Poley, L.

2026
CRC Press London
ISBN: 9781041339649

London : CRC Press, Discovering physics books for curious minds : First edition, 174 pages (2026)2026  

Abstract: "This book aims to make the everyday life of a particle physicist working on one small part of one of the biggest experiments in the world - CERN's Large Hadron Collider - accessible to the general public: how does it work, why is it so difficult, and how do they manage to make it work anyway? Chapters count down over a six-month period during which the author joined a new institute and was put in charge of an unfamiliar measurement that was complicated, crucial and urgent. During this time, the author had to quickly learn the background, the technicalities, and how to set up and run an experiment during the 2020 Covid-19 global pandemic. Spoiler: many, many things went wrong - both trivial day-to-day problems and crucial scientific crisis - but these experiences provided a wonderful insight into why big science is such a challenge. This book cleverly balances an autobiographical perspective filled with humor and anecdotes with an informative overview of the 'ups' and the 'downs' of science and why scientists love it anyway. It can be enjoyed by anyone, with no formal scientific background, looking to learn more about the day-to-day life of a researcher"-- Provided by publisher

Keyword(s): Large Hadron Collider (France and Switzerland) (LCSH) ; Proton-antiproton colliders (LCSH) ; Hadron interactions (LCSH) ; Physicists (LCSH)