PHYS442

Introduction to modern theories about the particles and forces that make up this universe, from Rutherford Scattering to an "(almost) theory of everything (visible)" known as the standard model of particle physics, as well as production, detection and properties of fundamental particles. Discussion of problems and puzzles related to the standard model, such as why some particles have mass or why gravity is so much weaker than other forces, and solutions to these problems, such as the Higgs boson, supersymmetry, quantum gravity and string theory.