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(1774)

Condition: New
0465021441 UNUSED COPY!!! MAY CONTAIN SHOPWARE. SHIPS IMMEDIATELY!!

Ships from: Plainview, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$11.00
(Save 62%)
whypaymorebooks? NY
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(1449)

Condition: New
11/29/2011 Hardcover New 0465021441 UNUSED COPY! ! ! MAY CONTAIN SHOPWARE. SHIPS IMMEDIATELY! !

Ships from: Lindenhurst, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$14.73
(Save 49%)
Great Book Deals
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(12283)

Condition: New
Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Over 5+ Million Customers served. In business since 1997. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. ... Customer Service toll free upport Monday-Friday EST Hrs. 4 to 14 business day Delivery Time by US Post Office. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Oldsmar, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 42 (5 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook)
$15.94
BN.com price
$28.99 List Price (Save 45%)

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

More About This Book

Overview

Speculation is rife that by 2012 the elusive Higgs boson will be found at the Large Hadron Collider. If found, the Higgs boson would help explain why everything has mass. But there’s more at stake—what we’re really testing is our capacity to make the universe reasonable.

Our best understanding of physics is predicated on something known as quantum field theory. Unfortunately, in its raw form, it doesn’t make sense—its outputs are physically impossible infinite percentages when they should be something simpler, like the number 1. The kind of physics that the Higgs boson represents seeks to “renormalize” field theory, forcing equations to provide answers that match what we see in the real world.

The Infinity Puzzle is the story of a wild idea on the road to acceptance. Only Close can tell it.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Close (The Cosmic Onion) explains the science behind the billion international effort to discover the Higgs boson: a fundamental subatomic particle that scientists believe could account for the origins of our universe. Under the auspices of CERN in Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was constructed to accelerate particles near to the speed of light. By creating miniature matter/anti-matter collisions in "a small region of space, what the universe as a whole was like in the first moments after the Big Bang." Close voyages through the major scientific discoveries in high energy physics that began in 1928, when Paul Dirac married quantum mechanics with Special Relativity, laying the basis for the major technical advances from which we benefit in today's digital world. Along the way we meet some major figures in the field whose breakthroughs have illuminated the deepest mysteries of physics and cosmology, resulting in an engrossing history that's also accessible for a general audience. Agency: Conville & Walsh. (Dec.)
Kirkus Reviews
Close (Theoretical Physics; Oxford Univ./Neutrino, 2010, etc.) chronicles the search for the elusive Higgs Boson particle (the "God Particle"). The author begins with Quantum Electrodynamics, Paul Dirac's groundbreaking but flawed 1928 model that unified Special Relativity and Quantum theory, and examines how it led to a succession of important discoveries: gauge invariance, renormalization, parity violations, the existence of quarks, symmetry breaking and the existence of new weird particles such as the Higgs Boson. Experiments to verify the theories needed larger and larger accelerators, with high-energy particles colliding at speeds of 300,000 kilometers per second. A major thread of the story is the interaction between the key scientists, many of whom the author knew personally, as they vied for recognition and the final accolade of a Nobel Prize. Close explains that it is not only necessary to make a great discovery but to be the first to publish it. Waiting for confirming results before publishing may prove disastrous in the competition. Throughout, the author chronicles the winners and losers in the annual Nobel sweepstakes, giving them recognition for their achievements and providing a lively thread for readers who may be struggling to comprehend the science. The story culminates with the Large Hadron Collider, which has been fully operational since 2009 but has yet to produce results. Its effort to verify the existence of the Higgs Boson by "recreat[ing] the conditions of the early universe in the laboratory" comes with a hefty price tag. In the author's view, the 60-year effort to confront "the paradox of the Infinity Puzzle has brought us to the threshold of being able to address the question of existence itself." Close ably demonstrates the stakes in this perhaps misplaced, hubristic effort.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780465021444
  • Publisher: Basic Books
  • Publication date: 11/29/2011
  • Pages: 448
  • Sales rank: 69,272
  • Product dimensions: 6.20 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.70 (d)

Meet the Author

Frank Close is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor in Physics at Exeter College, Oxford. He is the winner of the Kelvin Medal for the public understanding of physics and the author of ten books. He lives in Abingdon, England.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Prologue: Amsterdam, 1971 1

