Symmetries, Asymmetries, and the World of Particles (Jessie and John Danz Lectures)

Nobel Laureate T.D. Lee ushers the reader into the realm of particles and accelerators, the mystery of missing symmetries and unseen quarks, the interdependency of the micro and macro world. Using everyday examples for the benefit of the general reader without special mathematical training, he encompasses in this brief book almost the whole foundation of modern particle physics, which began with the violation of symmetry in mirror reflection, in time reversal, and in the interchange between particle and antiparticle.Professor Lee writes with grace and humor about such deep concepts as the CPT theorem, spontaneous symmetry breaking, vacuum as a physical medium, and relativistic heavy ion collisions.