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Annual review of nuclear science vol. 15
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10.D
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Nuclear Physics 87 (1967) 639--640; (~) North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam
BOOK REVIEWS
B. C. GODBOLD and J. K. JONES (eds.), Radiological monitoring of the em'ironment (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1965. xvi-425 p., ~5.10s) The present book, which is an excellent contribution to the running discussion on the need and the extent of environmental monitoring around nuclear establishments, records the proceedings of the Symposium on Radiological Monitoring of the Environment, which was held at Berkeley in October 1963. The first part of the volume contains the papers submitted to the symposium and the second the transactions of the meeting. The rapporteur system has made it possible to obtain a more effective and inspiring presentation and discussion of the various contributions than that normally encountered at such meetings. Three invited papers dealing respectively with radioactivity in agricultural products (by R. Scott Russell), with monitoring of radioactivity in waters (by F. Morgan) and with derived maximum permissible levels (by H. J. Dunster and R. J. Garner) give an instructive introduction to the symposium. The following sessions deal with monitoring for air-borne radio-activity, survey of working enx ironments and current practice in neighbourhood environmental survey and possible alternatives thereto. This reviewer has found especially this last session of interest and feels that Scott Russell hits the point, when he in his introductory lecture states: "that if adequate information can be obtained by relatively simple methods, this is largely a result of experience gained laboriously at an earlier time". In this connection it is a little disappointing, that no papers deal with statistical methods, e.g. control charts, which would facilitate the carrying out of environmental monitoring programmes adequately and economically. A. Aarkrog
High-energy physics and elementary particles (IAEA, Vienna, 1965. 1006 p., $15) Huge collection of high-level survey and specialized papers, by the most eminent investigators, covering the whole field of high-energy physics. L.R.
Reriews of plasma physics voL 4, ed. M. A. Leontovich (Consultants Bureau, New York, 1966. ~ii-241 p., $12.50) Translation of three recent survey articles by Soviet specialists: two on collisionless plasmas Ihydrodynamics by T. F. Volkov, cooperative phenomena and shock waves by R. Z. Sagdeev) and one on. Coulomb collisions in a fully ionized plasma (D.V. Sivukhint. L.R.
Annual review of nuclear science vol. 15, ed. E. Segr6 (Annual Reviews Inc. Palo Alto, 1965. 502 p. $8.50 domestic, $9.00 foreign) This volume of the well-known series is full of interest for the physicists working either on nuclear or"high energy" problems. Indeed, besides 5 technological articles (151 pages), it contains 4 articles on nuclear physics (149 pages) and 3 on high energy physics (172 pages), all very valuable. Most important is an extensive survey of the problem of weak interactions, by T. D. Lee and C. S. Wu, of which the first part only finds place in this volume, the second being due to appear in the next on-. 639
640
BOOK REVIEWS
T h e others deal with solid-state track detectors, p h o t o n u c l e a r reactions, non-spherical nuclei, reactions between complex nuclei, m a s s e s o f the metastable particles, spin a n d parity determinations o f e l e m e n t a r y particles. L.R. G. BARTON, Dispersion techniques in fieM theory (W. A. Benjamin, N e w York, 1965, xi-242 p., $5.95 p a p e r b o u n d ; $10 domestic a n d $11 foreign c l o t h b o u n d ) T h i s course o f lectures to a d v a n c e d students s h o u l d be useful to all those engaged in research on weak a n d electromagnetic interactions, w h o m a y have to apply dispersion techniques. T h e luxuriant d e v e l o p m e n t o f these techniques h a s p r o d u c e d a n arsenal o f such bewildering intricacy that pretty full directions are needed to extract f r o m it the w e a p o n best a d a p t e d to the p r o b l e m on hand. T h e a u t h o r h a s precisely a d a p t e d this practical attitude, even at s o m e sacrifice o f rigour a n d depth, a n d h a s given us a well-ordered, very serviceable survey o f the available methods. L.R. R. HERMANN, Lie groups for physicists (W. A. Benjamin, N e w York, 1966. vii-193 c l o t h b o u n d , $12.50 domestic, $13.75 foreign) P e r h a p s addicts o f Lie groups m a y m a k e s o m e t h i n g o f this book. I can't. I received m y m a t h e matical education at a time w h e n m a t h e m a t i c i a n s were articulate. I learned Lie groups from Lie's o w n book, which is written in h u m a n language, even with a sense for elegance in the expression o f ideas in words. Moreover, we were b r o u g h t up in the belief t h a t it mightily helped the u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f a s t a t e m e n t if the t e r m s in which it was f o r m u l a t e d h a d first been defined. All this, 1 see, is terribly old-fashioned. " N o u s a v o n s chang6 tout cela". It is n o w possible, for instance, to write a whole c h a p t e r on c o m p a c t a n d n o n - c o m p a c t Lie algebras without having defined the concept o f c o m p a c t ness. Physicists, however, o u g h t to be thankful. Their ways, we are told, are m u c h too "primitive"; it is time they learned " t h e " m o d e r n " tricks" (sic). L.R. I. SIMON, Infrared radiation (Van N o s t r a n d , L o n d o n , 1966. 