The most successful and important theory in physics today, fully explained to general readers
This book does for the Standard Model what Brian Greene did for string theory
Historical perspective begins in the 19th century and explains where we are today and where we are heading next
Compelling writing full of rich metaphor and analogy, like Feynman's lectures
70 illustrations present concepts to readers visually
Although many people are talking about string theory, it may only amount to a passing fashion: It hasn't yet been confirmed by experiment, the real test. What has? Where do we really stand? Robert Oerter shows what the next step in physics will without question be based on: "The Theory of Almost Everything"--the single theory that has dominated particle physics for the past 30 years. Cobbled together by many brilliant minds throughout the 20th century, and modestly known as the "Standard Model of Elementary Particles," it is the most wide-ranging and precise theory in the history of physics. From the chemical reactions that power all living things to the nuclear reactions that power the sun, except for gravity, it describes all known physical interactions.Robert Oerter teaches physics at George Mason University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. He has done research in the areas of supergravity, especially as applied to superstring theories, and in the quantum mechanics of chaotic systems. He lives in Maryland.