Close F. The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe

Basic Book, New York, 2011, 448 p. Our best understanding of physics is predicated on something known as quantum field theory. Unfortunately, in its raw form, it doesn’t make sense—its outputs are physically impossible infinite percentages when they should be something simpler, like the number
1. The kind of physics that the Higgs boson represents seeks to renormalize field theory, forcing equations to provide answers that match what we see in the real world.The Infinity Puzzle is the story of a wild idea on the road to acceptance. Only Close can tell it.What others say about the book:Discovery News
Close’s book veers from the usual popular science treatment of the topic to focus on quantum field theory, described as ‘our best understanding of physics’—and yet very few folks outside of physics have a clear grasp of what it is, and why it’s so significant. A great read for those who’ve been following the Higgs story closely and are intrigued by some of the deeper questions.Manjit Kumar, author of Quantum
The nature of the problem, how it was solved, and the inevitable jostling for Nobel Prizes are major themes of Close’s gripping and extensively researched narrative history of particle physics over the last sixty years... Close has succeeded in humanising a dramatic era of physics in what is my science book of the year... ‘Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,’ William Blake wrote in the Auguries of Innocence. Frank Close does a fabulous job of reconstructing how physicists like Feynman and ’t Hooft managed to do exactly that.
Ars Technica
The Infinity Puzzle is eminently readable. It has no equations—only a few Feynman diagrams—and a glossary in the back so you don’t get your bosons confused with your hadrons... All of the luminaries of twentieth century particle physics are here, along with many unsung heroes whose contributions Dr. Close explains and puts into context so they can be better appreciated by a public hitherto ignorant of their work... [T]he entire book is a very manageable introduction to quantum physics for those who are interested in, but possibly intimidated by, understanding the inner workings of the fabric of our Universe.Science News
Building the standard model, the flagship theory of modern particle physics, was no mean task. It took decades of painstaking work to bring the forces and elementary particles that make up the universe together in a single framework (which still doesn’t include gravity). Close, a theoretical physicist, chronicles this history from an insider’s perspective... the story doesn’t unfold as a simple, clearly developing line of thought. Instead, the reader witnesses scientific progress in all its real-world messiness. It’s a comedy of errors at times, full of dead ends, missed opportunities and ideas that lie dormant for years, unproven or unnoticed.The Economist
Mr Close, an accomplished particle physicist in his own right, enjoyed unprecedented access to all the principal players, many of whom he either knows well or, like Mr Higgs, has spoken to at length. He also appears to have left no relevant academic paper, no conference proceedings, memoir or other publicly available source unturned. This painstaking attention to historical detail yields many gems... Mr Close’s magisterial work is sure to become the definitive account of the story. It offers no unambiguous advice to the Nobel committee. But the judges would be wise to give it a thorough read anyway.