Making a compelling story out of subatomic particles is not an easy work, but Frank Close has indeed done it in this book. It's not just an essay about particles and physics, but an epic journey through the XX century accompanying all the great scientist who helped to detect these most elusive particles.
Through the book the author present all the bulding blocks that lead to the discovery of neutrinos, from the first glimpses of radioactivity to the massive experiments of recent decades. And this journey is full of amazing things: detectors with the size of a lake buried deep into gold mines, an experiment that took all the Gallium in the world, the serendipitous finding of an ancient supernova, light sensors drilled kilometers into the ice of Antartica, particles that appear and dissapear without a trace, scientist trying to find a couple of atoms of Argon in tanks the size of a swimming pool...
The narrative progresses along the years showing how our understanding of radation, the atom and subatomic particles evolved in time. Along the way we will learn many basic concepts of particle physics, from the early experiments to detect radation to the fusion reaction processes that power our sun, everything presented in a way that make these ideas really easy to understand to the reader.
In conclusion, a really enjoyable book in wich we will learn some physics, wonder at some amazing experiments, and meet some of the amazing scientist that with their curiosity, keen mind and determination made the discovery of neutrinos possible.
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