I would love it if our resident experts could recommend excellent books that explain particle physics for laymen, rather than ask them to condense their understanding into useless short replies on a message board (which is like saying, "sum up, in ten words or less, the Hundred Years' War" - you can get an answer, but not a good one).
The problem is, I'm not really sure there /is/ a good layman's book. I mean, there is probably one that gives you the basics of what all the particles are and stuff, but things like the Higgs mechanism and whatnot really can't be explained without serious particle physics.
The nice thing about the internet is all the videos explain it better than books and are closer at hand, so to speak, I've been having good luck with The Cassiopeia Project. It's really quite excellent and they've turned out some really quality work, not too mention some good simple analogies.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein
King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
- Albert Einstein
King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
Who knows about particle physics?
- 07/07/2012 08:47:57 AM
2166 Views
Many people; fortunately for you, some frequent this site. 
- 07/07/2012 10:48:26 AM
885 Views
- 07/07/2012 10:48:26 AM
885 Views
Well. It's kind of hard to make it simple.
- 07/07/2012 01:38:43 PM
991 Views
*NM*