Abstract
“Can high-energy physics be too easy?” asked a recent editorial in “Nature.”1) At present, the picture mostly used in high-energy phenomenology is becoming admittedly very complicated. Besides leptons (which we see), one introduces families of “quarks,” each with different colours, then the so-called “gluons,” which are the gauge vector mesons binding the quarks, then there are the so-called “Higgs particles,” which give masses to some of the vector mesons (all of which are not seen in the laboratory). One is already beginning to talk about a second generation of more fundamental and simpler objects for these quarks and gluons etc., even though these first generations of “basic” objects have not been seen. This type of framework seems to create more problems than it solves.2)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Nature editorial, 273, 479 (1978).
V.F. Weisskopf, Physikalische Blatter 35, 3–12 (1979), cf. Sec. 5, Unsolved problems;
M. Gell-Mann [Summary talk, Jerusalem Einstein Centennial Symposium, March 1979.
See the historical account, L.M. Brown, “The idea of neutrino,” Phys. Today, 31, 23 (September 1978).
A.O. Barut, in Structure of Matter, Proc. Rutherford Centennial Conference, 1971, Ed. B.G. Wybourne (Univ. of Canterbury Press, 1972 ), p. 69.
A.O. Barut and J. Kraus, Phys. Letters 59B, 175 (1975); J. Math. Phys. 17, 506 (1976).
A.O. Barut and J. Kraus, Phys. Rev. D16, 161 (1977).
A.O. Barut and R. Raczka, Acta Phys. Polon., B10, 687–703 (1979).
A.O. Barut and G. Strobel, to be published.
C. Piron and F. Reuse, Helv. Phys. Acta 51, 146 (1978);
F. Reuse, Helv. Phys. Acta 51, 157 (1978).
C. Piron and F. Reuse, Helv. Phys. Acta 51, 146 (1978);
F. Reuse, Helv. Phys. Acta 51, 157 (1978).
R.W. Gurney, Nature 123, 565 (1929).
A.O. Barut, Phys. Letters 73B, 310 (1978).
A.O. Barut and J.P. Crawford, Phys. Letters 82B, 233 (1979).
S.L. Glashow, Comments Nucl. Part. Phys. 8, 105 (1978).
A.O. Barut, “Leptons as ‘quarks’,” University of Geneva preprint UGVA-DPT 1978/08–175, and in Proceedings of the Texas Conference on Group Theory and Mathematical Physics, September 1978, Eds. A. Bohm and E. Takasugi (Springer Lecture Notes in Physics, 1979), Vol. 94, 490–98 (1979); Surveys in High Energy Physic, Vol. 1, No. 2, Jan. 1980 issue.
L. Berkelman, in Orbis Scientiae Proceedings;Coral Gables (1979).
C.H. Townes and A.L. Schawlov, in Microwave Spectroscopy (McGraw Hill, 1955 ), p. 300.
D.M. Dennison and G.E. Uhlenbeck, Phys.. Rev. 41, 313 (1932).
When one thinks back to these days, one finds that it is really remarkable how unwilling people were to postulate a new particle. This applies both to theoretical and experimental workers. It seems that they would look for any explanation rather than postulate a new particle. It needed the most obvious and unassailable evidence to be presented before them before they were reluctantly forced to postulate a new theory. The climate has completely changed since these early days. New particles are now being postulated and proposed continually, in large numbers. There are a hundred or more in current use today. People are only too keen to publish evidence for a new particle, whether this evidence comes from experiment or from ill-established theoretical ideas.“ (P.A.M. Dirac. in The Development of Quantum Theory (Gordon and Breach, 1971), p. 60.)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Barut, A.O. (1980). What are the True Building Blocks of Matter. In: Gruber, B., Millman, R.S. (eds) Symmetries in Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3833-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3833-8_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-3835-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3833-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive