The discovery of the Higgs boson has shaken the world of particle physics. But what is the Higgs boson and why is it so important for our understanding of the universe? This book is a simple and accessible guide for appreciating the discoveries that are taking place at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the world's largest particle accelerator. A CERN physicist leads the lay reader into the realm of particle physics, from the astonishing technological innovations that were necessary to build the LHC, up to the speculative theories invented to describe the ultimate laws governing the universe. The result is an extraordinary journey inside the fabric of matter, an exciting adventure inside a strange and bewildering space, through which one can appreciate the scale of the intellectual revolution that is happening. What do we expect after the discovery of the Higgs boson? Does space hide supersymmetry or extend into extra dimensions? How can colliding protons at the LHC unlock the secrets of the origin of our universe? These questions are all framed and then addressed by an expert in the field. While making no compromises in accuracy, this cutting-edge material is presented in a friendly, accessible style. The book's aim is not just to inform, but to give the reader a physicist's sense of awe and excitement, as we stand on the brink of a new era in understanding the world in which we all live.

A Zeptospace Odyssey has been finalist at the Galileo Prize 2012 for scientific literature and the Prize Pianeta Galileo 2013 for popular science.

Gian Francesco Giudice
A Zeptospace Odyssey: A Journey into the Physics of the LHC
Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010
288 pages
ISBN: 978-0-19-958191-7

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