Author(s): Paul Halpern

Science & Natural History

An accessible look at the hottest topic in physics and the experiment that will transform our understanding of the universe Understanding what our universe is physically made of is one of the oldest and most researched scientific quandaries to date. In the spring of 2009, the Large Hadron Collider will begin smashing particles to deconstruct matter to its smallest pieces and test the existence of the elusive and theoretical Higgs boson--a.k.a. the God particle--among other experiments. The results could confirm or disprove what we supposedly know about quarks, string theory, dark matter, dark energy, and the fundamental tenets of modern physics. Paul Halpern explains what scientists are searching for and why particle physics could well be on the verge of some of its greatest breakthroughs. Paul Halpern, PhD (Philadelphia, PA), is Professor of Physics and Mathematics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He is the author of numerous books, including The Great Beyond (978-0-471-46595-9) and What's Science Ever Done For Us? (978-0-470-11460-5).