Product Description
Of all the mind-bending discoveries of physics--quarks, black holes, strange attractors, curved space--the existence of antimatter is one of the most bizarre. It is also one of the most difficult, literally and figuratively, to grasp. Antimatter explores this strange mirror world, where particles have identical yet opposite properties to those that make up the familiar matter we encounter everyday, where left becomes right, positive becomes negative, and where--should matter and antimatter meet--the resulting flash of blinding energy would make even thermonuclear explosions look feeble by comparison. Antimatter is an idea long beloved of science-fiction writers--but here, renowned science writer Frank Close shows that the reality of antimatter is even more intriguing than the fiction. We know that at one time antimatter and matter existed in perfect counterbalance, and that antimatter then perpetrated a vanishing act on a cosmic scale that remains one of the great mysteries of the universe. Today, antimatter does not exist normally, at least on Earth, but we know that it is real, as scientists are now able to make small pieces of it in particle accelerators, such as that at CERN in Geneva. Looking at the remarkable prediction of antimatter and how it grew from the meeting point of relativity and quantum theory in the early 20th century, at the discovery of the first antiparticles, at cosmic rays, annihilation, antimatter bombs, and antiworlds, Close separates the facts from the fiction about antimatter, and explains how its existence can give us profound clues about the origins and structure of the universe. For all those wishing to take a closer look at the flip side of the visible world, this lucidly written book shines a bright light into a truly strange realm.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 6 reviews)

Another Matter by Edgar D. Boshart (Arlington, VA USA)

5 Stars
October 26, 2009
I found this book and others like it written by Frank Close, explaining the tougher things of physics, to be exceptional. No math here, just the revelation of the dark side of our knowledge where things begin, divide, spin and recombine or conflict. You can be an artist or mechanic or preacher or philosopher and still enjoy the esoteric world where matter and and its antithesis are confounding the perpetrators of the formula for everything.

Good Read! by kclam (Hong Kong, China)

4 Stars
September 14, 2009
This fascinating book provides a lively account of the discovery of antimatter and their properties. The applications of positrons on earth are very exciting. For example, positron emission from radioactive atoms has become useful to trace the brain's activity through positron emission tomography (PET) technique. Positron annihilation has been used in testing aircraft turbine blades for metal fatigue. The book also demystifies many fantasies of antimatter. We may wonder why antimatter is rare in the universe or excited about antimatter bombs and antimatter factory. It is essential reading for laymen who want to know about the ghostly antimatter!

Great Book on Physics by Janet C. Malone (New York, NY)

5 Stars
September 05, 2009
This is a superb book! The title is Antimatter, but don't be fooled: The book is about a lot more than antimatter. Prof. Close is a great physicist, and he has been involved with the LHC at CERN. His book explains everything in a perfectly clear and understandable way so that you understand the theory and the applications behind the work of CERN in general, and of the Large Hadron Collider. This is the best book on particle physics, written by a top scientist, and it is written in a style that makes it not only very clear--but also a lot of fun to read! The stories here are amazing!! Congratulations, Dr. Close!! JCM

Popular Science Primer on Anti-Matter by David Nichols (North Carolina, USA)

4 Stars
July 18, 2009
Physicist Frank Close offers a short but enlightening look at a frequently misunderstood aspect of physical reality in his book Antimatter. In about 150 pages, Close delivers a solid summary of the historical and current research into the nature of the tricky particles, especially the positron. As a physics buff, albeit a non-technical one, Close's descriptions and narrative are easy to follow and not overly-detailed. He keeps close to his main points, explaining the nature of antimatter and exposing some of the latest experiments into its properties, without overburdening the reader with dense technical interjections. While I thought I understood antimatter prior to reading this book, Close provided a strong overview that supplements the understanding of most any popular physics reader, myself included. Close explores many of the theories surrounding the symmetries between normal matter and antimatter, as well as offering some thoughts on why we might see a universe which appears to be largely devoid of antimatter. While a small handful of antimatter particles have been created in labs around the world, as well as a few dozen antihydrogen atoms, the mysterious lack of antimatter in the universe remains one of the questions needing a great deal of further research to explain. Close uses the Tunguska event to explore the possibility that a chunk of antimatter could have caused the currently unexplained explosion in 1908 (Close determines it was not antimatter, but leaves the question open until the latter chapters). The author also debunks most of the antimatter properties and usages found in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, as well as the idea that antimatter is likely to supplement traditional sources of energy found on the planet. Popular physics readers have good cause to pick up this tightly-focused book, and will almost certainly learn things about antimatter that aren't covered in many sources. A solid, very quick read that can be knocked out in an afternoon, I recommend this book to anyone interested in physics wanting to gain a reasonable understanding of this mysterious and interesting subset of the science.

Excellent book by Tom in northern California (Sutter Creek, CA USA)

5 Stars
July 02, 2009
Antimatter Despite this book being on the "shorter" side, it's an excellent book -- well worth reading. This book is written for the usual armchair scientist (no heavy math) but goes into enough details to be meaningful. In particular, this book explains Dirac's mathematical work in predicting antimatter ... from which one can really appreciate Dirac's mental genius. Can't go wrong buying this book!

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