Radioactivity: History, Science, Vital Uses and Ominous Peril

ISBN-13: 9780443158278 / Angielski / Twarda / 2022 / 1146 str.

IA Michael F. L'Annunziata (Former Head

Opis

Radioactivity: History, Science, Vital Uses and Ominous Peril, Third Edition provides an introduction to radioactivity, the building blocks of matter, the fundamental forces in nature, and the role of quarks and force carrier particles. This new edition adds material on the dichotomy between the peaceful applications of radioactivity and the threat to the continued existence of human life from the potential use of more powerful and sophisticated nuclear weapons. The book includes a current review of studies on the probability of nuclear war and treaties, nonproliferation and disarmament, along with historical insights into the achievements of over 100 pioneers and Nobel Laureates. Through multiple worked examples, the book answers many questions for the student, teacher and practitioner as to the origins, properties and practical applications of radioactivity in fields such as medicine, biological and environmental research, industry, safe nuclear power free of greenhouse gases and nuclear fusion.

Spis treści

Prologue: Radioactivity/Nuclear Technology and our Well-being

Part 1. History of Discovery 1. Birth of Modern Physics: From the Discovery of Radioactivity to the Discovery of the Proton, Electron and Atomic Nucleus 2. Birth of Quantum Physics: From Planck's Quantum to Einstein's Photon, de Broglie's Wave-Particle Duality and Stern and Gerlach's Electron Spin States 3. Revelations in Nuclear Decay Processes: From Soddy's Displacement Law to Fermi's Beta Decay 4. Discoveries on the Interaction of Radiation with Matter: From X-ray diffraction to the Compton Effect 5. Era of Cherenkov Radiation Discoveries: From the Discovery of Cherenkov Radiation to the Characterization of the Cherenkov Effect 6. Cosmic Discoveries: From the Discovery of Cosmic Rays to the Component Particles and Properties of the Cosmic Radiation Showers 7. Nuclear Era: From the Discovery of the Neutron to Nuclear Fission, Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Non-proliferation 8. Breakthroughs in Nuclear Properties, Nuclear Stability and Accelerators: From Magic Numbers to Magnetic Resonance, and the Discovery of the Antinucleons 9. Era of Particle Physics and the Role of Fundamental Particles in Beta Decay: From the Discovery of Particles, Advances in our Understanding of Particle Interactions and Beta Decay, and the Structure of Matter

Part 2. Elements of Nuclear and Radiation Physics 10. Basic Concepts and Definitions 11. Alpha Radiation 12. Beta Radiation and Beta Decay 13. Electromagnetic Radiation: Photons 14. Neutron Radiation 15. Atomic Electron Radiation 16. Cosmic Radiation 17. Cherenkov Radiation 18. Radionuclide Decay, Radioactivity Units, and Radionuclide Mass 19. The Atomic Nucleus

Epilogue: The Threat of Nuclear Weapons Appendix A: Alpha- and Beta-particle/Electron Range-Energy Correlations Appendix B: Lorentz Transformations