Passport to the Infinite: the Journey goes on
The story does not stop here... Neither for the scientists nor for you, interested reader.
In this section the story and the authors of the original book are presented, as well as other publications from CNRS/IN2P3, one of the pillars of the IPPOG collaboration in France.
A glossary provides tips for further exploration, and links are provided to follow the journey.
About the book
The “Passeport pour les deux infinis” (translated as Passport to the Infinite) operation aims to enable scientific education and outreach organisations to tackle issues relating to fundamental research. It provides secondary teachers, students in science and the public with an insight into the fields of astrophysics and particle physics.
It was supported from the very beginning by CEA/IRFU,CNRS,Labex P2IO, Observatoire de Paris and Université Paris Diderot/Cité. During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, Dunod publishing house discontinued sales of the Passeport pour les deux infinis book and offered free access to its digital version, available at https://pass2i.ijclab.in2p3.fr/. This generous gesture concluded the adventure of this science popular book, whose editorial and educational success has been marked by three successive editions (2010, 2013, 2016). The journey continues: with the kind consent of the Passport’s partners and Dunod publishing house, the latest edition has been partly translated into English and updated as part of IPPOG’s resources.
Feel free to browse and download the selected chapters. If you use the book as teaching material, presentation support, etc. please mention the “Passeport pour les deux infinis” project’s website, https://pass2i.ijclab.in2p3.fr/, the Dunod publishing house and IPPOG.
The Infinite Glossary
Now that you have a passport, need directions? Initially fully integrated in the book, the glossary has also been revisited and is available:
As a classical alphabetical list
Organised into 5 themes: fundamental interactions, matter constituents, from beams to measurements, cosmic messengers and open science.
Readers interested by the links between all items may prefer: an interactive graph
Further online reading [in English]
ICHEP is a series of international conferences that has been held every two years since more than 50 years and is "the" reference conference of particle physics. Physicists from around the world gather to share the latest advancements in experimental and theoretical particle physics, astrophysics/cosmology, and accelerator science. They discuss plans for major future facilities. Although plenary sessions are now broadcast on YouTube and all slides public, they are far too detailed and technical for a general public. Two online magazines spread the news :
Symmetry Magazine, brought to the general by Fermilab/SLAC: https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/
CERN courier, essential reading for the global high-energy physics community: https://cerncourier.com/
Other resources from CNRS/IN2P3 [in French]
Activities and contacts: Communication et médiation scientifique à l'IN2P3
Revue Elémentaire : an outreach journal published between 2005 and 2016, in French, by scientists of IJCLab). Its nine issues cover a large part of the "Passport to the Infinite" topics, through about 15 recurring articles which present the stakes of the art, from the tools and the methods used to study this physics to interviews.
- #1 De l'atome
- #2 Le neutron
- #3 Les rayons cosmiques
- #4 La couleur des particules
- #5 Les neutrinos
- #6 Le modèle standard
- #7 Quand l'univers fait boom
- #8 En route pour l'au-delà
- #9 Les premiers résultats du LHC
In 2022 a book was published by CNRS Editions, "Etonnants Infinis" covering, in French and in 6 chapters, the institute scientific programme:
- Book presentation: Etonnants Infinis
- A few words by Ursula Bassler, editor: link on YouTube
- Institute overview: 50 ans de physique des deux infinis en France
Enjoy your reading and feel free to share those links!