In this compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe, Frank Close takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino. Along the way he provides fascinating insights into how discoveries in particle physics have actually been made, and discusses how our picture of the world has been radically revised in the light of these developments. He concludes by looking ahead to new ideas about the mystery of antimatter, the number of dimensions that there might be in the universe, and to what the next 50 years of research might reveal.

Table of Contents

1. Journey to the centre of the universe; 2. How big and small are big and small; 3. How we learn what things are made of and what we found; 4. The heart of the matter; 5. Accelerators: cosmic and man-made; 6. Detectors: cameras and time machines; 7. The forces of nature; 8. Exotic matter (and antimatter); 9. Where has matter come from?; 10. Questions for the 21st Century