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{{Short description|Particle physicist}}
{{forFor multi|the British Olympic athlete|Frank Close (athlete)|the Scottish footballer|Frank Close (footballer)}}
{{External links|date=January 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}▼
{{Use dmy dates|date=JuneFebruary 20132023}}▼
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Frank Close
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|FRS |FInstP|size=100%}}
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| birth_name = Francis Edwin Close
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|7|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Peterborough]], [[Northamptonshire]], England
| death_date = = <!--{{death date and age |YYYY|MM|DD |YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date)-->
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| other_names =
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| nationality = British▼
| citizenship =
| fields = [[Particle physics]]▼
▲| nationality = British
| workplaces = [[Stanford University]] <br /> [[Daresbury Laboratory]] <br /> [[CERN]] <br /> [[Rutherford Appleton Laboratory]] <br /> [[University of Oxford]] <br /> [[Exeter College, Oxford]]▼
▲| fields = [[Particle physics]]
| patrons = ▼
▲| workplaces = [[Stanford University]] <br /> [[Daresbury Laboratory]] <br /> [[CERN]] <br /> [[Rutherford Appleton Laboratory]] <br /> [[University of Oxford]] <br /> [[Exeter College, Oxford]]
| education = [[The King's School, Peterborough]]▼
▲| patrons =
| alma_mater = [[University of St Andrews]] <br /> [[Magdalen College, Oxford]]▼
▲| education = [[King's School, Peterborough]]
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| doctoral_advisor = [[Richard Dalitz]]▼
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▲{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
▲{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}
'''Francis Edwin Close''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|FInstP|size=100%|sep=,}} (born 24 July 1945) is a [[particle physicist]] who is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the [[University of Oxford]] and a Fellow of [[Exeter College, Oxford]].▼
 
▲'''Francis Edwin Close''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|FRS|FInstP|size=100%|sep=,}} (born 24 July 1945) is a [[particle physicist]] who is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the [[University of Oxford]] and a Fellow of [[Exeter College, Oxford]].
==Early life==
 
Close was a pupil at [[King's School, Peterborough]] (then a [[grammar school]]), where he was taught Latin by John Dexter, brother of author [[Colin Dexter]]. He took a BSc in Physics at [[St Andrews University]] graduating in 1967, before researching for a [[DPhil]] in Theoretical Physics at [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], under the supervision of [[Richard Dalitz]], which he was awarded in 1970. He is an atheist.<ref>When describing a total solar eclipse, Close wrote: "It was simultaneously ghastly, beautiful, supernatural. Even for a 21st century atheist, the vision was such that I thought, "If there is a heaven, this is what its entrance is like." The heavenly vision demanded music by Mozart; instead we had the crickets." Frank Close, 'Dark side of the moon', The Guardian, August 9, 2001, Guardian Online Pages, Pg. 8.</ref>▼
==Education==
▲Close was a pupil at [[King's School, Peterborough]] (then a [[grammar school]]), where he was taught Latin by John Dexter, brother of author [[Colin Dexter]]. He took a BSc in Physicsphysics at [[St Andrews University]] graduating in 1967, before researching for a [[DPhil]] in Theoreticaltheoretical Physicsphysics at [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], under the supervision of [[Richard Dalitz]], which he was awarded in 1970. He is an atheist.<ref>When describing a total solar eclipse, Close wrote: "It was simultaneously ghastly, beautiful, supernatural. Even for a 21st century atheist, the vision was such that I thought, "If there is a heaven, this is what its entrance is like." The heavenly vision demanded music by Mozart; instead we had the crickets." Frank Close, 'Dark side of the moon', The Guardian, 9 August 9, 2001, Guardian Online Pages, Pg. 8.</ref>
 
==Career==
In addition to his scientific research, he is known for his lectures and writings making science intelligible to a wider audience and promoting [[physics outreach]].
 
From Oxford he went to [[Stanford University]] in California for two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow on the [[Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]]. In 1973 he went to the [[Daresbury Laboratory]] in Cheshire and then to [[CERN]] in Switzerland from 1973–51973 to 1975.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Close|first1=Frank|title=A November revolution: the birth of a new particle|journal=CERN Courier|date=December 2004|volume=44|issue=10|pages=25–26|url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/1733577}}</ref> He joined the [[Rutherford Appleton Laboratory]] in Oxfordshire in 1975 as a research physicist and was latterly Headhead of Theoretical Physics Division from 1991. He headed the communication and public education activities at CERN from 1997 to 2000. From 2001, he was Professorprofessor of Theoreticaltheoretical Physicsphysics at Oxford. He was a Visitingvisiting Professorprofessor at the [[University of Birmingham]] from 1996–20021996 to 2002.
 
