FRANK CLOSE

En 1930, el físico teórico Wolfgang Pauli postuló la existencia de una diminuta partícula que se emitiría en ciertas transiciones radiactivas: no tendría carga ni prácticamente masa, y apenas interaccionaria con la materia. Pero ¿como detectar esa particula fantasma?Fue Enrico Fermi quien la bautizo como neutrino, y hoy sabemos que billones de estas particulas extraordinarias, reliquias del Big Bang, que generan constantemente el Sol y otras estrellas, atraviesan la Tierra como si no hubiera nada.

En 1930, el físico teórico Wolfgang Pauli postuló la existencia de una diminuta partícula que se emitiríaen ciertas transiciones radiactivas: no tendría carga ni prácticamente masa, y apenas interaccionaria con la materia.Pero ¿como detectar esa particula fantasma? Fue Enrico Fermi quien la bautizo como neutrino, y hoy sabemos que billonesde estas particulas extraordinarias, reliquias del Big Bang, que generan constantemente el Sol y otras estrellas,atraviesan la Tierra como si no hubiera nada.

Nuclear physics began long before the identification of fundamental particles with J J Thomson s discovery of the electron at the end of the 19th century which implied the existence of a positive charge in the atom to make it neutral In this Very Short Introduction Frank Close gives an account of how this area of physics has progressed including the recognition of how heavy nuclei are built up in the cores of stars and in supernovae the identification of quarks and gluons and the development of quantum chromodynamics QCD Exploring key concepts such as the stability of different configurations of protons and neutrons in nuclei Frank Close shows how nuclear physics brings the physics of the stars to Earth and provides us with important applications particularly in medicine ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable

What is nothing What remains when you take all the matter away Can empty space a void exist This Very Short Introduction explores the science and the history of the elusive void from Aristotle who insisted that the vacuum was impossible via the theories of Newton and Einstein to our very latest discoveries and why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos Frank Close tells the story of how scientists have explored the elusive void and the rich discoveries that they have made there He takes the reader on a lively and accessible history through ancient ideas and cultural superstitions to the frontiers of current research He describes how scientists discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields how Newton Mach and Einstein grappled with the nature of space and time and how the mysterious aether that was long ago supposed to permeate the void may now be making a comeback with the latest research into the Higgs field We now know that the vacuum is far from being empty it seethes with virtual particles and antiparticles that erupt spontaneously into being and it also may contain hidden dimensions that we were previously unaware of These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology s most fundamental questions w