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Application of nuclear physics
Book reviews
392
in liquid metals and the chapter ends with an extensive bibliography of 192 references. Chapter 3 is devoted to a consideration of segregation both on cooling and in the solid-state. Each section contains a qualitative introduction followed by descriptions of various studies in the field which have been made using radiotracers. Reactions on metal surfaces, the exchange between a metal and an ionic solution, corrosion and inhibition, and oxidation and sulphurization of metals, are considered in Chapter 4. The final chapter indicates the possibilities offered by radiotracers for the measurement of condensed phase/ vapour equilibria and equilibrium phenomena in slag systems. This book is a useful introduction to applications of tracers in physical metallurgy but the potential user will need to read further before starting experimental work. G. T.
Application of Nuclear Physics, E.U.P., 1964. xii + 340 pp., 25s.
J.
ROGERS
H. FREMLIN,
THE author of this text book is well qualified by years of experience in both high- and low-energy nuclear physics to present the principles of its application to practical problems. It is one of a series of undergraduate texts intended to present an integrated account of selected subjects to honours degree level, but the author addresses it also to research of nuclear physics”. workers “using the techniques Although the title may suggest a wider field, the book is concerned exclusively with the properties, production and use of radioactive isotopes. After two introductory chapters, in which the properties of nuclei and of radioactivity are briefly and factually stated, the first half of the volume is concerned with radiation detectors and techniques of measurement. Properties of the radiations appear to be largely neglected in the opening chapters and are approached only indirectly through the measurement of absorption in Chapter 6, which is principally concerned with errors and corrections. The student may find himself unprepared for the detailed calculations of self-absorption which are made at the end of the same chapter. The production of radioactive isotopes by neutron and charged-particle bombardment is described, with accounts of the operation of both a reactor and a
cyclotron. Surprisingly equations for the build-up of activity in a sample are only found under activation analysis in a later chapter on the use of tracers in chemical analysis. The remainder of the book is concerned with a variety of techniques by which radioactivity can be applied, especially in chemistry and biology. This includes a balanced account of the several methods by which tracers and radioactivation are used in Chemical Analysis and a satisfying chapter on Radioisotope Dating in geology, archaeology and hydrology. A final account of Safe0 Precautions outlines the nature of the hazards and gives useful quantitative information on maximum permissible exposures, followed by the precautions to be taken when handling radioactive materials and the procedures for waste disposal. Most of this account is based on the “Code of Practice for University Laboratories quoted, verbatim. (1961)“, which is extensively A series of six appendices present useful information, mainly in tabular form. The first and longest of these, on electronic circuits, gives full details of a power supply, amplifiers and other circuits used in the author’s laboratory at Birmingham University. In many ways the book offers a refreshing change from the usual didactic approach to the subject, in that the properties of the radiations and radioactive material are presented from the standpoint of measurement. To some extent this may make it more difficult to use as a reference, although a detailed table of contents and a five-page index help in this respect. The text is written in the breezy informal style of a lecture and well illustrated with clear diagrams and plates. References to other published work are patchy. Although this may not bother the undergraduate, the conscientious research worker may find difficulty in following up particular details except through the more general bibliography. Descriptions of commercial instruments and products are selective and coloured by personal preference, but the data presented are correspondingly specific and precise and therefore of practical value. The reader will not find this book an adequate introduction to nucleonic instruments, as used so widely in industrial process control. However it does provide a good general understanding of radioactivity and a sound introduction to the principles and techniques of its use in laboratory research. J.
L. PUTMAN
392
in liquid metals and the chapter ends with an extensive bibliography of 192 references. Chapter 3 is devoted to a consideration of segregation both on cooling and in the solid-state. Each section contains a qualitative introduction followed by descriptions of various studies in the field which have been made using radiotracers. Reactions on metal surfaces, the exchange between a metal and an ionic solution, corrosion and inhibition, and oxidation and sulphurization of metals, are considered in Chapter 4. The final chapter indicates the possibilities offered by radiotracers for the measurement of condensed phase/ vapour equilibria and equilibrium phenomena in slag systems. This book is a useful introduction to applications of tracers in physical metallurgy but the potential user will need to read further before starting experimental work. G. T.
Application of Nuclear Physics, E.U.P., 1964. xii + 340 pp., 25s.
J.
ROGERS
H. FREMLIN,
THE author of this text book is well qualified by years of experience in both high- and low-energy nuclear physics to present the principles of its application to practical problems. It is one of a series of undergraduate texts intended to present an integrated account of selected subjects to honours degree level, but the author addresses it also to research of nuclear physics”. workers “using the techniques Although the title may suggest a wider field, the book is concerned exclusively with the properties, production and use of radioactive isotopes. After two introductory chapters, in which the properties of nuclei and of radioactivity are briefly and factually stated, the first half of the volume is concerned with radiation detectors and techniques of measurement. Properties of the radiations appear to be largely neglected in the opening chapters and are approached only indirectly through the measurement of absorption in Chapter 6, which is principally concerned with errors and corrections. The student may find himself unprepared for the detailed calculations of self-absorption which are made at the end of the same chapter. The production of radioactive isotopes by neutron and charged-particle bombardment is described, with accounts of the operation of both a reactor and a
cyclotron. Surprisingly equations for the build-up of activity in a sample are only found under activation analysis in a later chapter on the use of tracers in chemical analysis. The remainder of the book is concerned with a variety of techniques by which radioactivity can be applied, especially in chemistry and biology. This includes a balanced account of the several methods by which tracers and radioactivation are used in Chemical Analysis and a satisfying chapter on Radioisotope Dating in geology, archaeology and hydrology. A final account of Safe0 Precautions outlines the nature of the hazards and gives useful quantitative information on maximum permissible exposures, followed by the precautions to be taken when handling radioactive materials and the procedures for waste disposal. Most of this account is based on the “Code of Practice for University Laboratories quoted, verbatim. (1961)“, which is extensively A series of six appendices present useful information, mainly in tabular form. The first and longest of these, on electronic circuits, gives full details of a power supply, amplifiers and other circuits used in the author’s laboratory at Birmingham University. In many ways the book offers a refreshing change from the usual didactic approach to the subject, in that the properties of the radiations and radioactive material are presented from the standpoint of measurement. To some extent this may make it more difficult to use as a reference, although a detailed table of contents and a five-page index help in this respect. The text is written in the breezy informal style of a lecture and well illustrated with clear diagrams and plates. References to other published work are patchy. Although this may not bother the undergraduate, the conscientious research worker may find difficulty in following up particular details except through the more general bibliography. Descriptions of commercial instruments and products are selective and coloured by personal preference, but the data presented are correspondingly specific and precise and therefore of practical value. The reader will not find this book an adequate introduction to nucleonic instruments, as used so widely in industrial process control. However it does provide a good general understanding of radioactivity and a sound introduction to the principles and techniques of its use in laboratory research. J.
L. PUTMAN