Particle physics brick by brick Atomic and subatomic physics explained... in Lego®

If you don't know your quarks from your bosons, after reading this book . . . you will probably still be confused. That doesn't mean this is ineffective; to the contrary, Still displays absolute mastery of particle physics, and the information is laid out via irresistible LEGO designs. It's just that the material is difficult. Extremely difficult. Using colorful bricks as any variety of particles, Still takes us through the (so-called) building blocks of the universe, the Big Bang, electromagnetism, broken symmetries, and much, much, much more. From the first paragraph: The Standard Model has no tested analogy for the dark matter which defines the size, shape, and distribution of galaxies. If that doesn't atomize your brain, keep going antimatter, weak forces, the triple alpha process, Feynman diagrams, antiprotons, antiquarks, and on and on, all of it illustrated with clarity (assuming you can follow any of it). The truth is, there are advanced teens who will swoon for this precious few, but they exist and one thing's for sure, there is nothing else out there like this text.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2018 Booklist

Gr 8 Up-Still makes quantum physics as intriguing as alchemy with his explanation of the universe. The book provides a visual component that enhances explanations and helps make sense of concepts by using LEGO bricks to represent the building blocks of matter, such as neutrons morphing into protons. The periodic table is clearly explained, for example, through color-coded blocks. Realizing that terms such as quarks, leptons, fermions, and bosons are unfamiliar to those outside the field, a handy glossary is provided within the book flaps. Straightforward language and pithy subheads ("What's the Antimatter") make the ideas accessible and entertaining. The design is notable for managing the information with insets, rules, arrows, photos, and colors that create an attractive and logical organization. It is Still's use of metaphor that makes the concepts most tangible-during the r-process, for example, unstable nuclei build rapidly in size "like a snowball rolling down a snow-covered hill." As a result, physics becomes much more than equations. However, Still only references male scientists in particle physics in a time line of predictors and pioneers. VERDICT Add to schools and public libraries where curiosity reigns. Readers will be enticed by LEGO but then wowed by pure science.-Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.