Particle Physics for Non-Physicists: A Tour of the Microcosmos

Would you like to know how the universe works? Scientists have been asking that question for a long time and have found that many of the answers can be found in the study of particle physics, the field that focuses on those impossibly tiny particles with unbelievably strange names - the hadrons and leptons, baryons and mesons, muons and gluons - so mystifying to the rest of us. And now, in a fascinating and accessible series of 24 lectures, you can take the mystery out of the remarkable field that in only 100 years has unlocked the secrets of the basic forces of nature. Professor Pollock will make you familiar with the fundamental particles that make up all matter, from the tiniest microbe to the sun and stars. And you'll also learn the "rules of the game" - the forces that drive those particles and the ways in which they interact - that underlie the workings of the universe. The lectures have been designed to be enriching for everyone, regardless of scientific background or mathematical ability. Virtually all you'll need as you enter this fascinating world are your curiosity, common sense, and, as Professor Pollock notes, "an open mind for the occasional quantum weirdness." As you move through the lectures, you'll also gain a knowledge of how those particles fit into perhaps the greatest scientific theory of all time: the Standard Model of particle physics; a grasp of key terms like "gauge symmetry," "quantum chromodynamics," and "unified quantum field Theory;" and an appreciation of how particle physics fits in with other branches of physics - including cosmology and quantum mechanics - to create our overall understanding of nature.

All Lectures:
1. Nature of Physics
2. Standard Model of Particle Physics
3. Pre-History of Particle Physics
4. Birth of Modern Physics
5. Quantum Mechanics Gets Serious
6. New Particles & New Technologies
7. Weak Interactions & the Neutrino
8. Accelerators & Particle Explosion
9. Particle "Zoo"
10. Fields & Forces
11. "Three Quarks for Muster Mark"
12. From Quarks to QCD
13. Symmetry & Conservation Laws
14. Broken Symmetry, Shattered Mirrors
15. November Revolution of 1974
16. A New Generation
17. Weak Forces & the Standard Model
18. Greatest Success Story in Physics
19. The Higgs Particle
20. Solar Neutrino Puzzle
21. Back to the Future (1) - Experiments to Come
22. Back to the Future (2) - Puzzles & Progress
23. Really Big Stuff - The Origin of the Universe
24. Looking Back & Looking Forward