From myth to machine: images of matter from antiquity to Newtonian mechanics -- Progress!: from Newtonian mechanics to nineteenth-century physics -- A new arena is built: special relativity and the notion of space time -- The symmetry beneath: symmetry in physics: spacetime symmetries -- The machine breaks down: the development of quantum mechanics -- So familiar and yet so different: spin, quantum phases, and quantum statistics -- Forging the perfect tool: the development of quantum field theory -- Pieces of a puzzle: the physics of elementary particles -- Reaching the limits: the Gauge principle and the standard model -- Outlook: unanswered questions and open problems.
Summary
'Particle or Wave' explains the origins and development of modern physical concepts about matter and the controversies surrounding them.
