Quarks And Nuclear Forces

Thirty years ago Albert Einstein died, his dream of a theory that would unify the universe unfulfilled. He spent the last decades of his life searching for such a theory-a theory that would explain everything from elementary particles and their interac­ tions to the overall structure of the universe. But he failed, not because he didn't try hard enough, but because the attempt was ahead of its time. When Einstein worked on the problem liter­ ally nothing was known about black holes, white holes, sin­ gularities, the Big Bang explosion and the early universe, quarks, gauge invariance, and weak and strong nuclear forces.

With scientists perhaps on the verge of unlocking the deepest secrets of the universe and with breaking news of discovery after discovery at the frontiers of research, understanding physics has never been so important. This course puts the awe-inspiring—and at times mind-bending—concepts behind relativity and quantum mechanics within reach of anyone who wants to understand them.Ph.D., Dartmouth College

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring