At the Root of Things: The Subatomic World

At the Root of Things: The Subatomic World is a journey into the world of elementary particles-the basic constituents of all matter in the universe-and the nature of the interactions among them. The book begins with a summary of pre-quantum physics and later tackles quantum physics, which is essential for the study of elementary particles. It is written in a non-technical way so that anyone interested about these issues will be able to read it. All and all, this is a book that not only helps outsiders understand the subject in a non-mathematical manner; it also inspires them to join the exciting endeavor. It contains many line diagrams to illustrate the ideas and a few mathematical equations like E = mc2.

Palash B Pal is a senior professor at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kolkata. He was awarded a PhD from the Carnegie-Mellon University. Dr. Pal’s research interests are in the area of particle physics. He has written various academic books, as well as popular-level books, and received the Rabindra Smriti Puroskar (Rabindranath Tagore memorial prize) from the Government of West Bengal. He has authored nearly 100 academic papers.