Part 1 Genesis

1 The Point of Infinity 17

2 Shelter Island and QED 33

3 Feynman, Schwinger,… and Tomonaga (and Dyson) 55

Intermission: 1950 65

4 Abdus Salam: A Strong Beginning 67

5 Yang, Mills,… and Shaw 77

6 The Identity of John Ward 93

7 The Marriage of Weak and Electromagnetic Forces-to 1964 107

Intermission: i960 125

8 Broken Symmetries 127

9 "The Boson That Has Been Named After Me," a.k.a. the Higgs Boson 151

Intermission: Mid-1960s 183

10 1967: From Kibble to Salam and Weinberg 185

11 "And Now I Introduce Mr. 't Hooft" 203

Intermission: Early 1970s 229

Part 2 REVELATION

12 B. J. and the Cosmic Quarks 233

13 A Comedy of Errors 257

Intermission: 1975 281

14 Heavy Light 283

15 Warmly Admired, Richly Deserved 295

16 The Big Machine 313

Intermission: End of the Twentieth Century 333

17 To Infinity and Beyond 335

Epilogue 353

Postscript 357

Glossary 359

Notes 365

Bibliography 413

Index 417

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 7 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(3)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 8, 2012

    Interesting read on Nobel prizes in physics

    This is an interesting read about the development of quantum mechanics in the mid to late 20th century. While the physics involved is not always easily understood, the personalities and politicking involved in the awarding of the Nobel prize are quite interesting. Some folks seem to have been overlooked (James Bjorking is the primary of these) while others seemed to have gotten one by totting their own horn.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted April 9, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Since its completion in 2008, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at

    Since its completion in 2008, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN has been the focus of a lot of news coverage. It is by far the largest scientific project in history, and very likely the last such project for the foreseeable future. And yet, it has been fairly difficult to explain to the general public the exact purpose of LHC and what sorts of questions are the scientists trying to answer by culling over its experimental results. One of the things that LHC is trying to find is the putative “Higgs boson,” whose existence has been postulated for almost half a century, and without which much of our understanding of particle physics would be incomplete. However, the reasons for the need of the Higgs boson are very hard to express in the layman’s terms. It is the particle that gives all the other particles mass, and without it (or something like it) it would be impossible to justify many of the theoretical results that have proven so incredibly insightful over the past few decades. Some popularizes of science have even resorted to calling it “the God particle,” which in my opinion is one of the most unfortunate and gratuitously obscure “descriptions” of any phenomenon in all of science.

    In “The Infinity Puzzle” Frank Close delves deep into the theoretical background that has lead to the postulation of the Higgs Boson. Higgs Boson turns out to be an indispensible ingredient for the theoretical formulation of the electroweak theory – the unified theory of electromagnetic and weak interactions. The modern formulation of that theory, the so-called Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model, has come at the end of a long series of abortive attempts at unification, and has been followed by even a longer succession of theoretical and experimental verifications. The discovery of the Higgs Boson would be the final validation of that model, and it would also potentially shed some light on the rest of the Standard Model of particles and fields.

    This book primarily focuses on personal histories of many of the actors that have contributed to the electroweak theory and experiment, going all the way back to the middle of the twentieth century. These are fascinating personal stories that have been long overdue for a comprehensive popular treatment. Even people like myself whose professional careers have been influenced by the electroweak and similar theories (known as “gauge theories”) have a rudimentary knowledge of their historical development. However, I was hoping that this book would be more focused on physics in its own right, and much less concerned with history. I’ve read several other books by Frank Close (“Nothing: A very Short introduction,” “Neutrino”) and from reading those I’ve come impressed by Close’s ability to present complex physical ideas in an accessible and highly informative manner. “The Infinity Puzzle” turns out to be a very different kind of book. Aside from being overly historical, it also spends too much time on “inside baseball” minutia and arcana that even those who are inside baseball will probably just skip over. I am really not interested in getting the information straight on who presented which scientific talk in what form back in the early 1970s, and I can’t imagine that most readers of this book would care much about this either. This is a very interesting and accessible book, but I am afraid that the choice of topics might be too recondite for the kind of audience that this book is aimed at.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 3, 2012

    Good read

    First, to address the one negative review. Frank Close is a physicist, please get your facts straight before posting review in the future.

    Secondly, as a lover of physics (and holder of a BS in the subject), I found this book to be very interesting. Not only does it explain Quantum Electrodynamics well it provides a great story about the work in the field.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 15, 2012

    Very loose ends...

    Obviously, the author is not a physicist. He creates his own jargon and gets lost in it. A few good views though.

    0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 10, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 17, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 5, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit