Pions to Quarks Particle Physics in the 1950's

This distinctive collection of essays, discussions, and personal reminiscences focusing on the intellectual and social development of elementary particle physics from 1947 to 1963 is based on the May 1985 International Symposium of Particle Physics in the 1950s, held at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory on Batavia, Illinois. Editors Laurie Brown, Max Dresden and Lillian Hoddeson have assembled a prestigious group of physicists (a number of whom are Nobel Laureates) and historians of science to present a broadly balanced picture of this exciting scientific era that witnessed the coming of age of particle physics and its development into 'big science'. The historical studies and analyses provided in the volume are unique in their scope and level of detail. Major topics and developments addressed include the important experiments and their theoretical explanations, the design and construction of scientific instruments, and the establishment of major research centers - especially national laboratories that played a key role in the transformation of particle physics into 'big science'. These essays also range from sociological analyses of the particle physics subculture and the political aspects of research funding to discussions of symmetry and axiomatic field theory.Brown, Laurie M. is the author of 'Pions to Quarks Particle Physics in the 1950's' with ISBN 9780521309844 and ISBN 0521309840.