The first major biography of Peter Higgs, revealing how a short burst of work changed modern physics. On July 4, 2012, the announcement came that one of the longest-running mysteries in physics had been solved: the Higgs boson, the missing piece in understanding why particles have mass, had finally been discovered. On the rostrum, surrounded by jostling physicists and media, was the particle's retiring namesake - the only person in history to have an existing single particle named for them. Why Peter Higgs? It brilliantly traces the course of much of 20th century physics from the inception of quantum field theory to the completion of the 'standard model' of particles and forces, and the pivotal role of Higgs's idea in this evolution. It also investigates the contested history of Higgs's responsibility for the breakthrough when there were others close by and explains why the boson is named for him alone. Drawing on years of conversations with Higgs and others, Frank Close illuminates how a figure generally as elusive as his particle became one of the world's most famous scientists. Close finds that scientific competition between people, institutions and states played as much of a role in making Higgs famous as Higgs's work did. A revelatory study of both a scientist and his era, Elusive will remake our understanding of modern physics. Where Close excels is in explaining the fundamental principles of particle physics in language anyone likely to pick up this book will understand - single helix, super conductors, particle explosions, the God particle, CERN... Photos, 287 pages.
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