119 p., 12s.) F. 1. BOLEY, Plasmas - laboratory and cosmic (Van N o s t r a n d , L o n d o n , 1966. 154p., 14 s.) W. B. MANN and S. B. GARrINKEL, Radioacticity and its measurement (Van N o s t r a n d , L o n d o n , 1966. 165p., 14 s.) Previous items o f this excellent series were reviewed in this j o u r n a l 65 (1965) 528. T h e three new v o l u m e s fully u p h o l d the high didactic s t a n d a r d set by the preceding ones. Students could hardly find m o r e authoritative a n d up-to-date i n t r o d u c t i o n s into the respective subjects. T h e p l a s m a booklet, for instance, gives in a nutshell a fascinating account o f the whole range o f p h e n o m e n a - f r o m the m a n - m a d e ones to those on the cosmic scale - which fall u n d e r this general concept. T h e treatise on radioactivity lays stress, as the title indicates, on the m e t h o d s o f detection a n d analysis o f the radiations emitted f r o m nuclei; but the underlying principles a n d p h e n o m e n a are in every case clearly presented. If the General Editor o f this series a m b i t i o n s perfection, he o u g h t to look up the recomm e n d a t i o n s o f the S U N C o m m i s s i o n concerning the unit s y m b o l s a n d n o m e n c l a t u r e , a n d persuade the a u t h o r s to follow them. L.R. P. STOLE, Experimentelle Methoden der Kernphysik (Springer, Berlin, 1966. xi-178 p., D M 10.80)
Very clear and concise exposition o f the various types o f m e a s u r e m e n t s performed in nuclear physics, e m p h a s i z i n g the principles a n d essential features o f the apparatus. In spite o f its small size, the book is r e m a r k a b l y complete; besides the detection a n d coincidence techniques, it describes the radiation sources, the activity m e a s u r e m e n t s a n d the focussing a n d separation methods. It wisely starts with an a c c o u n t o f dosimetry. (The unit s y m b o l s for curie a n d r 6 n t g e n are wrong.) T h e s t u d y o f this book should be extremely helpful to incipient experimenters, a n d very healthy for theoretical physicists. L.R.
10.D
[
Nuclear Physics 87 (1967) 639--640; (~) North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam
BOOK REVIEWS
B. C. GODBOLD and J. K. JONES (eds.), Radiological monitoring of the em'ironment (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1965. xvi-425 p., ~5.10s) The present book, which is an excellent contribution to the running discussion on the need and the extent of environmental monitoring around nuclear establishments, records the proceedings of the Symposium on Radiological Monitoring of the Environment, which was held at Berkeley in October 1963. The first part of the volume contains the papers submitted to the symposium and the second the transactions of the meeting. The rapporteur system has made it possible to obtain a more effective and inspiring presentation and discussion of the various contributions than that normally encountered at such meetings. Three invited papers dealing respectively with radioactivity in agricultural products (by R. Scott Russell), with monitoring of radioactivity in waters (by F. Morgan) and with derived maximum permissible levels (by H. J. Dunster and R. J. Garner) give an instructive introduction to the symposium. The following sessions deal with monitoring for air-borne radio-activity, survey of working enx ironments and current practice in neighbourhood environmental survey and possible alternatives thereto. This reviewer has found especially this last session of interest and feels that Scott Russell hits the point, when he in his introductory lecture states: "that if adequate information can be obtained by relatively simple methods, this is largely a result of experience gained laboriously at an earlier time". In this connection it is a little disappointing, that no papers deal with statistical methods, e.g. control charts, which would facilitate the carrying out of environmental monitoring programmes adequately and economically. A. Aarkrog
High-energy physics and elementary particles (IAEA, Vienna, 1965. 1006 p., $15) Huge collection of high-level survey and specialized papers, by the most eminent investigators, covering the whole field of high-energy physics. L.R.
Reriews of plasma physics voL 4, ed. M. A. Leontovich (Consultants Bureau, New York, 1966. ~ii-241 p., $12.50) Translation of three recent survey articles by Soviet specialists: two on collisionless plasmas Ihydrodynamics by T. F. Volkov, cooperative phenomena and shock waves by R. Z. Sagdeev) and one on. Coulomb collisions in a fully ionized plasma (D.V. Sivukhint. L.R.
