A mountain ascent, a new print run, and new translations!
Image Credit: Alexis HELLAL. “Particle Physics for Babies” at the summit of Gran Paradiso, at over 4000m of altitude.
I often joke with students that writing “Particle Physics for Babies” was a high-point of my career. As you can see from the cover photo, some of my former masters students (who are mountaineering enthusiasts!) decided to take this literally, by bringing a copy to the summit of Gran Paradiso in Italy. When I saw the photo I laughed out loud. But besides the visual pun, I have to say that upon reflection, making this book has really been a great chapter in my physics career, and it’s an adventure which shows no signs of ending soon!
Indeed, the reason for this post is also to celebrate that the initial print run of 1000 copies of “Particle Physics for Babies” has now sold out! And thanks to the incredible support of the ATLAS outreach team (thanks Dilia and Hans Peter!), we have organised a second print run of 2000 copies, which has now arrived at CERN.
The new edition has a few changes: it sports a lovely new white cover, and half of the pages also now have a white background. This makes the book lighter, brighter, and helps the colours pop out visually. It also helps avoid an issue with the previous edition, where the edges would scuff very easily. Further, it has a nice new matte varnish to keep it looking smart even after heavy use by babies, toddlers and adults alike.
The new book is now available from the ATLAS Secretariat and the CERN gift shop at CERN, as well as from me on this website.
Another great piece of news concerns the price. Because this run was financed by ATLAS Outreach, and ATLAS is bound by a strict non-profit policy, the books are to be sold at cost price: 3 CHF/EUR per unit (NB: the CERN shop may sell them for an additional markup to help fund future outreach activities). I’ve updated the price list on this website* . I hope this means that the book reaches an even larger audience 🙂
Finally, the arrival of the new edition has spurred on colleagues to provide new translations of the captions: we now have new translations in Greek and Slovene (thanks to Rosy and Blaz for these!), meaning that we now have explanations in 15 languages. That means that more people than ever can pick up the book, flash the QR code on the back, and be explaining particle physics to a baby in no time 🙂
(If you want to translate the captions for some languages we don’t have yet one exchange for some free books, please message me!)
In summary, a sleep-deprived brainwave has morphed into something bigger than I could ever have imagined, and it’s amazing that nearly five years later, the adventure is still going. It bring me such joy that the first 1000 copies are out there with families, meaning that science is at the heart of the conversation for kids from the earliest age. Long may it last. Perhaps one day, in 20 years time, a PhD student will come up to me at a conference and say: I went into science because I had your book as a child. That would certainly be the pinnacle of my career!
*Shipping costs have been updated to reflect current postage prices.
Louie D. Corpe 