PHYSICS, PLAIN and SIMPLE
Septuagenarian CERN scientist takes to storytelling to explain the universe in everyday words, Li Yingxue reports.
At 74, Qian Sijin still walks the long corridors of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) with the curiosity of a young scientist and the quiet dedication of a lifelong teacher.
Most days, his schedule is filled with research, meetings and data collected from one of the world's most complex scientific machines. But beyond his work as a nuclear physicist at the CERN, the world's largest particle physics lab located at the border of Switzerland and France, Qian has embraced another calling: sharing the wonder of physics with the world.
He does this in person, leading tour groups through CERN's sprawling underground tunnels and control rooms, pausing to explain the universe's most fundamental particles in words even high school students can understand. And now, he does it in print, with a new book designed to bring the mysteries of the material world within reach of Chinese readers.
What Is the Nature of the Material World, co-written with team from Lumibay online education platform, is Qian's newest attempt to make particle physics, quantum theory, and high-energy research accessible.
