Particle Accelerators: From Big Bang Physics to Hadron Therapy

Ugo Amaldi has worked at CERN for thirty-five years, participating in and leading numerous experiments in particle physics and giving, in particular, significant contributions to the study of weak interactions and the unification of the fundamental forces. For thirteen years he has been spokesperson of DELPHI - one of CERN's international collaborations at the accelerator LEP, predecessor of LHC. Already in the 1950s he developed an interest in medical physics; in 1992 he came back to this subject with the creation of the TERA Foundation, which promotes research in oncological hadron therapy. In 2011, as a result of Amaldi's initiative, the Italian National Hadrontherapy Center for Cancer Treatment CNAO was opened in Pavia. In the last thirty years more than one third of the Italian high-school pupils have studied physics on his textbooks.

Introduction.- The First Fifty Years.- Small Accelerators Get Bigger.- The Last Fifty Years.- Matter-Particles And Force-Particles.- Searching For The Higgs Field.- An Expected Discovery, Susy And Beyond.- The Beginnings of Accelerators in Medicine.- Accelerators Which Heal.- Epilogue: CERN Reverts The March Of Time.

"Particle Accelerators: From Big Bang Physics to Hadron Therapy takes us on a fascinating odyssey of accelerator history and Applications. ... the book contains many recollections of CERN; it would definitely warm the heart of anyone who worked and lived in that wonderful scientific mecca. Particle Accelerators, which is aimed at the general public, is filled with intriguing analogies, metaphors, and humor." (Andrei Seryi, Physics Today, October, 2015)

 "Ugo Amaldi must have the history of particle physics in his bones, and he writes with feeling about the development of particle accelerators, introducing each chapter with personal touches ... . this is a book for everyone, and in particular, I believe, for young people. Books like this inspired my studies, and I would like to think that Amaldi will inspire others with his passion for physics." (Christine Sutton, CERN Courier, August, 2015)

"This book will enthuse all who are interested in the exploration of the microcosm and its relation to cosmology, and, above all, in the wide use of particle accelerators. ... This is a highly recommended introduction to this frontier of modern technology, written beautifully by a world expert." (Frank Close, Contemporary Physics, August, 2015)

"This book covers the field of elementary particles. The focus is experimental methods used to discover elementary particles in the last seven or eight decades and their medical applications, as the title suggests. ... The descriptions are accessible and will be interesting to anyone with a basic knowledge of physics. ... The book includes many historical pictures and good diagrams that help explain the theories. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above." (N. Sadanand, Choice, Vol. 52 (11), July, 2015)