An Introduction to Particle Physics and the Standard Model

• Describes the Standard Model in terms of its electromagnetic, strong, and weak components
• Explores the experimental tools and methods of particle physics
• Introduces Feynman diagrams, wave equations, and gauge invariance, building up to the theory of Quantum Electrodynamics
• Describes the theories of the Strong and Electroweak interactions
• Uncovers frontier areas and explores what might lie beyond our current concepts of the subatomic world

Those who work through the material will develop a solid command of the basics of particle physics. The book does require a knowledge of special relativity, quantum mechanics, and electromagnetism, but most importantly it requires a hunger to understand at the most fundamental level: why things exist and how it is that anything happens. This book will prepare students and others for further study, but most importantly it will prepare them to open their minds to the mysteries that lie ahead. Ultimately, the Large Hadron Collider may prove the model correct, helping so many realize their greatest dreams ... or it might poke holes in the model, leaving us to wonder an even more exciting possibility: that the answers lie in possibilities so unique that we have not even dreamt of them.