Close lists his recreations as writing, singing, travel, [[Squash (sport)|squash]] and [[Real tennis]], and he is a member of [[Harwell, Oxfordshire|Harwell]] Squash Club.
 
===Honours and awards===
*He became a [[Fellow of the Institute of Physics]] (FInstP) in 1991.
*The [[Institute of Physics]] awarded him its 1996 [[Kelvin Prize|Kelvin Medal and Prize]], which is given "for outstanding contributions to the public understanding of physics".<ref>{{cite web | title = Subject Awards. Recipients of the Kelvin Medal and Prize | publisher = [[Institute of Physics]] | url = http://www.iop.org/activity/awards/Subject_Awards/The_Kelvin_Medal_and_Prize/Kelvin_medal_recipients/page_10138.html }} ([http://www.iop.org/activity/awards/Subject_Awards/The_Kelvin_Medal_and_Prize/page_1787.html main page of award])</ref>
*From 1993–91993 to 1999, he was Vicevice-Presidentpresident of the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]].
*He was appointed an [[OBE]] in 2000.
*Since 2003, he has been Chairman of the British team (BPhO) in the [[International Physics Olympiad]], based at the [[University of Leicester]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Officers of the BPhO. BPhO committee for the year 2003. | publisher = [[University of Leicester]] | url = http://www.le.ac.uk/physics/BPhO/officers.shtml }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
*2013 Awarded the Royal Society [[Michael Faraday Prize]]<ref>{{cite web|url = http://royalsociety.org/awards/michael-faraday-prize/|title = The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize |publisher = The Royal Society|accessdateaccess-date = 12 September 2013}}</ref>
*He became a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] (FRS) in 2021.
 
===Christmas lectures===
His [[Royal Institution Christmas Lectures]] in 1993, entitled ''The Cosmic Onion'', gave their name to one of his books. He was a Membermember on the Councilcouncil of the Royal Institution from 1997–91997 to 1999. From 2000 to 2003 he gave public lectures as Professorprofessor of Astronomyastronomy at [[Gresham College]], London.
 
==Publications==
In his book, ''Lucifer's Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry'', Close wrote: "Fundamental physical science involves observing how the universe functions and trying to find regularities that can be encoded into laws. To test if these are right, we do experiments. We hope that the experiments won't always work out, because it is when our ideas fail that we extend our experience. The art of research is to ask the right questions and discover where your understanding breaks down."<ref>httphttps://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=798217{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
 
His 2010 book ''Neutrino'' discusses the [[Neutrino|tiny, difficult-to-detect particle]] emitted from radioactive transitions and generated by stars. Also discussed are the contributions of [[John Bahcall]], [[Raymond Davis, Jr.|Ray Davis]], [[Bruno Pontecorvo]], and others who made a scientific understanding of this fundamental building block of the universe.
 
In ''The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe'' (2013), Close focuses on the discovery of the mass mechanism, the so-called [[Higgs-mechanism]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Charitos|first1=Panos|title=Collecting the pieces of the Infinity Puzzle -– An Interview with Frank Close|url=http://ph-news.web.cern.ch/content/collecting-pieces-infinity-puzzle-interview-frank-close|website=PH: Newsletter of the Physics Department|publisher=CERN|access-date=31 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103914/http://ph-news.web.cern.ch/content/collecting-pieces-infinity-puzzle-interview-frank-close|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
In his 2019 book, ''Trinity: The Treachery and Pursuit of the Most Dangerous Spy in History'', Close recounts the life and the espionage of [[Klaus Fuchs]] who passed atomic secrets to the Soviets during the race for development of the nuclear bomb. He concludes that "it was primarily Fuchs who enabled the Soviets to catch up with Americans".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/17/trinity-by-frank-close-review-in-pursuit-of-the-spy-of-the-century |title=Trinity by Frank Close review – in pursuit of 'the spy of the century' |date=17 August 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 January 2021 }}</ref>
 
