"This is the second edition of the essential reference and guidebook for SuperCollider, a powerful, flexible, open-source, cross-platform audio programming language"--

An accessible look at the hottest topic in physics and the experiments that will transform our understanding of the universe The biggest news in science today is the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle-smasher, and the anticipation of finally discovering the Higgs boson particle. But what is the Higgs boson and why is it often referred to as the God Particle? Why are the Higgs and the LHC so important? Getting a handle on the science behind the LHC can be difficult for anyone without an advanced degree in particle physics, but you don't need to go back to school to learn about it. In Collider, award-winning physicist Paul Halpern provides you with the tools you need to understand what the LHC is and what it hopes to discover. Comprehensive, accessible guide to the theory, history, and science behind experimental high-energy physics Explains why particle physics could well be on the verge of some of its greatest breakthroughs, changing what we think we know about quarks, string theory, dark matter, dark energy, and the fundamentals of modern physics Tells you why the theoretical Higgs boson is often referred to as the God particle and how its discovery could change our understanding of the universe Clearly explains why fears that the LHC could create a miniature black hole that could swallow up the Earth amount to a tempest in a very tiny teapot "Best of 2009 Sci-Tech Books (Physics)"-Library Journal "Halpern makes the search for mysterious particles pertinent and exciting by explaining clearly what we don't know about the universe, and offering a hopeful outlook for future research."-Publishers Weekly Includes a new author preface, "The Fate of the Large Hadron Collider and the Future of High-Energy Physics" The world will not come to an end any time soon, but we may learn a lot more about it in the blink of an eye. Read Collider and find out what, when, and how.

“A detailed and engaging account of the development of the superconducting supercollider, one of the largest scientific undertakings in the United States.” —Journal of American History Starting in the 1950s, US physicists dominated the search for elementary particles; aided by the association of this research with national security, they held this position for decades. In an effort to maintain their hegemony and track down the elusive Higgs boson, they convinced President Reagan and Congress to support construction of the multibillion-dollar Superconducting Super Collider project in Texas—the largest basic-science project ever attempted. But after the Cold War ended and the estimated SSC cost surpassed ten billion dollars, Congress terminated the project in October 1993. Drawing on extensive archival research, contemporaneous press accounts, and over one hundred interviews with scientists, engineers, government officials, and others involved, Tunnel Visions tells the riveting story of the aborted SSC project. The authors examine the complex, interrelated causes for its demise, including problems of large-project management, continuing cost overruns, and lack of foreign contributions. In doing so, they ask whether Big Science has become too large and expensive, including whether academic scientists and their government overseers can effectively manage such an enormous undertaking. “Focusing on the scientific, technical, and political conflicts that led to delays, ever rising costs, and eventually the SSC’s cancelation by Congress, Tunnel Visions is a true techno-thriller.” —Burton Richter, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics “Most good science stories are tales of discovery and success, but failure can be just as riveting. Here two historians and an archivist describe the greatest particle physics experiment that never was.” —Scientific American

Originally developed by James McCartney in 1996 and now an open source project, SuperCollider is a software package for the synthesis and control of audio in real time. Currently, it represents the state of the art in the field of audio programming: there is no other software available that is equally powerful, efficient or flexible. Yet, SuperCollider is often approached with suspicion or awe by novices, but why? One of the main reasons is the use of a textual user interface. Furthermore, like most software packages that deal with audio, SuperCollider prerequisites a series of skills, ranging from expertise in analog/digital signal processing, to musical composition, to computer science. However, as the beginner overcomes these initial obstacles and understands the powerful flexibility of SuperCollider, what once were seen as weaknesses become its strengths. SuperCollider's features also mean versatility in advanced software applications, generality in terms of computer modelling, and expressivity in terms of symbolic representations. This book aims at providing a brief overview of, and an introduction to, the SuperCollider programming environment. It also intends to informally present, by employing SuperCollider, a series of key notions relevant to what is broadly referred to as computer music. Andrea Valle is a researcher/aggregate professor in film, photography and television at the University of Turin-DAMS, and is active as a musician and composer. He has been a SuperCollider user since 2005.

Somewhere in the Multiverse, in a lab distant from the Makers’ Planet, Tunnel Maker, Creator of Bridges, answers an alarm. His inter-universe probe is detecting signals from another bubble universe, indicating that some new high-intelligence alien species is doing high-energy physics and creating hyperdimensional signals. Tunnel Maker knows that, in another bubble universe, the predatory Hive Mind should be receiving the same signals. It is time to make a Bridge . . . George Griffin, experimental physicist working at the newly-operational Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), observes a proton-proton collision that doesn’t make sense. He chases it down and discovers a Bridgehead, a wormhole link to the Makers’ universe. With help from theorist Roger Coulton and writer Alice Lancaster, he establishes communication with the Makers, only to learn that a Hive invasion of Earth is imminent. As the Hive invasion is destroying humanity, by wormhole the Makers transport George and Roger back to 1987, where they must undertake the task of manipulating the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations to change the future and prevent construction of the SSC. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

This book is a standard guide with numerous code examples of practical applications. It will help you advance your skills in creating sophisticated visualizations while working with audio-visual systems.This book is ideal for digital artists and sound artists who are familiar with SuperCollider and who wish to expand their technical and practical knowledge of mapping and visualization. It is assumed that you already have some experience with the SuperCollider programming language and are familiar with the fundamental audio synthesis techniques.

The essential reference to SuperCollider, a powerful, flexible, open-source, cross-platform audio programming language. SuperCollider is one of the most important domain-specific audio programming languages, with potential applications that include real-time interaction, installations, electroacoustic pieces, generative music, and audiovisuals. The SuperCollider Book is the essential reference to this powerful and flexible language, offering students and professionals a collection of tutorials, essays, and projects. With contributions from top academics, artists, and technologists that cover topics at levels from the introductory to the specialized, it will be a valuable sourcebook both for beginners and for advanced users. SuperCollider, first developed by James McCartney, is an accessible blend of Smalltalk, C, and further ideas from a number of programming languages. Free, open-source, cross-platform, and with a diverse and supportive developer community, it is often the first programming language sound artists and computer musicians learn. The SuperCollider Book is the long-awaited guide to the design, syntax, and use of the SuperCollider language. The first chapters offer an introduction to the basics, including a friendly tutorial for absolute beginners, providing the reader with skills that can serve as a foundation for further learning. Later chapters cover more advanced topics and particular topics in computer music, including programming, sonification, spatialization, microsound, GUIs, machine listening, alternative tunings, and non-real-time synthesis; practical applications and philosophical insights from the composer's and artist's perspectives; and "under the hood,” developer's-eye views of SuperCollider's inner workings. A Web site accompanying the book offers code, links to the application itself and its source code, and a variety of third-party extras, extensions, libraries, and examples.