Translated from Russian by Vitaly Kisin
This little book concentrates on the foundations of modern physics (its “ABC's”) and its most fundamental constants: c — the velocity of light and ℏ — the quantum of action.
First of all, the book is addressed to professional physicists, but in order to achieve maximal concentration and clarity it uses the simplest (high school) mathematics. As a result many pages of the book will be useful to college students and may appeal to a more general audience.
Contents: The FundamentalsUnitsA Minimum of MathematicsTranslational MotionRotation and QuantizationParticles as Corpuscles and WavesMore About UnitsThe Hydrogen AtomPeriodic Table of Chemical ElementsSubstanceQuantum Electrodynamics — QEDTransition to Classical TheoryGravitationOther GalaxiesBig BangQuantum Gravidynamics — QGDIntranuclear ForcesParticles in Cosmic RaysParticles in AcceleratorsThree Discrete SymmetriesHalf a Century LaterOn Quantum ChromodynamicsOn the Electroweak TheorySupersymmetryGrand UnificationIn the Vicinity of the Planck MassConcluding Remarks
Readership: College students and interested readers in the physical sciences.
