Quantum 20/20

Ian Kenyon is an elementary particle physicist in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, UK. He took part in the discovery of the carriers of the weak force, working at CERN for three years on the design, construction, data-taking and analysis of the UA1 experiment. Earlier he designed and constructed the optics for the Northwestern University 50cm liquid helium bubble chamber. More recently he worked at the HERA electron-proton collider on the H1 experiment. He is the author of three advanced textbooks for physics undergraduates: Elementary Particle Physics, General Relativity (also translated into Japanese) and The Light Fantastic - A Modern Introduction to Classical and Quantum Optics.

A highly recommended textbook for advanced university physics students. The problem sets require thinking that evolves from the chapter's content and serve as both a learning experience and an assessment of the reader's understanding of the material. I found the mathematical description and the physical insights of the text well matched and tightly linked in a synergistic manner. The text is augmented with figures (some in colour) of actual experimental data, instruments, and Feynman diagrams. I commend the author on his comprehensive and extensive development of these modern aspects of quantum mechanics.