Table of contents

The Standard Model is the generally accepted model of the fundamental particles of matter. It allows six quarks, six leptons and various `field quanta' which account for the interactions between particles. This article describes the model and makes some suggestions for improvement.

A brief account is presented of the goals and methods of particle theorists, stressing the measurable quantities they would like to predict, the conventional starting points for such predictions, and some of the techniques used to arrive at a prediction.

Particle physics has had a profound effect on cosmology. The early stages of the universe involve the interactions of particles with very high energies. The physics of these interactions has been investigated at large accelerators such as LEP at CERN.

A bubble chamber picture of part of an electromagnetic shower demonstrates many interesting phenomena, including the existence of antimatter, the materialization of a high energy photon into an electron-positron pair, the emission of radiation by accelerating charges, and the Compton effect. This article introduces the subject of particle physics, explaining in particular the role of the bubble chamber, and it carefully describes the parts of the picture that demonstrate the phenomena of interest. Some relevant kinematics is given in an appendix.

Some questions relating to the introduction of particle physics into post-GCSE courses are considered. A new project that is producing teacher and student materials to support teaching particle physics at this level is described.

Teaching traditionally university-level concepts in particle physics at school level presents some interesting challenges but should be possible.

Four topics that have been presented in the particle physics Units of versions of The Open University's science foundation course are discussed. These topics are all important developments in particle physics and it is suggested that they also illustrate important points about the nature of science itself.

It was over 30 years between the first observation of the enigmatic process of beta decay and the first postulation of the neutrino. It took a further 26 years until the first neutrino was detected and yet another 27 until the electroweak theory was confirmed by the discovery of W and Z particles. This article traces some of the puzzles and paradoxes associated with the history of the neutrino.

The traditional pedagogy with which motional EMF is introduced to undergraduates is re-examined and a more careful analysis of the work done on charges in a simple model system is presented.

The original formulation of Newton's third law is again under attack. Too many physicists - and not just undergraduates - fail to understand its core. An explanation for this peculiar state of affairs is attempted and a reformulation proposed.

It is shown that there is a fairly simple and cheap alternative to conventional analogue-to-digital (ADC) converters if the conversion time of the ADC need not be too short.

Teachers' input to the physics syllabusRoy Danson Macclesfield College of Further Education, Cheshire, UK

A new measure for ellipsesP Glaister Department of Mathematics, University of Reading, UK

Problems with vectorsP S Taylor Theoretical Physics Department, Imperial College, London, UK

On an analogy for Ohm's lawPaulo Murilo Castro de Oliveira Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Nirerói, Brazil

The equations of PhysicsA T Jackson Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education

An impossible observation?Bob Kibble Purley Sixth Form College, London, UK