Other books include: ''Particle Physics: [[A Very Short Introduction]]'' {{ISBN|9780192804341}}, ''Antimatter'' {{ISBN|9780199550166}} and ''Nothing'' {{ISBN|9780199225866}}.
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==Works==
[[File:Bookbits - 2011-11-19 Frank Close-The Infinity Puzzle.vorb.oga|thumb|right|Frank Close talks about The Infinity Puzzle on Bookbits radio.]]
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=F. E.|title=An Introduction to Quarks and Partons|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontoqu0000clos|url-access=registration|year=1979|publisher=Academic Press|location=London|isbn=0-12-175150-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=The Cosmic Onion: Quarks and the Nature of the Universe|year=1983|publisher=Heinemann Educational|location=London|isbn=0-435-69170-8}}
**rev. ed. {{cite book|title=The New Cosmic Onion: Quarks and the Nature of the Universe|year=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=London|isbn=1-58488-798-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|author2=[[Michael Marten]]|author2-link=Michael Marten (writer)|author3=[[Christine Sutton]]|author3-link=Christine Sutton|title=The Particle Explosion|year=1987|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-851965-6|url=https://archive.org/details/particleexplosio00fran}}
**rev. ed. {{cite book|title=The Particle Odyssey: A Journey to the Heart of the Matter|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-850486-1|url=https://archive.org/details/particleodysseyj0000clos}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=End: Cosmic Catastrophe and the Fate of the Universe|url=https://archive.org/details/endcosmiccatastr0000clos|url-access=registration|year=1988|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=London|isbn=0-671-65461-6}} (Published in the US as ''Apocalypse When?'')
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Too Hot to Handle: The Story of the Race for Cold Fusion|year=1990|publisher=W. H. Allen|location=London|isbn=1-85227-206-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Lucifer's Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-850380-6|url=https://archive.org/details/luciferslegacyme00clos}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-280434-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=The Void|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-922590-73}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Antimatter|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-955016-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Nothing: A Very Short Introduction|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-922586-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Neutrino|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-957459-69}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe
|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-959350-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Half-Life: The Divided Life of [[Bruno Pontecorvo]], Physicist or Spy|year=2015|publisher=Basic Books|location=London|isbn=978-1-78-074581-7}}
*{{cite ''book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Theories of Everything: Ideas in Profile'', |year=2017, |publisher=Profile Books, {{ISBN|location=London|isbn=978-1781257517}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Trinity: The Treachery and Pursuit of the Most Dangerous Spy in History|year=2019|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|isbn=978-0241309834}}
*{{cite book|last=Close|first=Frank|title=Elusive: How Peter Higgs Solved the Mystery of Mass|year=2022|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|isbn=978-0241521144}}
 
==References==
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==External links==
* [http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/pandaweb/newtour/stud_com/proffrankclose.htm Frank Close at st-andrews.ac.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201112732/http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/pandaweb/newtour/stud_com/proffrankclose.htm |date=1 December 2018 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080504041734/http://www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/college/rectorandfellows/close Frank Close at Exeter College]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/jun/01/science.research Interview in ''The Guardian'', 1 June 2004]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/museumofcuriosity_biographies.shtml Radio 4 Museum of Curiosity 5 March 2008]
* [http://www.convilleandwalsh.com/index.php/authors/author/frank-close/ Frank Close's page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401125846/http://www.convilleandwalsh.com/index.php/authors/author/frank-close/ |date=1 April 2016 }}, [[Conville and Walsh]] literary agents
* {{OL author}}
*[https://inspirehep.net/author/profile/F.E.Close.2 Scientific publications of Frank Close] on [[INSPIRE-HEP]]]
* [http://www.jodcast.net/archive/201512Extra/ Jodcast Interview with Professor Frank Close on the life, research and disappearance of Bruno Pontecorvo]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qmnj Contributor to discussion on Eclipses for BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time]
 
===Video clips===
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[[Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews]]
[[Category:English atheists]]
[[Category:British physicists]]
[[Category:Theoretical physicists]]
[[Category:Particle physicists]]
[[Category:Quantum physicists]]
[[Category:People associated with CERN]]
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[[Category:People educated at The King's School, Peterborough]]
[[Category:People from Peterborough]]
[[Category:ProfessorsAcademics of Gresham College]]
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