The Quark Machines: How Europe Fought the Particle Physics War

• Published in: Physics education Vol. 33; no. 4; p. 019
• Main Author: Allday, Jonathan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brecon IOP Publishing 01.07.1998
• Subjects: Atomic physics; CERN; Large Hadron Collider; Particle accelerators; Particle beams; Particle physics; Physics; Quarks; Superconducting super collider; Superconducting supercolliders; Europe
• ISSN: 0031-9120; 1361-6552
• DOI: 10.1088/0031-9120/33/4/019

Gordon Fraser's' relatively short book outlines the history of particle physics by concentrating on the developments that have taken place in accelerator and detector technology. The theme of the book is the pendulum-like swing in technology that has shifted the lead from Europe to America at different stages. Starting from the early atomic physics discoveries in England and the rest of Europe the book charts the rise of America to the forefront of physics research, partly as a result of the exodus of talent to the United States after the second world war. From the 1950s onwards the rivalry between the various American laboratories and the fledgling European centre at CERN developed, culminating in the cancellation of the planned giant American accelerator, the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), and the approval of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. On the way the book reveals some fascinating historical asides, such as Rutherford's dislike of accelerators as a means of producing beams of particles, the curious financial arrangements at CERN and the political machinations behind the cancellation of the SSC. For those with an interest in particle physics this is a very enjoyable book because it shows a side of the subject that is not always revealed in courses and popular accounts. The significant developments in the theoretical field are also explained, but they are not the main theme of the book and so have to be skated through. Some background knowledge of particle physics would be helpful before tackling this book - about the same as the content of most A-level syllabuses. The book's main thrust also means that the history of the theory is sometimes entangled with the technology: as the author traces accelerator developments in Europe and America the book sometimes has to backtrack over the history of the theory and it is difficult to keep it in chronological order. While I am mentioning minor criticisms, the occasional remark such as `These ill financial winds announced an icy winter that did nothing to entice the LHC into bud' are a little too florid for my taste. When I started this book I wondered who might be attracted to read it. It interested me as it covered a side of the subject that I know little about. Now that I have finished it I can imagine that it will appeal to a much wider audience. It is not an introduction to particle physics, and was never intended to be, but anyone interested in the history of science, people wanting to fill in some gaps in their knowledge or students firming up their knowledge of the experimental side of syllabuses will find it most useful. Funnily, although it is in many ways a very different book, Quark Machines ended up reminding me of The Particle Explosion (a much missed and mourned deletion from the OUP catalogue). I imagine it will have much the same readership.