Books

Books : reviews

Gordon Kane.
Supersymmetry: unveiling the ultimate laws of nature.
Perseus Publishing. 2000

For most of human history, man has been trying to discover just how the universe works. In this groundbreaking work, renowned physicist Gordon Kane first gives us the basics of the Standard Model, which describes the fundamental constituents and forces of nature. He then explains the next great leap in understanding: the theory of supersymmetry, which implies that each of the fundamental particles has a “superpartner” that can be detected at energies and intensities only now being achieved in the giant accelerators. If Kane and his colleagues are correct, these superpartners will also help solve many of the puzzles of modern physics—such as the existence of the Higgs boson—as well as one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology: the notorious “dark matter” of the universe.

This is the epic story of the modern quest to uncover a fully unified theory—something that Einstein attempted in his later years. No one interested in the future of science will want to miss this absorbing narrative of science in the making.