Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physicists

by Sharon Traweek

Book Overview

The unique breed of particle physicists constitutes a community of sophisticated mythmakers--explicators of the nature of matter who forever alter our views of space and time. But who are these people? What is their world really like? Sharon Traweek, a bold and original observer of culture, opens the door to this unusual domain and offers us a glimpse into the inner sanctum.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674063481
• ISBN13: 9780674063488
• Release Date: February 1992
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

From NKV

If the relation between science and society, nature and human, interests you, this is a book you should read. The author, who majors in anthropology, tries to examine high-energy physics community in the light of anthropology. As far as I know, anthropologists have hardly written any book about physics, physicists' community. As you will see, this book is different from the books that are usually written by physicist. The books, that physicists write, require more physical and mathematical background. But such prerequisites are not required at all in this book. Rather, this book requires the information about community, that is, anthropology. In prologue, the author explains the motivation of beginning this fieldwork, the relation between high-energy physics and war, the method of analyzing physicist community, and the landmark emerged in constructing an account of physicists' culture. First of all, the method of analysis through anthropology is the thing that this book is different from usual books about physicists. The author says that the account written as an outcome of anthropological fieldwork usually includes information about four domains of community life. They run as follows: ecology, social organization, the developmental cycle, cosmology: the group's system of knowledge, skills, and beliefs, what is valued and what is denigrated. As this method, she develops his argument until epilogue. In chapter1, she, who was partly employed to conduct public tours of Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC), introduce SLAC and KEK in Japan, as if we tour through SLAC, KEK. In ch2, detectors, which is probably the most important tool observing nature, is revealed. There are many differences between detectors at SLAC (ESA, LASS, and SPEAR) and those at KEK. She does proficiently explain "why are detectors at SLAC and those at KEK different?" In the next chapter, she turns from the detectors to their makers who have different strategies for making research equipment. This chapter is entitled "Pilgrim's Progress: Male Tales Told during a Life in Physics". If you are concerned with physics, considering to major in physics, you are strongly recommended to read chapter. The life of physicist is divided by 4 stages: undergraduate student, graduate, postdoctoral physicist, and established physicist. The author does minutely explain the psychological state, required qualifications, in each stage. Until this chapter, the author has introduced the actors in the high-energy community but from now, she will describe their activities. Ch.4 entitled "Ground states: Distinctions and the Ties that Bind" explain networks of physicists, ranking of institutions, distinctions between experimentalist and theorist, women and men, etc... In this chapter, the author try to show the relationship that bind physicist community, she consider it to be highly fixed relation through talking, not writing. In last chapter, physicists, who try to