OnScreen Particle Physics™

The Charm of Strange Quarks (Thorough Introduction)

Michael Barnett, Henry Muehry, and Helen Quinn of Lawrence Berkeley Lab, the University of Basel, and SLAC, respectively, have written a thorough introduction to the practice, methods, and excitement of particle physics research. It should make an excellent companion to OnScreen Particle Physics, though it covers topics that are beyond the simulations. While staying at the advanced high school level (vectors, algebra, but no calculus) it covers a lot of ground, including the standard theory, detectors, accelerators, relativistic kinematics, experiment design, and much more. Published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) with Springer-Verlag, it is a must-have book for those wanting an introduction at this level. Amazon has more info (you're not committing to order if you go there).

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A Tour of the Subatomic Zoo (Introductory Book)

Cindy Schwarz of Vassar College has written a very basic introduction to particle physics suitable for high school or college use. Published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and now in its second edition, the Zoo briefly deals with just about all aspects of particle physics that can be discussed at this level. It's a good place to start if you're looking for a text or reference to accompany OnScreen Particle Physics. It is nowhere near as comprehensive as The Charm of Strange Quarks, however. Amazon has more info (you're not committing to order if you go there).

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The Experimental Foundations of Particle Physics (Advanced undergraduate)

Robert N. Cahn and Gerson Goldhaber of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the University of California have compiled a history of particle physics as told by the actual papers announcing the major particle discoveries from the neutron to the W boson. Excellent introductions to the physics of detection and analysis and to the significance of the discoveries are also provided for twelve different periods of discovery. Sadly, this Cambridge University Press book has gone out of print, but Amazon.com should have used copies. Definitely worth looking for.

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Spacetime Physics (freshman physics, minimal calculus)

When Edwin Taylor and John Wheeler wrote the first edition of this book over thirty years ago, they looked forward to "the day when the student of physics will be as much at home with the geometry of spacetime as the student in an earlier century was with Euclidean geometry." That day has not arrived, but Taylor and Wheeler have certainly done more than their share to bring it closer. Chapters 7 (Momenergy) and 8 (Collide. Create. Annihilate.) of the second edition (1992) are of particular interest to anyone studying particle interactions. Published by W. H. Freeman & Co. Amazon.com (click below) has some online reviews.

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Introduction to Experimental Particle Physics (Graduate Level)

While the OnScreen Particle Physics simulations present a generic particle detector, this book by Richard Fernow of Brookhaven National Lab goes into detail about various types of real detectors and the electronics they utilize, pointing out the tradeoffs involved in the choice of detector. The book contains a manageable amount of material on the basic physics of particle measurement processes and the generating, accelerating, and storing of particle beams. Published by Cambridge University Press.

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Q is for Quantum: An Encyclopedia of Particle Physics (Undergraduate up)

John Gribbin has written a very inclusive encyclopedia: particles, concepts, methods, and physicists are covered, and the physics can be trusted. Not a book to read through A to Z, but to dip into and let one article lead to another. Published by Free Press.

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A Modern Introduction to Mechanics (Calculus-Based Book)

Jonathan Reichert of The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo has written a unique freshman Mechanics book. His thesis (which we strongly adhere to) is that conservation laws are fundamental and that particle physics event analysis represents a natural introduction to these laws. (Note that OnScreen Particle Physics provides you with an "infinite" number of simple particle decay events and the on-screen tools to analyze them.) Relativistic kinematics, which requires no calculus, is brought in as a necessary tool. Roughly the first third of the book is devoted to particle physics. The switch to more mundane topics, where standard calculus-based Newtonian mechanics is introduced, may seem a little abrupt, but anyone wanting a modern approach to mechanics or a reference for modern physics should investigate this book.

This book is now out of print, but Amazon has used copies (cheap last time we looked).
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