Physicist Bruce Schumm
December 6, 2004
Deep Down Things, a new book by physicist
Bruce Schumm, explores the astonishing world of particle physics
By Tim Stephens
Particle physicists have developed an amazingly successful
theory describing how the universe works on the most fundamental
level. This theory, known as the Standard Model and hailed as
one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the 20th century,
is still only understood and appreciated by a limited number
of people who tend to have advanced science degrees. Physicist
Bruce Schumm hopes to change that with his new book, Deep
Down Things: The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics.
Schumm, a professor of physics at UCSC, said he was determined
to make his book accessible to any interested reader without
watering down the science. In Deep Down Things, he takes
the reader on a fascinating journey into the bizarre, subatomic
world of particle physics.
The path at times requires close attention, but Schumm is a
witty and eloquent guide, offering patient explanations and
helpful analogies, as well as candid acknowledgment of concepts
that remain mysterious even to scientists.
Ultimately, the reader is rewarded with a view of the fundamental
nature of the world as physicists see it and a sense of how
strange and counterintuitive, yet scientifically sound, that
Though certainly not the first popular book about particle physics,
Deep Down Things seems to be the only one to offer a
clear, straightforward explanation of the field's current paradigm
without veering off into the realm of speculation or spirituality.
Schumm, who has spent his career deeply involved in particle
physics research, said there is plenty of material in the science
itself to inspire wonder and awe.
"Ever since the development of relativity and quantum mechanics,
science has come to have increasingly wondrous and jarring metaphysical
implications," Schumm said. "We know that there is
a lot more to the universe than meets the eye, and some of what
we know scientifically is exceedingly mysterious from a philosophical
point of view. But you don't need to go outside of the science
to find that sense of wonder and mystery."
One does, however, need to make an effort to understand the
science in order to recognize where scientific understanding
ends and speculative fantasy or spirituality begins, he said.
That line gets blurred, for example, in the recent movie What
the Bleep Do We Know?!, which takes quantum physics as its
starting point and goes well beyond what scientists believe
to be true, according to Schumm.
The mathematical underpinnings of physics have long been perceived
as an insurmountable barrier preventing the uninitiated from
grasping the science on anything other than a superficial level.
But Schumm's approach is primarily descriptive and does not
require a strong background in mathematics. He presents a few
important equations "to demystify them, and just because
they are interesting," he said, but the equations are always
described in nonmathematical terms.
Nevertheless, the role of mathematics in particle physics is
a story Schumm is eager to tell. Much of the book focuses on
the remarkable connection between abstract mathematical theory
and the physical sciences, explaining how certain arcane results
derived by mathematical theorists turn out to be essential to
the description of nature at its most fundamental level.
"The connection between abstract mathematics and the physical
nature of the world has always stunned me, and the beauty of
that is something I wanted to convey," he said.
To Schumm, this relationship is one of the most beautiful and
profound revelations of the modern era. In Deep Down Things,
he gives readers with no specialized knowledge an opportunity
to appreciate that beauty and profundity for themselves.
"I realized that nobody had written an exposition of the
Standard Model for the nonexpert, and it seemed like an obligation
of the field to give back to society the results of this research,"
The book concludes with a look at the unanswered questions that physicists will be exploring in the years ahead. Deep Down Things was published by the
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Schumm, who joined the UC Santa Cruz faculty in 1995, is affiliated
with the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics at UCSC.
He is involved in particle physics experiments at the Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center and has also been involved in planning
and design work for a next-generation linear collider facility.
He received a 2002-03 Excellence in Teaching Award from the
UCSC Academic Senate. Schumm earned a B.A. in physics and mathematics
from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in physics from the University
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