NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Grant No. PHY-0432486 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation and Contract No. DE-FG02-04ER41327 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Energy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Elementary Particle Physics in the 21st Century.

Revealing the hidden nature of space and time : charting the course for elementary particle physics / Committee on Elementary Particle Physics in the 21st Century, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-309-10194-8 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-309-66039-4 (pdf) 1. Particles (Nuclear physics)— Research—United States. 2. Space and time—Research—United States. I. Title.

QC793.4.N38 2006

539.7’2072073—dc22

2006027444

Cover: Industrial designer Jan-Henrik Andersen, working with particle physicists Gordon Kane and David Gerdes, portrays the collision of a proton and an antiproton in the Fermilab Tevatron accelerator. By parameterizing the different properties of subatomic particles with different visual elements (color, number and direction of helical turns, visual weight of solid and void space, and so on), Andersen creates a visual interpretation of the particle physics at work. Courtesy of J.-H. Andersen.