Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe
Martin Rees (Basic Books 2001), ISBN: 0465036724

Our Cosmic Habitat
Martin Rees (Princeton University Press, 2001), ISBN: 0297829017

The Discovery of Anti-Matter : The Autobiography of Carl David Anderson, the Youngest Man to Win the Nobel Prize
Richard J Weiss, Editor (World Scientific Publishing Company, 1999), ISBN: 9810236808

The Book of Nothing : Vacuums, Voids, and the Late Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe
John D Barrow (Pantheon Books, 2001) ISBN: 0375420991

The Universe in a Nutshell
Stephen Hawking (Bantam Books, 2001), ISBN: 055380202X

Antimatter, the Ultimate Mirror
Gordon Fraser (Cambridge University Press, 2000), ISBN: 0521652529

Mirror Matter: Pioneering antimatter physics
Robert L. Forward and Joel Davis (John Wiley, 1988), ISBN 0380898144

It Must Be Beautiful: Great Equations of Modern Science
Graham Farmelo (Granta Books, 2001), ISBN: 1862074798

Jargonbuster

annihilation

spontaneous conversion of a particle and its anti-particle into radiation

anti-atom

the equivalent of an atom, but instead of being composed of protons, neutrons and electrons, they are made up of anti-protons, anti-neutrons and positrons

anti-deuteron

a nucleus of antimatter made out of an anti-proton plus an anti-neutron

anti-hydrogen atom

atom made up of one anti-proton and one positron as opposed to hydrogen which is made up of one proton and one electron

anti-neutron

although neutrons have no overall electric charge, they have small local charges that balance out over the entire particle. These are the opposite in anti-neutrons

anti-particle

a particle type that has exactly the same mass but opposite charge of another particle type

anti-proton

the antiparticle of the proton. It is an equivalent particle but with negative charge

anti-matter

matter composed of the antiparticles of normal matter

atom

the smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination. Composed of protons, neutrons and electrons

bevatron

a high energy particle accelerator

Big Bang Theory

the theory of an expanding universe that begins as an infinitely dense and hot medium. The initial instant is called the Big Bang

electron

a fundamental particle with a negative electric charge. They are a basic constituent of an atom and are distributed around the nucleus in shells

magnetic field

a field of force that exists around a magnetic body or a current-carrying conductor

matter

an aggregate of material particles that are capable of occupying space

nanosecond

one thousand millionth of a second (1,000,000,000 nanoseconds = 1 second)

neutron

a neutral elementary particle that is stable in the atomic nucleus; They occur in all atomic nuclei except normal hydrogen

nucleus

the central core of an atom that contains most of its mass; It is positively charged and contains protons and neutrons

particle

a subatomic object with a definite mass and charge

PET Scan

also called positron emission tomography scan

An imaging technique that uses a radioactive tracer molecule that emits positrons

positron

the antiparticle of the electron

It is an equivalent particle but with positive charge

proton

an elementary particle that is stable and bears a positive charge, equal in magnitude to that of the electron

quantum mechanics

the laws of physics that apply on very small scales

The essential feature is that electric charge, momentum, and angular momentum, as well as charges, come in discrete amounts called quanta

relativity

two widely accepted theories proposed by Albert Einstein to account for departures from Newtonian mechanics

The special theory of relativity of 1905 refers to non-accelerated frames of reference, while the general theory of 1915, extends to accelerated systems

radiation

energy travelling in the form of electromagnetic waves or photons

radiograph

an x-ray film after it has been exposed to radiation

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Content last updated: 16/06/2000

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