From Atoms to Quarks and Beyond: A Historical Panorama

Abstract

The inward bound path of discovery unravelling the mysteries of matter and the forces that hold it together has culminated at the end of the twentieth century,in a theory of the Fundamental Forces of Nature based on Nonabelian Gauge Fields, called the Standard Model of High Energy Physics. In this article we trace the historical development of the ideas and the experimental discoveries on which this theory is based. This involves the following components: quantum field theory and quantum electrodynamics, weak interactions and parity violation, strong interactions and quarks, nonabelian gauge fields and spontaneous symmetry breaking. We develop these different strands of history and weave them together. We also mark significant Indian contributions wherever possible. Finally we have a glimpse at future developments, in particular quantum gravity and string theory. An Appendix on more Indian contributions is added at the end.