The Infinity Puzzle

Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe

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By Frank Close

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$12.99

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  1. ebook $12.99
  2. Trade Paperback $24.99

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around November 29, 2011. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

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’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.
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On Sale
Nov 29, 2011
Page Count
464 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780465028030

Frank Close

About the Author

Frank Close, OBE, FRS is a particle physicist and an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Oxford. He is the author of over a dozen books, including Infinity Puzzle and Half-Life. He lives in Oxford, England. 

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