The Search for Superstrings, Symmetry, and the Theory of Everything

Gribbin offers a clear and concise historical overview of subatomic particles, from the discovery of the electron in 1897 to some of the most exotic and dazzling unification schemes being proposed today. Following a series of major breakthroughs in the 1990s, physicists are now putting together a clearer picture of how subatomic particles work, using the radical theories of "superstrings" - the hypothesis that particles are loops of vibrating "string" - and "supersymmetry." Gribbin guides the reader through these brilliant new models and the dazzling research leading up to them, as well as such other concepts as a twenty-six-dimensional universe and virtual particles. Written in clear and accessible prose, The Search for Superstrings describes the hundred-year saga of particle physics, culminating in current scientific research that stands on the cusp of radically altering our conception of the universe.