The People Behind the Science
The human side of science is often every bit as absorbing as the discoveries. The genius, determination, and travails of those who have helped construct the Standard Model form a dr 22322r1712w amatic backdrop to the story of particle physics:
Max Planck said the process that led him to propose that light might consist of bundles of particles, or "quanta," was the most strenuous work of his life. "The whole procedure was an act of despair," he recalled, "because a theoretical interpretation had to be found at any price, no matter how high that must be."
Paul Dirac created an equation that successfully described the electron. It also predicted the existence of antimatter-a result that seemed like science fiction at the time, so Dirac downplayed it. When antimatter was discovered several years later, in 1932, he explained his earlier reluctance by maintaining that his equation had simply been smarter than he was.
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