Annual review of nuclear science vol. 15, ed. E. Segr6 (Annual Reviews Inc. Palo Alto, 1965. 502 p. $8.50 domestic, $9.00 foreign) This volume of the well-known series is full of interest for the physicists working either on nuclear or"high energy" problems. Indeed, besides 5 technological articles (151 pages), it contains 4 articles on nuclear physics (149 pages) and 3 on high energy physics (172 pages), all very valuable. Most important is an extensive survey of the problem of weak interactions, by T. D. Lee and C. S. Wu, of which the first part only finds place in this volume, the second being due to appear in the next on-. 639
640
BOOK REVIEWS
T h e others deal with solid-state track detectors, p h o t o n u c l e a r reactions, non-spherical nuclei, reactions between complex nuclei, m a s s e s o f the metastable particles, spin a n d parity determinations o f e l e m e n t a r y particles. L.R. G. BARTON, Dispersion techniques in fieM theory (W. A. Benjamin, N e w York, 1965, xi-242 p., $5.95 p a p e r b o u n d ; $10 domestic a n d $11 foreign c l o t h b o u n d ) T h i s course o f lectures to a d v a n c e d students s h o u l d be useful to all those engaged in research on weak a n d electromagnetic interactions, w h o m a y have to apply dispersion techniques. T h e luxuriant d e v e l o p m e n t o f these techniques h a s p r o d u c e d a n arsenal o f such bewildering intricacy that pretty full directions are needed to extract f r o m it the w e a p o n best a d a p t e d to the p r o b l e m on hand. T h e a u t h o r h a s precisely a d a p t e d this practical attitude, even at s o m e sacrifice o f rigour a n d depth, a n d h a s given us a well-ordered, very serviceable survey o f the available methods. L.R. R. HERMANN, Lie groups for physicists (W. A. Benjamin, N e w York, 1966. vii-193 c l o t h b o u n d , $12.50 domestic, $13.75 foreign) P e r h a p s addicts o f Lie groups m a y m a k e s o m e t h i n g o f this book. I can't. I received m y m a t h e matical education at a time w h e n m a t h e m a t i c i a n s were articulate. I learned Lie groups from Lie's o w n book, which is written in h u m a n language, even with a sense for elegance in the expression o f ideas in words. Moreover, we were b r o u g h t up in the belief t h a t it mightily helped the u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f a s t a t e m e n t if the t e r m s in which it was f o r m u l a t e d h a d first been defined. All this, 1 see, is terribly old-fashioned. " N o u s a v o n s chang6 tout cela". It is n o w possible, for instance, to write a whole c h a p t e r on c o m p a c t a n d n o n - c o m p a c t Lie algebras without having defined the concept o f c o m p a c t ness. Physicists, however, o u g h t to be thankful. Their ways, we are told, are m u c h too "primitive"; it is time they learned " t h e " m o d e r n " tricks" (sic). L.R. I. SIMON, Infrared radiation (Van N o s t r a n d , L o n d o n , 1966. 119 p., 12s.) F. 1. BOLEY, Plasmas - laboratory and cosmic (Van N o s t r a n d , L o n d o n , 1966. 154p., 14 s.) W. B. MANN and S. B. GARrINKEL, Radioacticity and its measurement (Van N o s t r a n d , L o n d o n , 1966. 165p., 14 s.) Previous items o f this excellent series were reviewed in this j o u r n a l 65 (1965) 528. T h e three new v o l u m e s fully u p h o l d the high didactic s t a n d a r d set by the preceding ones. Students could hardly find m o r e authoritative a n d up-to-date i n t r o d u c t i o n s into the respective subjects. T h e p l a s m a booklet, for instance, gives in a nutshell a fascinating account o f the whole range o f p h e n o m e n a - f r o m the m a n - m a d e ones to those on the cosmic scale - which fall u n d e r this general concept. T h e treatise on radioactivity lays stress, as the title indicates, on the m e t h o d s o f detection a n d analysis o f the radiations emitted f r o m nuclei; but the underlying principles a n d p h e n o m e n a are in every case clearly presented. If the General Editor o f this series a m b i t i o n s perfection, he o u g h t to look up the recomm e n d a t i o n s o f the S U N C o m m i s s i o n concerning the unit s y m b o l s a n d n o m e n c l a t u r e , a n d persuade the a u t h o r s to follow them. L.R. P. STOLE, Experimentelle Methoden der Kernphysik (Springer, Berlin, 1966. xi-178 p., D M 10.80)
Very clear and concise exposition o f the various types o f m e a s u r e m e n t s performed in nuclear physics, e m p h a s i z i n g the principles a n d essential features o f the apparatus. In spite o f its small size, the book is r e m a r k a b l y complete; besides the detection a n d coincidence techniques, it describes the radiation sources, the activity m e a s u r e m e n t s a n d the focussing a n d separation methods. It wisely starts with an a c c o u n t o f dosimetry. (The unit s y m b o l s for curie a n d r 6 n t g e n are wrong.) T h e s t u d y o f this book should be extremely helpful to incipient experimenters, a n d very healthy for theoretical physicists. L.R.